Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the Toys “R” Us international flagship store in New York’s Times Square will become the center of the Halo 2 universe on the evening of November 8. Throughout the evening, midnight madness will ensue with special guest appearances, and prizes will be awarded for gamers showing off their Halo 2 enthusiasm. A number of gamers will even get an early hands-on experience with Halo 2 while awaiting the stroke of midnight. Toys “R” Us Times Square will open its doors at midnight on November 9, giving gamers a chance to pick up the very first copy of Halo 2 for Xbox in North America. For more information, please visit here.

Pushing the Xbox hardware to its very limits, Halo 2 will expand on everything that made the original game great, plus add a wealth of technological and gameplay advances. Significantly improved graphics, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), an advanced real-time lighting engine and destructible interactive environments are just a small part of Halo 2’s evolution of design and technology. Every improvement in Halo 2 is designed to take gameplay to a new level - and in the end, to tell a more compelling story.

Utilizing Xbox Live to redefine online play, Halo 2 delivers superior online multiplayer capabilities. Whether playing with a clan on a new multiplayer map, boarding a friend’s Warthog, dogfighting in Banshees or checking player stats, Halo 2 will bring the social experience to a higher level via Xbox Live. More information about Halo 2 is available here.