Recently, Microsoft announced that Gears of War 2 had produced more pre-orders than its predecessor and that the game would probably sell more than the original.

The Halo series still holds the record for the biggest number of pre-orders on the Xbox 360 but the first Gears of War is at this moment the second best placed game. The sequel has a chance to overtake Halo 2 as there are more than three weeks until the game launches, period during which many more pre-orders could be registered.

Microsoft, the publisher of Gears of War 2, says that more than 20,000 retailers around the world are getting ready to offer a Midnight Madness promotion which will give gamers the chance to get their hands on the game at exactly 00:01 on the night of the release. The idea is that those who get the game early will also receive a special code which can be used to download a Hammerburst Assaults Rifle gold plated for multiplayer matches to show off your passion for the title. It's not known exactly how many rifles will be offered via this promotion.

Microsoft also says that it will label the period from November 7 to November 10 as the Game with Fame weekend. The developers of the game will play online during the weekend and even Xbox Live Silver subscribers will be able to get into it because a 48-hour subscription to Gold will be offered with each copy of the release.

Microsoft is really pulling all the stops in order to make potential buyers go into a game store and get Gears of War 2. So, what are you waiting for? Get online and join the growing crowd pre-ordering the game.