Midnight madness at Halo Reach launch

Thousands of fans queued for hours at video game stores across the country last night to get their hands on Microsoft's latest title Halo: Reach.

At London's Westfield shopping centre, hardcore fans were met by actors dressed as characters from the iconic series, who entertained them until midnight when the game went on sale.

Reach is the fourth instalment in Microsoft's hugely popular 'first person shooter' series. It is the final Halo game to be produced by developers Bungie, who created the franchise.

Gamers play as a new recruit fighting for Noble team, a group of elite warriors, as they battle to save planet Reach from destruction at the hands of the evil alien Covenant.

Halo: Reach is out exclusively on Microsoft's Xbox 360 games console. The standard edition is priced at £49.99.