Microsoft's Walt Whitman store girds for Titanfall landing

The Microsoft store at the Walt Whitman Shops mall in  Huntington Station is throwing a party to mark the Monday midnight launch of Titanfall, a "highly anticipated" video game.

The store is one of 13 Microsoft stores in North America to throw a party before the game goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, although many other video game stores are expected to host their own events.

Store manager Fazal Din said he would be closing the store about 8 p.m. and reopening an hour later for gamers who will be able to munch on free pizza, pose with characters in Titanfall costumes and try their hand at raffles with prizes worth $4,000.

"It's the most highly anticipated video game that's exclusive to the Xbox One and the PC," Din said.

The game was developed by the co-creators of blockbuster video game Call of Duty, Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts.

Xbox One was launched in November and is competing against Sony's PlayStation 4. Microsoft is hoping that the new game, which operates only on its console, will give it an edge.