COMPUTER game fans queued in Britain in wintry weather overnight to get their hands on the latest block-busting release. The hotly-anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops went on sale at midnight at hundreds of stores across the country, with many seeing lines of purchasers form outside the door. The 18-rated commando game in which players take the role of special forces agents in places like Russia and Vietnam, is expected to become the fastest and biggest-selling title in history with well over $1m sales in the first week alone. Its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has generated more than one billion dollars in sales. Set during the Cold War, Black Ops features missions to Vietnam and Cuba as well as renactments of real-life missions such as the 1980 SAS storming of the Iranian Embassy in London. It is expected to be the biggest -selling title in video game history, shifting 1.5million copies on its first day. Last years installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was controversial because it allowed gamers to play as terrorists as kill innocent civilians. Neil Ashurst, Head of UK PR for GAME said: 'Call of Duty is an iconic franchise and the latest title is going to be a must-have for any gamer. 'To satisfy our customers demand, we are opening 314 of our GAME stores at midnight to allow them to get their hands on it as soon as possible. 'The interest in Call of Duty: Black Ops is so intense that it could well triumph the achievements of Modern Warfare 2 last year and become the fastest selling video game of all time. DM U.S. pre-orders of the video game have reached 3 million units already. Retailer HMV opened over 100 of its stores around the UK and Ireland at midnight last night - including branches in Londons Oxford Street, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin - to cater for the demand. Bosses said some of the queues began forming 12 hours earlier, with student Imran Chowdhury of Manor Park, east London, among the first to arrive at HMV Oxford Street. The firms head of games, Tim Ellis, said: 'Call of Duty: Black Ops is all set to challenge last years phenomenon Modern Warfare 2 to become the fastest and biggest-selling title in games history. 'Well over one million sales are predicted for its first week alone, and with Christmas coming up and more people now owning a console than ever before, we expect it to go on to become not just the most popular game ever, but an iconic release that will take gaming on to a new level.. DM