Two CMU students may have the chance to compete in a multiplayer match against the developers of the upcoming video game “Gears of War 2″ for Xbox 360.

Participants of the “Game U: The Xbox 360 College Tour” event held Thursday at Finch Fieldhouse were given the chance to compete in a two-player round-robin tournament featuring “Gears of War 2,” which is not scheduled for release until November.

The tour’s Central Michigan University stop was sponsored by Program Board.

Tour manager for “Game U” Mike Caviedes said the tour is designed to showcase new and upcoming video games and technology. It will visit 21 universities across the country.

He said the key draw this year was the “Gears of War 2″ tournament and that “Game U” will choose one winning team from every university that will compete against one another for the chance to play against the developers of the game.

“Yesterday, we had guys that drove four hours to play it,” Caviedes said.

Sterling freshman Lenny Herrick competed in the tournament and is a fan of the original “Gears of War” for the Xbox 360.

The tournament was divided into rounds featuring four teams of two in a “Wingman” match that ended after a team had achieved 10 kills.

“Ten kills isn’t really a lot; it could have been longer,” he said.

The event showcased games such as “Rock Band 2,” “Madden NFL 09,” “NCAA Football 09,” “Halo 3″ and “FaceBreaker” for Xbox 360; “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” for the Playstation 3; and “Mario Kart Wii” and another unreleased game called “Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party” for the Wii.

The game’s tagline, “Check out the first video game you can play with your butt,” was evident at the event with the option to play a downhill skiing course by sitting on the Wii Balance Board from “Wii Fit” and guide your character by shifting your weight.

Oak Park junior Brandon Bryant tried the unusual game and said he is better at playing video games with his fingers than with his behind.

“It took a while to get used to, but after you get a handle on it, it’s pretty fun,” he said.

Special events chair for Program Board and Ortonville sophomore Marie McDonald said this is a good event not only to promote the top games for Xbox 360, but also to promote Program Board.

“We want to show that we are doing different things outside of bringing lectures and comedians to campus,” she said.

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