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The Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta will go live on May 16th at 12:00 AM PDT and run through June 6 th at
11:59 PM PDT. That means that folks who purchased specially marked
copies of Crackdown, or won a spot in the Beta through the “Rule of
Three” or other regional promotions, will be able to log into their
Xbox Live Gold accounts, download and play the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta
and enjoy an early peek at the multiplayer aspect of the game.
If you’ve been sitting on the fence, and are interested, you can
still enter the Beta by picking up a specially marked copy of
Crackdown, which would ordinarily be a chore, but thankfully Crackdown
is an awesome action game which might ironically distract you from the
Beta I’m pimping here. Bungie is also giving out a few Friends and
Family spots to valued community members, but those are few and far
between, so it’s safer to assume you’re not getting in that way.
Now,
I will say this again and again – the game you’re going to play one
month from now, is Beta software – and while it will look somewhat
close to the final game, it IS Beta – and will contain quirks, a couple
of roughedges and all that jazz. But we’re pretty confident you’ll find
it a dynamic and exciting taste of what’s to come in Fall. The Beta itself consists of three maps – Valhalla, High Ground and
Snowbound – graphically improved since our first MP screenshots – and
all three will be playable in Matchmaking only (that is after all, what
we’re Beta testing here). All three maps are suitable for a wide
variety of gameplay types, and you will have the chance to try all
manner of game types, familiar and new.
There are a number of
new features you’ll get to test out – including a new grenade type, a
completely different class of weapon and some of the enhanced online
functionality we plan to bring to the game – but it should be noted, a
lot of secret features are hidden in this Beta. We’re keeping a lot of
our powder dry for Fall. In May, when your firing the Spiker, sniping
vehicles with the Spartan Laser and sticking fools with the Brute Spike
grenade, remember that it’s just a peek-a-boo fraction of what’s to
come.
And do me a special personal favor – walk down to the beach, the
river or the lake in High Ground and Valhalla, and take a look at the
water.
There will also be new guns, vehicles and gameplay features to try –
including the mysterious “X-Button” functionality. But you don’t have
to wait to find out what that is, since you can now view part
of its functionality in our latest Vidoc, “Is Quisnam Protero Damno!” a
long look at the making of Halo 3’s Multiplayer game.
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