Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Launches On May 16, N...

Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Launches On May 16, New Video

T-minus 36 days! Today, Microsoft and Bungie finally started the countdown to the beginning of the Halo 3 multiplayer beta, now officially set to open its doors on May 16. Those lucky enough to claim a spot in the beta will have a rather short-lived joy, however, as the first public testing phase will come to an end on June 7. That's less than a month, for those of you who bought Crackdown or otherwise spent money in order to get into the beta, hoping to keep yourself busy (i.e. fragging) all summer long.

The exact opening and closing times are May 16 at 1 p.m. GMT, and June 7 at 7:59 a.m. GMT, respectively. And if the beta's shortness wasn't bad enough, there are also a couple of mandatory conditions for testing Halo 3: first, you'll need an Xbox 360 console equipped with a hard drive, and second, an Xbox Live Gold membership is also required. If you're all set, here's what Microsoft tells fans to look forward to:

"The multiplayer beta for Halo 3 will give anxious Xbox 360 gamers their first opportunity to get their hands on the new levels, weapons, vehicles and game types, as well as a chance to provide valuable data that Bungie will use in continued development.(...)

When gamers gather online to play the multiplayer beta via Xbox LIVE in May, they will be treated to three richly detailed, action-oriented maps: Snowbound, High Ground and Valhalla, which represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments and are brand-new to Halo 3. Each map will test gamers' mettle as they are placed behind the controls of new Halo 3 vehicles such as the agile Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and armed with deadly weapons such as the new and improved Assault Rifle, the ferocious Brute Spiker, the devastating Spartan Laser and the treacherous new Spike Grenades. This is just a taste of what gamers will experience later this fall when Halo 3 goes on sale."

For the rest of us drooling on the sideline, Bungie presents us with a new video that will leave us drooling even more. They titled it "Is Quisnam Protero Damno!", and it's basically a long look at the making of Halo 3's Multiplayer game. In it, "you'll meet the Multiplayer team and watch a level get built from concept to completion. You'll see the care and attention that goes into every aspect, and yes, you'll see a level or two that nobody has ever seen before". Note however that all of the game footage in this vidoc was taken during the Alpha stage and isn't even representative of what you'll see in the Public Beta, let alone the final game. You can get the trailer on Bungie's website, by the way.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)