Halo 3 Beta Revealed

For those lucky gamers who managed to nab themselves a Halo 3 beta key over the last couple of months, the wait is almost over to test-drive the new first-person shooter. The multiplayer beta will be going live on May 16 on Xbox Live globally, Microsoft announced today.

The announcement also scotched rumours that there would be two different beta start dates for those who had got their beta keys either through the Rule of Three promotion or through purchasing a specially marked copy of Crackdown. Access to the beta will be rolled out simultaneously worldwide at 1 p.m. GMT (5 a.m. PDT) on May 16, and will end on June 7 at 7:59 a.m. GMT (June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT). Those who have not yet obtained a Halo 3 beta key can still sign up by buying a copy of the Xbox 360 game Crackdown.

There will be three maps available to play--Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla--which will "represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments." New vehicles will include the nimble Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and new weapons will be available, such as the "new and improved" Assault Rifle, the Brute Spiker, the Spartan Laser, and Spike Grenades.