Dates and information on Halo 3 Beta released

Halo 3 is Microsoft's premier gaming property. While Gears of War may be making headlines with its impressive sales numbers and online adoption, only Halo 3 could get away with a $130 edition of the game. The fires of anticipation will burn even hotter now that Microsoft and Bungie have announced that the "open" beta of Halo 3 will begin on May 16 at 5 AM PDT and run until June 6 when it closes at 11:59 PM PDT. This will allow selected gamers to get a taste of what they can look forward to in the retail game, as well as providing Microsoft with a large-scale stress test of the Live servers.

The beta will include three maps: Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla, as well as at least one new vehicle, the Mongoose ATV. The press release also confirms the inclusion of the new Assault Rifle, Brute Spiker, the Spartan Laser, and the Spike Grenades. While not an extensive list of maps and vehicles so far, it should at least whet the appetites of gamers looking forward to the new and improved Halo experience.

There were three ways for gamers to gain admittance into the Halo 3 beta. Lucky gamers who could get through the site crashes and Internet congestion of the first day of beta signups may have simply been selected to receive an invitation. Microsoft and Bungie also had a "rule of three" promotion where gamers could play three hours of Halo 2 online from February 1 to February 3 and hope to receive an invitation for that feat. The third way was to simply buy your way in: a beta invitation comes with certain copies of the surprisingly high-quality 360 game Crackdown.

There has also been a new video titled "Is Quisnam Protero Damno!" released that you can download directly from Bungie.net, or find on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The video gives you an in-depth look at High Ground and shows off some of the design decisions that went into designing that asymmetrical map. There is also talk about why the Assault Rifle works so well in the context of a Halo deathmatch, and some information on how the game will let you capture and replay key moments from your multiplayer matches. The Bubble Shield and Trip Mines look particularly useful in nasty, one-on-one situations.

Bungie has become a master of releasing just enough information about Halo 3 to keep the gaming press and the players excited about the game, and this beta and video is more evidence of that strategy. We'll have more details about game play and the quality of the maps when the Beta launches in May.