SCEE announced today that starting February 3rd, there will be an open beta for Killzone 3, that will run until February 15th. Players will be able to check out the MP05 ‘Frozen Dam’ level as well as all 3 multiplayer modes (Guerrilla Warfare, Warzone and Operations). We’ll also get a chance to play the offline mode known as Botzone. The four modes are detailed below.
- Guerrilla Warfare (16 players): Guerrilla Warfare is a standalone multiplayer mode similar to classic Team Deathmatch: You and your teammates must try to kill as many of the opposing team as you can before the timer runs out. In this mode, only the downstream monitor houses and repair bay are accessible, giving the map a very frantic pace.
- Warzone (24 players): If you’ve played Killzone 2, you may already be familiar with Warzone. It’s a round-based multiplayer campaign that consists of five randomly ordered mini-missions. In this mode the power house and penstocks directly under the dam are accessible as well, so there’s more room to come up with different strategies and approaches to your goal.
- Operations (16 players): Operations is a new multiplayer campaign which aims to deliver a more cinematic, story-based gameplay experience, similar to that of Killzone 3′s single-player mode. It consists of a sequence of linear mini-missions, in which the ISA must try to secure the docks and destroy the dam, while the Helghast must try to protect the dam facility.
- Botzone (one player and up to 15 bots): Botzone is an offline multiplayer mode ideal for those looking to get to grips with the controls, the weapons or the map layout before going up against live players. Each of the aforementioned multiplayer modes can be played offline, against CPU-controlled opponents.
There was a closed beta a while back and reactions were pretty positive. It’ll be interesting to see how gamers react to this one, as Killzone 3 is set to be one of the biggest games of the year. Will you be checking out the beta? Let us know and remember to pick up Killzone 3 when it hits store shelves on February 22nd.