Crysis 3 isn"t due to launch until February 19th, but today developer Crytek and publisher Electronic Arts announced that PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will be able to download and play an open multiplayer beta build of the upcoming sci-fi shooter.
The official Crysis website has the details on the multiplayer beta, which begins on January 29th and will end on February 12th. The beta will include two gameplay modes. One is Hunter Mode, which starts out each round with two cloaked "Hunters" and up to 14 CELL Troopers. The Hunters are trying to kill the troopers, and each kill turns that trooper into a Hunter. If any troopers are still alive when the round ends, the Hunter team loses.
The other mode is Crash Site mode. Its description states:
An Alien dropship deploys a pod at random around the map. Players on each team must remain near the dropped pod in order to capture the zone and accumulate points. Each alien pod holds two shields players can utilize defensively as weapons. In addition, each Crash Site map will have a “Pinger”, a CEPH-constructed walking weapon of mass destruction. But be careful, other players can hijack the Pinger while you’re inside of it!
The beta will have two maps, Museum and Airport, as part of the test. The final version of Crysis 3 will obviously have many more maps and gameplay modes to choose from.
Source: Crysis website