Killzone 3 open beta coming to PSN February 2 in US, February 3 in Europe

By Stephany Nunneley

Sony has announced PSN users will be able to download and play the Killzone 3 open beta on February 2 in the US and February 3 in Europe.

This Beta will offer exclusive early access to the MP05 ‘Frozen Dam’ multiplayer level from Killzone 3, including all three online multiplayer modes – Guerrilla Warfare, Warzone and Operations – as well as the offline multiplayer mode, Botzone.

These are the four multiplayer modes included with the Open Beta:

• 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.

Sony announced earlier in the week those who purchase specially marked packages of Killzone 3 will get access to the SOCOM 4 multiplayer beta as well, with Sony Europe confirming the SOCOM Special Forces beta will arrive in the UK as well.

It’s just beta-riffic around Sony headquarters lately.

Killzone 3 hits on February 23 in Europe, and February 25 in the UK.

Get more information on the beta over on the EU PS Blog or the US PS Blog.