First things first. Hereafter the 3 things you have to know about Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta:

WHEN - The Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta will go live on May 16th at 12:00 AM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time - about 09:00 AM in Europe) and run through June 6th at 11:59 PM PDT (05:59 in Europe).

WHO - Folks who purchased specially marked copies of Crackdown or won a spot in the Beta through the "Rule of Three" or other regional promotions.

HOW - Logging into your Xbox Live Gold account, downloading and playing the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta.

Moreover, Frankie, from Bungie, has underlined that what we "are going to play one month from now, is Beta software - and while it will look somewhat close to the final game, it IS Beta - and will contain quirks, a couple of rough edges and all that jazz."

The Beta itself consists of three maps - Valhalla, High Ground and Snowbound - graphically improved since the first released multiplayer screenshots - and even if all three will be playable in Matchmaking only, there will be available several multiplayer modes to try: some are already known while other will be completely new.

Clearly, we'll have a fistful of new features to test out like new grenade types, a completely different class of weapon and some of the enhanced online functionality Bungie is planning to bring to the game. However, Frankie has also stated that "[...] a lot of secret features are hidden in this Beta. We're keeping a lot of our powder dry for Fall. In May, when your firing the Spiker, sniping vehicles with the Spartan Laser and sticking fools with the Brute Spike grenade, remember that it's just a peek-a-boo fraction of what's to come."

The "Bubble Shield"

Moreover, Bungie has released a new video documentary in which we'll see some Alpha (Alpha, not Beta!) multiplayer game-play and were the X-button function is finally explained: it will be used to activate the Bubble Shield we've seen for the first time in the second official Halo 3 trailer.

The new video is now available both on Bungie website (see the link at the end of this article) and on Xbox Live Marketplace in 720p and Dolby Digital quality.

Halo 3 - "Is Quisnam Protero Damno!" video