SPOnG has discovered the precise details of how purchasers of Real Time World's free-roaming, massive co-op blaster, Crackdown for Xbox 360 (due for release in March) will be able to join the Halo 3 multiplayer beta programme via the Microsoft-published/Real Time Worlds-developed game.

On acquiring a boxed copy of Crackdown, we discovered a “Congratulations Card” inside, which states the following:

“By purchasing this specially marked version of Crackdown, you have also secured an invitation to be among the first to play the highly anticipated Halo 3 Beta.

Here’s how it works:

In order to get your hands on the Halo 3 Beta once it becomes available, you must be connected to Xbox Live so that you can download the beta from Xbox Live Marketplace.

You'll find the Download Halo 3 Beta option under Downloads on the Main Menu in Crackdown, but the option is grayed out until the Halo3 Beta becomes available.

When the Halo 3 Beta is released, the Download Halo 3 Beta option will be activated automatically, and you can choose it to connect to Xbox Live Marketplace to download the beta, free of charge, and with no codes required.

Once you've downloaded the Halo 3 Beta, you can play the game by choosing Play the Halo 3 Beta on the Main Menu in Crackdown. Please note that this is the only location from which you can start the Halo 3 Beta.”

Which is pretty self-explanatory stuff – it transpires that the Halo 3 multiplayer beta code does not physically reside on the Crackdown disk, but must be downloaded, so you will need Xbox Live Gold membership, and the beta can only be played via the (currently greyed-out “Play Halo 3 beta” menu option inside Crackdown.

It is unlikely that the Halo 3 beta will be ready to play the moment Crackdown ships (which is likely to be on March 23 – coincidentally (or is it) the day Sony launches the PlayStation 3 in Europe. At the moment, Microsoft will only say that the beta programme will open up via Crackdown in “Spring”. So it looks like it will be a good idea to watch Halo3.com pretty closely. Or else to keep up with the news on SPOnG.

There is one other thing to look out for – as the Congratulations Card hints by referring to: “This specially marked version of Crackdown”, not all copies of Crackdown will give access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. The Halo 3-enabled ones will have a sticker on the box, stating:

“Includes invitation to Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta

Limited Time Offer see www.halo3.com

Xbox 360, hard drive, Xbox Live Gold required”

Microsoft has also declined to give any indication of how long the beta programme will operate for – presumably, when it ends, the relevant menu options in Crackdown will grey themselves out again. But at least you now know how to get a taste of Halo 3 pre-launch.
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