Waiting for Killzone 3? Well, You're in Luck!

As I slowly but surely count down the days until the release of Killzone 3 (February 22, 2011 - mark your calendars before I do it for you), I find myself struggling with shooter after shooter, looking for the one that can satisfy my needs until KZ3 day finally arrives.   So early in the year, yet already its being touted as a candidate for 2011 Game of the Year by reviewers...  and considering the number of GREAT games that will be announced this year, that is truly the boldest of statements.

I can't wait to get my hands on it, which is why today's news is even better.    Starting on February 2nd you can download the Beta version of Killzone 3 for free on the Playstation Network.    

All you people who have just been dying to see the disc in your hands can get the chance to play it for 2 weeks before you can buy it...   which means all you people sitting on the fence incapable of deciding whether you want to spend the $59.99 on it can also have the chance to check it out and see just how much better than Call of Duty: Black Ops it is (here's a hint, if it doesn't disconnect you 50 times a day, it's better).

Per the Playstation blog:

The Open Beta will offers exclusive early access to the MP05 ‘Frozen Dam’ multiplayer level from Killzone 3, including all three online multiplayer modes: Guerrilla Warfare, Warzone and Operations, along with the offline multiplayer mode, Botzone.

“Frozen Dam” is a sprawling asymmetrical map set in an old dam facility, the playing field in MP05 has been carefully tailored to fit each of the multiplayer modes. Here 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.

I'm super excited, and you should be excited too.

So instead of getting mad about Activision screwing us Playstation owners over (yet again), limiting the release of the new Call of Duty map pack only to XBOX 360 users, you can hop on over to the PS Network and play this instead.   You almost wonder how many of their players the just turned into Killzone fans by screwing them out of the newest map packs for a month.   I almost wonder, who cares?  Sell your copies of Black Ops now while they're still fetching $40 used on eBay while you can.   That way 2/3 of the better game is already paid for when it does come out.

Update on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 17:51 by skinnydipinacid

Sorry to those I misled about a Feb 2nd release date for the Killzone 3 - Beta (bad intel via the post I linked to... which was ironically a Sony site), it's actually set for Thursday February 3rd at 10:00 ET

(which stinks, I so could have enjoyed playing it while snowed in... 34" drifts, yikes!)

Update on Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 11:58 by skinnydipinacid

Oh boy... this isn't good:   Error Code 20002

I played for about an hour on Thursday until I lost connection, and now everytime I try to do a mulitplayer level, it gives me that error code.  

A NETWORK RELATED ERROR HAS OCCURRED

You have been disconnected from the Network.   Please check network connection.   You need to login again after this screen.

Error code 20002

Only thing is, I'm not disconnected, I'm fine...  THEIR end is having the issue.   Seems to be the same complaints all across the internet, some even calling this the worst Beta testing ever (lol, perhaps if it hadn't been so hyped).   

Only suggestion I can think of is to try and try again during off-peak hours.