Out Today: How to Play the Gears of War 3 Beta Version on Xbox Live

Gears of War fans around the world are excited (possibly drooling) over the upcoming release of the third installment in the series, Gears of War 3. There's a lot of hype about the game and its new features, which includes a 4-player co-op mode and a slew of new female characters. But there's one problem—it doesn't come out until September 20th. But for a lucky circle of gamers, the Multiplayer Beta just opened up today.

If you want in on the action, there's a few ways to go about it:

1. If you purchased the Bulletstorm Epic Edition (only for Xbox 360), you can get immediate access to the Multiplayer Beta on April 18th.
   
2. If you pre-order the Standard ($59.99), Limited ($79.99) or Epic ($149.99) editions of Gears of War 3 from Gamestop in North America, or from shops abroad like GAME, Gamestation and EB Games, you can gain access to the Beta Multiplayer on April 25th.
3. Get lucky with some of Epic Games' made men. If you can snag a free Beta code from Mark Rein's of Cliff Bleszinski's random giveaways on Twitter, then you're one blessed bastard. Hell, it might even be worth it to beg.

The Mulitplayer Beta features a Team Deathmatch mode on four new maps (Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town), along with two other modes, Capture the Leader and King of the Hill. Bleszinski recently tweeted the schedule of events:

• 4/18 - 4/24: Team Deathmatch on the Thrashball and Checkout.
• 4/25 - 5/1: Team Deathmatch on the Thrashball, Checkout and Trenches.
• 5/2 - 5/8: Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill on all four beta maps.
• 5/9 - 5/15: Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Capture the Leader on all four beta maps.

There's also a "surprise event" weekend that you'll want to keep an eye out for.

One thing that's great (besides helping improve a potentially awesome game) is that all of the exclusive content you unlock will transfer over to the full retail release of Games of War 3 when you grab it in September. See below on how to permanently unlock the content.

• Flaming Hammerburst: Complete one match by 4/24.
• Flaming Lancer: Complete one match during the week of 4/25.
• Flaming Sawed-Off Shotgun: Complete one match during the week of 5/2.
• Flaming Gnasher Shotgun: Complete one match during the week of 5/9.
• Beta Tester Medal: Complete one match in the Beta.
• Thrashball Cole: To play as Augustus Cole before Emergence Day, you must first complete 50 matches in any game to unlock during the Beta. Then, complete 10 matches as Trashball Cole to permanently unlock.
• Gold-Plated Retro Lancer: First, you must complete 90 matches in any game to unlock during the Beta. Then, score 100 kills with it to permanently unlock.

The Mulitplayer Beta for Gears of War 3 on Xbox Live ends on May 15th, 2011.