Resistance 3's beta cap raised to 30, and some new equipment added

Insomniac Games' beta for Resistance 3 has been going through a rough time, with constant updates dropping and nuisances such as server lag severely plaguing the game's playability. There is some good news, though, with the reveal of the beta's leveling cap being raised to 30--originally capped at 20--along with the addition of a new weapon and two new abilities. The level cap was "immediate," so you should notice it the next time you log-in.

The tweet didn't specify what equipment was added, so we'll just have to play and see.

Resistance 3 beta patch 2.01 is out, addresses Matchmaking

We've been reporting on the status of the Resistance 3 beta over the past few days now, trying to keep everybody up to speed on the game's matchmaking issues. Well, as revealed yesterday, Patch 2.01 is currently out and the official announcement on the Resistance 3 main menu reads, "we [Insomniac Games] have re-enabled and made some changes to Matchmaking in hopes of improving your experience finding and joining games."

The patch also fixes a few bugs and crashes, and while players are still likely to experience other bugs and crashes, Insomniac assures us these issues are all being worked on.

Resistance 3 matchmaking update out tomorrow, hopefully

As we've recently posted, matchmaking in the Resistance 3 beta has gone down the crapper, with private sessions being the only way to play Insomniac Games' latest. Hopefully, that all changes tomorrow, as the studio has sent Update 2.01 to Sony for final testing, which is said to address the matchmaking issues along with a few crashes.

The plan is to have the update available by tomorrow night UK time, which would allow EU PlayStation Plus subscribers the ability to join matchmaking on their first day of access.

In addition to this, there is also a "larger Day 1 Patch" being worked on for the final game. This will hopefully fix any and all other problematic entities, such as annoying freezes and crashes, hosting issues, lag, and "The Invisible Man Glitch," an issue where Insomniac Games is even offering a bounty to help eradicate it. If you can perform the glitch consistently and help the studio out, you'll receive an autographed copy of Resistance 3 and "other swag."

You can read more on the Resistance 3 beta, including the latest on its stat progression, on Insomniac's official website. Here's a hint--stats go down tomorrow.

Resistance 3 beta patch ETA is "this week"

Whether you are an industry insider, won a code in a contest, or bought SOCOM 4 back in April, nobody is able to access matchmaking in the Resistance 3 beta. Attempts lead to a message saying "undefined," and as of now creating private matches is the only way to play online. Insomniac Games is aware of the issue and is currently working on an update, tweeting that an estimated time of arrival for a patch is "this week," hopefully sooner than later depending on "various factors."

Insomniac also tweeted that nothing will occur today, as they "can't get anything through format QA, staged or deployed through Sony on the weekend." Although this situations sucks, let's remember this is a beta and these instances are to be expected.

Here's when you can play the Resistance 3 beta

September is almost here, and that means we are that much closer to playing Insomniac's latest and [hopefully] greatest FPS Resistance 3. However, the beta is even closer, and starting August 4 those who purchased SOCOM 4 back in April will be able to take part in the game's online multiplayer beta with early access. Just redeem the codes given as you normally would; e.g. the convenient "Redeem Code" option in the XMB.

PlayStation Plus subbers, on the other hand, have to wait until August 23. All you guys have to do is navigate to the "PlayStation Plus" option in the PlayStation Store.

The Resistance 3 multiplayer beta contains two of the "major maps," two of the five game modes [Team Deathmatch, Chain Reaction], and has a leveling cap of 20. Insomniac notes there will be codes given away for everybody else, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

[PlayStation Blog]

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Multiplayer Beta Begins January 2012

Those who are itching to get their first taste of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will have to wait a little while longer, as the @GhostRecon twitter account revealed yesterday the game's multiplayer beta will officially start next January. Yes, as in, January 2012.

Only...seven more months!!!

Get Early Access to the All Points Bulletin: Reloaded Beta

GamersFirst is closing in on the May 18 open-beta date for All Points Bulletin: Reloaded, but until then the company will be letting "most people" access the beta a bit early. All you need to do in order to be one of the 'few' 40,000 people who gain early access is create a GamersFirst account and submit your e-mail address on the APB frontpage. Easy enough, right?

The APB: Reloaded blog also mentions that the game is said to have a new ranking-system and add new spawning tweaks during the open-beta, though, some of the other new features may be added beforehand.

GamersFirst has already let a group of about 40,000 people into the beta (which is currently still in closed form), so sign-up today and see if you can play All Points Bulletin: Reloaded before the actual open-beta on May 18!

Gears 3 Beta Lets Players Share the Giblets!

Are you excited about Gears of War 3?  Do you want your friends to get excited for the game?  Well, beginning on May 8 you can start inviting friends to play the Gears of War 3 beta.

If you have already played the Gears of War 3 beta, the good news is that you will be able to invite one friend.  If you're thinking, "well, I have more than one friend I want to get interested in the game!", you have some additional ways of getting more friend tokens to share:

Reminder! Gears 3 Beta Available to Pre-Orders

Pre-ordered Gears of War 3 at your participating retailer? If you did, clear your calendar for a couple of weeks, because you can now join Bulletstorm owners in playing the Gears of War 3 beta currently up on Xbox Live!

A tad nervous about joining the fray against those who have been playing since last week? Don't fret, check out our Boot Camp article and gain some knowledge about the beta's frontlines!

A Quick Gears of War 3 Beta Boot Camp

The Gears of War 3 beta kicked off today for code winners and Bulletstorm owners. However, there are a ton of people still unable to play the Gears 3 beta until next week when GameStop pre-order codes are eligible. To those people, and even some current players who are unsure about certain things, hopefully the following post will give you a head's up for your Gears 3 beta outings.

Reminder! Gears of War 3 Beta Up NOW!

Those who purchased the "Epic Edition" of Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360 back in February can now start chainsawing their friends and online enemies in the beta for Gears of War 3. All you have to do is start up Bulletstorm, select the option at the bottom that reads, "Gears of War 3 MP Beta", and that's it!

Non Bulletstorm-ers (GameStop pre-orders) have to wait until next Monday, April 25 to join the fray.

See ya on the battlefield.

Gears of War 3's Beta Dates; Who Can Play When?

The start of the Gears of War 3 beta, the latest third-person shooter from Epic Games, is not too far away. In fact, it's only a week away for some people. If you bought the foul-mouthed shooter Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360 back in February, then you can start chainsawing Locust hordes in the Gears 3 beta starting this coming Monday, April 18.

Those who haven't picked up Bulletstorm, but instead pre-ordered Gears of War 3 from their local GameStop have to wait another week to join the fraggin'. GameStop-ers can queue up the Gears of War 3 beta on the following Monday, April 25.

No matter which camp you are in, the Gears of War 3 beta concludes for everybody on Sunday, May 15. Either way, this still allows for plenty of giblets to fly across your flatscreens.

Find out what else April has in store for the Xbox 360 on Major Nelson's blog.

SOCOM 4's Game Schedule 3/31-4/4

The game schedule for the SOCOM 4 beta has been updated (and yes, we forgot...), so here is what you can expect to play until Monday, April 4.

Also, those who bought Killzone 3 can now input their included SOCOM 4 vouchers to gain access to the beta immediately. Happy fraggin'!

Reminder: Got Killzone 3? Download the SOCOM 4 Beta Now!

Hey, all you ISA soldiers fighting the galactic fight on Helghan! Don't forget that you now have the chance to take part in the beta for Zipper Interactive's upcoming tactical shooter, SOCOM 4. All you have to do is input the code that was included in your copy of Killzone 3 onto the PlayStation Store and then...sha-zaam!!! SOCOM 4 beta access in an instant... (download speed times may vary).

So hop on the tactical battlefield, and maybe hop back to the comment section below and share your thoughts on it.

Left 4 Dead 2's 'Cold Stream' DLC Beta Now Up!

The beta for Left 4 Dead 2's 'Cold Stream' downloadable content is now up for testing and Valve wants the community to provide as much feedback about it as they can. The DLC, created by a modder named Matthew Lourdelet, is available on both the PC and Mac versions of the game.

Be warned though, Valve reminds the community that since this is a beta there are bugs present and it's still a "work in progress."

Be sure to head on over to the 'Cold Stream' Forums and report any shenanigans you encounter in the beta.

Press Release:

Today we are releasing the beta version of Cold Stream. Since we announced it, Matthew has been hard at work on the map and the initial release looks a little more polished than you may have expected.

The reason for that is the difference between how we work on a campaign compared to modders. When we work on a campaign, we normally work in a rougher state without textures for a long period. Level design artists come in later and give the game its finished look with textures.

Modders often texture early as they have to create the structures based on the available artwork. They don’t have a team of artists coming in after them. So don’t let the level of texturing fool you. The campaign is still in flux.

We have activated the in-game bug reporter for L4D2. You can currently submit bugs on Valve maps including Cold Stream. This system will eventually be extended to work with community campaigns.

So how can you help and give feedback on Cold Stream? 

If you see a bug report it. There are sure to be nav-mesh bugs, navigational issues, hit box problems, missing zombie ladders, art problems, etc. Remember it's a beta.

For suggestions and feedback, first play the campaign and then post in the Cold Stream forum. The finale is one place in particular that we think is going to change pretty massively but please post all your feedback.

If you want to follow the development on Cold Stream, make sure to subscribe to our Twitter account.

Reminders:

The beta is for PC/Mac only. The 360 version will be included in the full DLC.

Cold Stream is part of an upcoming DLC for L4D2. No release date or pricing has been announced.

Cold Stream does not replace featured campaigns, they will resume next month.

Campaign Release Notes:
If you have a problem with a spawn room, vote to restart that chapter.
Everyone needs to be by the radio headset to start the finale map.
There are bugs, this is a work in progress. 

Have fun.


Image via Joystiq

SOCOM 4's Game Mode Schedule for Rest of the Week, Modes Explained

The SOCOM 4 beta is now available to PlayStation Plus members, and the schedule of game-mode availability for this week (until 3/28) has been released. We also have a summary of what each mode offers in terms of gameplay, which should be helpful to those new to the series.

Play Schedule:

· Wednesday (3/23) – Uplink, Classic Uplink, Suppression, Classic Suppression

· Thursday (3/24) – Last Defense, Classic Last Defense, Uplink, Classic Uplink

· Friday (3/25) – Bomb Squad, Classic Bomb Squad, Last Defense, Classic Last Defense

· Saturday (3/26) – Sniper Alley (Custom), Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom), Bomb Squad, Classic Bomb Squad

· Sunday (3/27) – Scrum (Custom), Community Day Classic (Custom), Sniper Alley (Custom), Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom)

· Monday (3/28) – Suppression, Classic Suppression, Scrum (Custom), Community Day Classic (Custom)

Mode Description:

Suppression: The SOCOM take on team deathmatch.

Last Defense: Capture controls points, discover the enemy base and destroy it.

Uplink: Steal enemy data and deliver it to your base.

Bomb Squad: Defend your bomb technician while he disarms enemy explosives.

Sniper Alley (Custom): An 8 vs. 8 version of Classic Suppression with higher damage. Weapons are limited to sniper rifles, shotguns, smoke grenades and poison gas.

Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom): Faster movement speed and reduced damage are applied to 16 vs. 16 Last Defense with weapons restricted to only shotguns and SMGs.

Scrum (Custom): Suppression is given rule tweaks of no respawn, faster movement and higher damage, while sniper rifles, frag grenades, concussion grenades and poison gas are disallowed.

Community Day Classic (Custom): A medley featuring Classic versions of all four game types (Suppression, Last Defense, Uplink and Bomb Squad) with increased speed and weapon restrictions placed on ranged explosives. Each game type is played over 11 five-minute rounds.

PlayStation Blog