Next month heralds the arrival of the third game in Crytek’s stupidly pretty Crysis series of shooty games, but if you want to get a taste of the multiplayer action a little bit early then you’ll be pleased to know that EA have announced a Crysis 3 multiplayer Beta will be arriving on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on January 29th and will end on February 12th, giving you a little bit of time off before the game itself is released on February 22nd.

“With Crysis 3 we are delivering the deepest, most robust Crysis multiplayer experience yet,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek. “We have listened closely to our fans and have evolved the multiplayer in Crysis 3 by adding a host of new gameplay features including the unique Hunter mode, deadly new weapons like the Predator bow, deeper loadout and unlock options, enhanced upgrade systems and more social features like the New York Feed. Top it all off with the ultimate weapon in the Nanosuit and you have a multiplayer experience that is unlike anything else out there.”

So, what are you going to get access to in the Beta? Well, two modes and two maps will be available for your pleasure. The first of the two modes is Crash Site, a name that should be instantly familiar to Crysis 2 players, which has you capturing and holding points around the map. The second mode is the more interesting: Hunter is a time based mode in which two Hunters wearing the uber-powerful Nanosuit and equipped with Predator bows must stalk and kill 10 (it’s 2 v 14 on the PC) people playing as regular soldiers who’ll need to work together to try to survive. If one of the  soldiers gets killed, they respawn as a Hunter. Sounds pretty cool, on paper, at least. And of course you’ll also get to try out some of the new multiplayer features, like the aptly named Rip & Throw which lets you grab bits of the environment and use them as shields or weapons. In other words hopefully you bash people’s heads in with a park bench. In the game, I mean.

I do find it sort of amusing that EA are referring to this as a Beta rather than a demo, though, which is what it actually is. You see, to me calling it a Beta means they’ll be using player feedback to sort out any bugs or glitches that crop up and possibly implementing any gameplay changes  that fans feel need to be made, allowing them to create a better product, but clearly they can’t do that in the time between the Beta and the actual launch of the game. So, it’s a demo, not a Beta. The cynic in me is saying that they’re only calling it a Beta so gamers might be a little more merciful about any bugs or glitches they do find. “Yeah,” EA will say, “We know the game crashed and killed your entire family, but it’s only a Beta.”

Oh, EA, you and your barmy marketing!