If you read our hands-on preview of the upcoming multiplayer beta for Halo: Reach, you know just how good we think the game is going to be. The beta goes live on May 3, but what do you say we sneak you in the back door?

We have 20 codes that will get you into the "Friends and Family" portion of the Reach beta, which means you'll be able to start playing on April 29. That means you'll be online with the full beta five days before everyone else. You'll be playing with people who were also given early access to the beta, alongside the gaming press and Bungie employees. It will be a glorious thing.

You'll need to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber to access the beta, but with these codes you won't need a copy of Halo: ODST in your 360 to play. Simply plug in the code, download the beta, and jump into a game. To enter, simply e-mail giveaways@arstechnica.com with the subject line, "Halo, is there anybody out there?"

I'll also be giving away another five codes via Twitter, so be sure to follow @BenKuchera for your chance to pick one up.

We'll be accepting entries until 12 pm EST April 28, and will send the codes out on the 29th. I think that would be a wonderful time for some Ars Technica games on Xbox Live as well.

Good luck!