Gears of War 3 will be in stores September 20, but fans will get the chance to kick its tires a bit beforehand. Epic Games and Microsoft are running a public beta of Gears 3's online multiplayer mode beginning in April, and IGN has all the info you need to get into the beta and help test the final installment in the sweeping saga of shooting people in the face.

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I've compiled a list of the most-asked questions about the Gears 3 beta and answered them below. If you don't see your question here, throw in the comments section of the article and I'll do my best to answer it. Thealso have an in-depth info on the Gears 3 beta, and if you haven't already, head over to Epic's new and improvedfor all your Marcus Fenix tattoo needs.Own a copy of Bulletstorm Epic Edition (sorry, it's now sold out) to get into the beta a week earlier than everyone else. Pre-order Gears of War 3 That depends on who you are. If you bought the Epic Edition of Bulletstorm, you also bought the right to access the Gears of War 3 beta. Bulletstorm Epic Edition buyers get into the Gears 3 beta earlier than almost everyone else, beginning on April 18. Those who pre-order Gears of War 3 get access to the beta on April 25. The official beta runs from April 18 – May 15 (although select media and Epic's friends and partners will kick things off a bit earlier).Gears of War 3 DetailsWow, you're serious about this Gears of War 3 beta thing. OK, so let's say you took the day off of work in order to be front and center for the beta launch. As of this writing, Epic plans to launch each wave of the public beta (April 18 and 25) at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.The Gears 3 beta runs from April 18 – May 15. And yes, if you get into the beta early by buying the Epic Edition of Bulletstorm, you get to participate in the entire beta. Epic won't kick you out a week early. Unless you're a jerk and get banned. So don't be a jerk.A public video game beta is an intense period of testing for the developer. It's an opportunity for the multiplayer designers to put their hard work to the test and see what breaks so they can get to work fixing it. So keep in mind that as you're playing the Gears of War 3 beta things will break, glitches will emerge and balancing issues will emerge. Those are all good things. The more problems you find and report, the better the finished product will be. That's the simple explanation. However, in recent years, betas have also become opportunities for publishers to market upcoming games. The online chatter about an ongoing beta of a big game like Gears 3 goes a long way toward selling the game to more people.Those without the Bulletstorm Epic Edition can only get into the Gears of War 3 beta by pre-ordering any edition of Gears of War 3 (standard, Limited Edition, Epic Edition) from select retailers. Here's a list of the authorized outlets for each country.Bulletstorm owners will need their Bulletstorm disc in order to participate in the Gears of War 3 beta. And yes, you'll need the disc for the entire run of the four-week beta. If you pre-ordered Gears of War 3, you will have received a code that allows you to download and activate the beta once Epic flips the switch on April 25.The Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta will include four maps and three modes, which will roll out at different stages of the beta. Team Deathmatch will be playable from the start on all four launch maps. The Capture the Leader and King of the Hill modes will be available later in the beta, but the timing has not been announced yet. All matches will be run on dedicated servers.There are four maps in the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta: Thrashball, Trenches, Checkout and Old Town. Each map is set up a bit differently, so beta testers will get a chance to experience multiplayer environments of varying size and setup. We'll have detailed walkthroughs of each map in the days to come.Beta testers have the opportunity to unlock items, outfits and badges for the final version of Gears of War 3 by completing tasks in the beta. Epic says that unlocking these things in the beta is the only way to get them.Complete one match by Sunday, April 24 to permanently unlock.Complete one match during the week of April 25 to permanently unlock.Complete one match during the week of May 2 to permanently unlock.Complete one match during the week of May 9 to permanently unlock.Complete one match in the Beta to permanently unlock.Complete 50 matches in any game type to unlock for the Beta period. To permanently unlock, complete 10 matches as Thrashball Cole during the Beta period.Complete 90 matches in any game type to unlock for the Beta period. To permanently unlock, score 100 kills with the Gold-Plated Retro Lancer during the Beta period.Yes. If you were putting off subscribing to Xbox Live Gold for some reason, now is probably the time to upgrade if you want to participate in the Gears of War 3 beta.