Chief among the changes, according to Jeremy Dunham, Zipper’s senior community manager is an increase in the level cap to 60 from 40, a “retooled skill tree and experience curve” and “an improved ranking system”. Most interestingly is a “proximity chat” feature that allows you to hear the enemy as you get closer, “or trash talk them yourself as you punch ‘em full of lead”.

Plenty of other details at Dunham’s post on PlayStation.Blog, which concludes with a thank you to all of the other beta players preceding the GameStop pre-order beta.

MAG Beta 4 Starts…Now! [PlayStation.blog via VG247]

Unless of course you are a game journalist like our own Stephen Totilo, who discussed his hands-on time with the game earlier today. Judging by this footage, I find myself a little envious. It looks endlessly entertaining.

The PS3 multiplayer beta kicks off on the 19th. After that, PC players get an open beta in December, and a full multiplayer demo drops everywhere next year. If this is your only taste, savour it!

The scramble started when GameStop published a 24-hour promising deal promising access to the PS3 beta beginning Nov. 19. EA DICE’s Twitter shot down the story and the deal was later unpublished.

Then, to Blend Games, EA said: “As for the beta, we’ll have more details later this week.” So, there you go. While those beta invite emails were bogus, it looks like the beta isn’t, and might be coming sooner than we thought.

EA Confirms Bad Company 2 Beta, Details Coming This Week [Blend Games via Blue's News]

Says the Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke on the Battlefield Blog:

As of today there is no official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta and I wanted to warn people out there of fake/hoax sites perpetrating to have a sign-up for one. We do not have any form of beta sign-ups, nor would we ever endorse such a practice or shady url to do so. Please do not let these e-tards take advantage of your enthusiasm for BFBC2 in their scam and only give them the middle-finger if anything. So, unless you read it here or from our official Twitter page it isn’t real.

Pretty sure EA’s seen copies and sent them to their corporate security team, but If anyone’s gotten one of these bogus sign-up come-ons, let me know. I’m curious what information it wanted, whether it was Steam ID and password or what.

Fake BFBC2 Beta Signup Sites! [Battlefield Blog via Blue's News]

It’s the triumphant return of the Xbox Live Preview Program, and everybody is invited! Invited to apply that is, but Major Nelson says they are searching for multiple thousands of participants to test out the latest Xbox Live features, and you’re just a brief application away from being considered. You can visit the Xbox Live Update Preview page right now to apply, but make sure you’ve got your Xbox 360 serial number handy, because they’re gonna ask for it. I told you to keep it on a card in your wallet, but did you listen?

Xbox LIVE Preview Program: Zune, Facebook and Twitter [Major Nelson]

Tomorrow night at the Penny Arcade Expo, Sony’s MAG finally achieves its full potential, showing off the massive, 256-player action gameplay that gave the game its name. In honour of the event and for the sake of the MAG fans that couldn’t make it to PAX, Sony and Zipper have come up with a little trivia contest that could score several lucky players a spot in the beta test for the game.

Sony will be posting four MAG-related questions today on the official PlayStation Twitter account. The first six people to respond with the correct answer to each question to @SonyPlayStation will score beta access. Note that this only applies to US residents, and you’ll be agreeing to an NDA in order to play.

I hope everything goes well. While I’ll be at PAX, tomorrow night is NCsoft’s Aion launch party at the Space Needle, so I will be otherwise occupied.

MAG Meet-up at PAX Tomorrow Night! [PlayStation Blog]

The trailer, much like the frozen treats trailer previously released, is full of carefully distilled win. A blonde woman walks through a playground at night; a mysterious creature appears; awesome ensues. It doesn’t tell us much more about the game, but that’s where the Dark Days are Coming website comes in. A link has appeared on the site with a personality quiz that rates your suitability for one of three game factions – the untamed Illuminati, the holy Templars, and the manipulative Dragon. Completing the quiz and filling out your name and email qualifies you for game updates, a package of wallpapers and avatars, a chance at beta access, and an exclusive in-game item once the MMO launches.

Incidentally, I fit the Dragon clan, as my Facebook profile now indicates. Why set the world on fire when you can make others do it for you? Look at me. The game is nowhere near complete and I’m already roleplaying.

Blir «The Secret World» en våt konspirasjonsdrøm? [Dagbladet.no -thanks Lars!]

To enter (it’s called a “VIP” beta, so not everyone will get in), you have to head over to the game’s website and sign up. And while the game is coming to PC, 360 and PS3 in Q1 2010, the beta (or at least this beta) is for PC users only.

Sure, it won’t be as awesome as it would were you playing on an expensive touchscreen table, but still, the game looks interesting enough to warrant checking out. It is free, after all.

Some fun facts to go along with the news: the download is only 298MB, and like some other betas, it has limited opening hours, namely 1000-1300 and 1700-2000 PDT (0300-0600 and 1000-1300 AEST), Monday through Friday.

Kind of limiting, we know, but hey, at least you could do some proper beta work with those times; Sony needs help demoing the game at GamesCom this week to those on the showroom floor, so from Wednesday through Sunday people logging in around midnight might find themselves in the unpaid service of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe!

The Champions Online open beta is now in full swing, and here’s a look at how you’ll be swinging, flying and burrowing your way through the new superhero MMO.

My favourite feature of Cryptic’s last superhero game, City of Heroes, was the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, teleport about the city, or run super-speed past your enemies. The developer takes this concept to the next level in Champions Online, adding exciting new travel powers to the mix to help players better realise their superhuman fantasy.