To coincide with the fifth anniversary of Halo, Bungie and Microsoft are planning big, big things: Firstly, and most importantly, a public beta of the multiplayer of Halo 3. That's right, come spring, you could be playing Halo 3. Also available will be new multiplayer maps for Halo 2 (although these are only for the 360 -- a chance to show off the graphical prowess that Halo 2 could handle?), and, come december, a 60-second ad for Halo 3 supposedly showing insight into the Master Chief's character.

While the ad doesn't really excite me (it's not showing in Euroland), the option to play Halo 3 really, really does. I'm a big fan of the Halo franchise, and I'm excited at the prospect of trying out some of the new weapons and maps, as well as seeing what improvements have been made over Halo 2's ranking system.

The only downside I can think of is price. Will Bungie and Microsoft be charging you money to try this? Are your hard-spent pounds and dollars going to be whittled away by what is, by definition, a buggy and unfinished game? Or are they going to throw a chance to play one of the most anticipated games of 2007 at you for free?

The maps, too, intrigue me. Does the fact that they are 360 only mean that we are seeing a new side of Halo 2? Is another layer of pure shine being coated on Halo 2's (somewhat dated) engine? Are we seeing the previously unseeable side of Halo 2, due to the limitations of the original Xbox? Or is it simply more of the same?

I suppose the biggest question surrounding all of this is why? Why announce it now? Why release a public beta in spring? The simplest answer is this: The PS3. The spring beta happily coincides with the European release of the PS3, and the news today happily coincides with the release of the PS3 in America and Japan. Talk about a buzz killer.