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Sony's next big "Play Create Share" game, ModNation Racers, will be available for everyone to play starting December 18th -- provided you have a beta code from LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition or a Qore subscription. The beta will run all the way through January 10th, giving testers ample time to try out the many tools included in the beta, such as the character creation system (viewable after the break).

The PlayStation.Blog and a number of other sites are bound to be giving away beta codes. If you're not willing to shell out the dough for LBP or Qore, these contests may be the only way to get an early sneak peek at United Front Games' racer.

Got some complaint about MAG that you'd like to directly file with the game's creators? You'll have your chance to do so this Friday, when a number of Zipper Interactive staffers will join in the Shadow War as part of the beta's closing ceremonies. All you have to do is join in a fight, and keep an eye out for squads using the clan tag [ZIP]. According to the developer's blog, they'll be playing for two hours starting at 9 p.m. EST.

Remember, present your suggestions in a courteous, congenial manner. For instance, "hello, Zipper Interactive employee. I think the game would be improved by limiting the number of times a first aid kit can be used in a single spawn. Thank you so much for listening. I'm going to fire bullets at you now, okay?"

[Via CVG]

Let's be honest: the second year of Qore hasn't been too great. The first year was filled with tons of bonus content, such as free downloads of Spyro, Linger in Shadows, High Velocity Bowling, Syphon Filter, and the Uncharted 2 beta. Tomorrow's issue, however, will finally end the freebie dry spell.

In addition to previews of Dark Void, White Knight Chronicles and The Saboteur, subscribers will be able to get free entry into the ModNation Racers beta. The deal will be available to all current and new subscribers, provided you join up before December 15th. Will this beta code push you to get the $25 annual subscription?

See a preview of the next episode after the break.

If you find yourself coming up short in your quest for victory in the PS3-exclusive multiplayer beta for Bad Company 2, the development team at DICE has a few pointers to help reduce the gap between your win and loss statistics. Bad Company 2 level designer Inge Jøran "Pirelli" Holberg posted a laundry list of tips for attackers and defenders for the beta's Arica Harbor map.

With the map's design in mind, Holberg's tips feature a slew of ideas on how you can destroy specific areas of the map to redirect adversary foot traffic -- right into the sights of your favorite firearm. Our tips? Keep shooting people on the other team and you're bound to win eventually. We're professionals here, folks.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2's associate producer and dedicated server of official blog updates, Gordon Van Dyke, has assured fans that the PC beta will still happen -- though later than expected. "With the huge success of the PS3 Beta we decided to drastically increase the PC Beta's capacity to insure as many people as possible could participate," Van Dyke wrote. "Unfortunately this meant we had to delay the Beta to very early next year giving us more planning time to make it happen and implement more optimizations."

The PC version of DICE's first-person, military-person shooter will boast full support for DirectX 11, a maximum of 32 active players (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions go up to 24), clans, friend lists and dedicated servers, which is that controversial thing we referenced in the previous paragraph.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will arrive on store shelves in March 2, 2010. It's the one that ups the lone-soldier-walking-towards-you ante with some helicopters, a tank and another soldier that is slightly farther away.

MAG is a pretty ridiculous title, but it does perfectly sum up what the game is all about. Massive Action Game is the first console game to feature 128 vs. 128 online multiplayer matches, which you'll be able to try tomorrow with the debut of beta 4.5.

We want you to join the Joystiq army: a 128-person squad of loyal Joystiq readers ready to represent us online. The PlayStation Network will tremble, with the Joystiq team striking fear into all that dare to step into MAG. Together, world domination will be ours!*

But, you say you're not in the MAG beta? Well, we'll fix that right now! Become a Joystiq fan on Facebook and you'll be able to score yourself a code.

Star Trek Online may launch on Stardate 63554.5 (February 2, 2010), but beginning January 12, fans can beam into the open beta. The intergalactic guinea pig session will take place from January 12 until January 26. Players interested in kicking the warp nacelles should head on over to startrekonline.com to enroll.

If you're also interested in learning more about life in the 25th century, check out some of Star Trek Online's videos and developer interviews.

With the launch of Assassin's Creed 2 today, Ubisoft has officially lifted the veil on its Achievement/Trophy-like "Uplay" program. First revealed at E3 (though minimally detailed), Ubisoft claims it to be an "online destination where gamers are at the center of a connected gaming universe," intended to link all Ubisoft titles across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Players can access the Uplay portal through the web or in-game, with AC2 being the first title to include the still-in-beta service.

Of the "four primary services" Uplay includes – titled "Win," "Help," "Share" and "shop" – only Uplay Win is currently available in the beta. Ubisoft explains Uplay Win as "[enabling] players to collect units based on their actions in the games and exchange them for rewards such as exclusive in-game content or digital items," the first of which are an Altaïr outfit and "access to the Auditore Family Crypt" (among other things). We've yet to fully plunge the depths of Uplay's offerings in Assassin's Creed 2, but if there's anything really exciting, we'll be sure to let you know all about it. Keep it locked!

The MAG beta program is getting one final, well-timed push before Zipper Interactive gears up to launch the impossibly oversized shooter. The game has officially moved onto Beta Phase 4 -- a shift which not only makes 6,000 changes within the game (including modifications to the skill tree and an increased level cap), but also makes the beta exclusively available to those who've pre-ordered the online FPS at GameStop.

Yes, if you've been playing the beta using one of the other promotional access codes, you'll be shut out of the proceedings. However, as a side bonus, Zipper is now keeping the game's servers open all day, every day. That's right, you no longer need to sacrifice your nightly Murder, She Wrote viewings to adhere to the beta's odd schedule. Thanks, Zipper!

Announced yesterday, the multiplayer beta for EA and DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is going to give PS3 owners (and only PS3 owners) a one map appetizer on November 19 for the main course coming March 2, 2010. The beta features one match type -- Rush, a version of Bad Company's Gold Rush ... only without the gold -- and takes place in the sun-baked seaside locale of Arica Harbor.

Last week, we took part in a 24-player stress test for the beta (the version coming Nov. 19 will support 24 players, as will the final game) and came away rattled but ready for more. You can read about how it all went down after the break.

PS3 owners will soon have another exclusive to brag about in addition to Uncharted 2. EA and DICE announced today that the multiplayer beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will launch on Thursday, November 19, exclusively on Sony's console. As with the recent God of War III demo, a beta code will be offered as a pre-order incentive from GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy (visit the game's official site to check which other retailers are participating).

The beta will focus on one of Bad Company 2's new multiplayer game types: Rush. This multi-stage battle takes place on a map called Arica Harbor, which is broken into unique areas for each round. American forces push forward on foot and in vehicles to scrap with Russian troops outside a military base, in an urban environment and eventually at the harbor itself in a "last stand" scenario.

EA plans to begin a PC round of the beta in December, followed up by an all-new multiplayer demo for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC early next year. The finished game hits shelves on March 2, 2010. We recently had the opportunity to play in the multiplayer beta and will bring you our hands-on impressions tomorrow morning, November 6 at 9:00 a.m. PT / noon ET.

We were warned yesterday about phishers scamming folks out of personal info, promising entry into a Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta that hadn't even been announced. It seems they weren't completely off the mark though, as EA told Blend Games that details about a BF:BC 2 beta would arrive this week. If you remember, GameStop recently posted -- then pulled -- a listing that claimed those who pre-ordered the game would receive entry into a beta starting November 19.

You know what this means, don't you? It's our worst fears made flesh: Online phishing scammers who can see into the future. Well, it's been nice knowing you, civilization.

[Via Blue's News]

Looks like a certain beta testing community hasn't neglected its duties as a stalwart lookout for bugs, errors and other unsavory in-game snafus. This morning, Zipper Interactive launched a patch for the MAG beta client which includes over 8,000 updates and bug fixes. The patch will be automatically downloaded and installed next time you hop into the Shadow War.

A brief synopsis of the important changes can be found after the jump. We elected to not include the full list of 8,000 updates, as it would have delayed this post until mid-April, at which point it would have been fairly useless to you.

Almost three weeks after Realtime Worlds CEO Gary Dale teased us with the chance to go hands-on with APB, the developer's marketing head, John Davies, has confirmed to VG247 that the first wave of closed beta invites for the pseudo-MMO have been sent out. We realize this news will either find you unsurprised (i.e., you already received an invite) or disheartened (i.e., you didn't), but we thought we'd pass it along regardless, as crushing your spirits is one of our very favorite pastimes.

Aww, don't cry. Now you're just bringing us down. Hey, you can still apply to join the APBeta on the game's official site. Who knows, you might just get accepted instantaneously. There might be an invite in your inbox right this second! Just ... just buck up, okay?

Cryptic executive producer Craig Zinkievich has confirmed with Videogamer that the upcoming Star Trek Online is set to launch during the first quarter of next year -- which falls in line with an Atari document we reported on back in May. Zinkievich also confirmed that Cryptic will soon offer gamers a taste of the experience to come, stating that the game's closed beta is "right around the corner."

Though Videogamer set its phaser to "pester," Zinkievich wouldn't budge on any details about release date beyond the quoted Q1 2010 placeholder, citing that he would receive the full wrath of the marketing department should he crack. We'd like to imagine said department being full of Klingons, but we all know Cardassians really make the best marketers.