January 4th, 2010 at 1:08 pm -

Whether you never got into the MAG closed beta or did and couldn't wait to get back to playing the game, gamers worldwide are invited back to participate in the week-long open beta of MAG that has gone live today. You don't need to have pre-ordered the game or anything of the sort to get in -- it's a free download and you're in. If you haven't already downloaded the beta client, here are the instructions on how to get started:

1. Log on to the PlayStation Store, Select "View All By Title -> M Titles -> MAG" and download the MAG Beta file like you would any other freely-available PSN video or demo (298 MB)
2. Launch the MAG Beta program from your XMB to download a special patch that will restart MAG once the update has been received (another 37 MB)
3. After the reboot, the Beta will reconnect and download the actual game data so that you can play (1.8 GB - 2.3 GB depending on your region)

Once you've downloaded everything, you'll be able to play from now through the end of the beta period, January 10 at 11:59 p.m. Two different game modes are available for play in the beta: sabotage with 64 players and domination with the game's full load of 256 players.

The game's release is just around the corner -- January 26 in North America. Should the beta not be enough excitement for you, developer Zipper Interactive will be holding an event for the first 100 MAG fans who show up at their hotel at the Consumer Electronic Show later this week.