Uncharted 3 beta starts June 28

With the multiplayer beta for the Xbox 360-exclusive Gears of War officially kicking off today, Sony has announced that PlayStation 3 owners have a multiplayer beta for their own highly touted exclusive on the way.

Sony today announced that the multiplayer beta for Naughty Dog's upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will go live on June 28 for PlayStation Plus members and customers who purchased Infamous 2. The beta will open to the rest of the PlayStation 3 user base on July 5.

The beta will give players a chance to try out Uncharted 3's revamped multiplayer mode. In addition to new features like character customization, the ability to join games in progress, and same-console split-screen, Uncharted 3 multiplayer will feature levels that attempt to capture more of the flavor of the single-player campaign. For example, The Airstrip map begins with players jumping between a cargo plane and a speeding convoy of trucks, and it ends with players shooting it out in one of the hangars as fighter planes attempt to perforate them with machine-gun fire.

When it arrives on November 1, Uncharted 3 will focus on protagonist Drake's search for a lost city, with the wily adventurer finding his way to the Arabian Peninsula and its bleak Empty Quarter. In addition to the new multiplayer overhauls, the game will feature stereoscopic 3D capability, new stealth and melee maneuvers, and more. The game will debut alongside the first novel based on the series, Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth. An Uncharted film directed by David O. Russell and starring Mark Wahlberg is also in the works.

For more on Uncharted 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.