Sign-ups for the beta have been ongoing on the DUST 514 website for a series of weeks now, but with such high demand you can bet that tons of players are still wondering if their code is going to arrive in time for the weekend. All is not lost failing that though, as you can now purchase the DUST 514 Mercenary Pack which will give you an ‘all access’ beta pass, among other juicy goodies.

For the price of £13.99 or $19.99, you’ll also get a series of exclusive extras, including a few items that regular players won’t be able to access. For example, the pack also includes the “Dragonfly” Scout dropsuit and the “Toxin” ICD-9 Submachine Gun, both of which are permanent items to your inventory.

You’ll also get HK4M Shotgun x 50, Hacked Drop Uplink x 50, Fused Locus Grenade x 50, 1.5dn Myofibril Stimulant x 50 and a 30-day Active Skill Booster which increases all your skill points by 50%. That sounds like great value alone doesn’t it, since you get this plus the beta pass – but there’s more.

The Mercenary Pack also serves as a great introductory add-on to get you used to the way micro-transactions work in the game. As you know, DUST 514 is a free to play game, but most of your equipment and weaponry can be bought using the in game currency Aurum and ISK. The Mercenary Pack also includes a generous 4,000 Aurum allowing you to start buying items and the actual value of this Aurum in USD is 20, so really a great deal here – you’re basically getting all the goodies for free if you invest in this.

Don’t forget that the beta all access key allows you to get into every single beta taking place after June. The game isn’t releasing until later on in the year so there’s bound to be a few more tests to come. We haven’t even had a chance to try out the Mercenary Pack ourselves yet, but it looks like the perfect starter kit for your DUST 514 adventure.

The question is though – do you already have your beta key for the game? Will you be buying this pack or not?

Let’s get the important news out of the way. After previously announcing a special closed beta for EVE Online players and attendees of EVE Fanfest, CCP has now announced details on when everyone else will have an opportunity to test the game.

A closed beta is going live on Friday June 29th and if you haven’t already signed up on the beta page, you can leave your email address to be in with a chance here. Players will be chosen at random, but we’re hearing there will be 10,000 beta keys up for grabs via PlayStation Home, so there should be plenty of opportunity to get into the beta this time around.

We’ll also be trying to get some keys for you, so stay tuned throughout the month for more details. Aside from the beta details, CCP also revealed that their PS Vita DUST 514 ‘app’ will now be known as DUST 514: Neocom. Neocom will be a free download and will serve PS Vita owners with three main areas of the DUST 514 universe – customization, communication and trade. You can purchase items straight from the PS Vita, communicate with your team via friends list and also set up strategies in advance with other Neocom users before you head into battle on PS3.

CCP has said that Neocom will be available ‘alongside’ DUST 514, so we’re presuming that the app will be available at the exact moment the game launches on PS3 – there’s still no confirmed release date yet other than later on this year. Finally, CCP has also treated fans to some brand new gameplay as part of E3 2012 and you can check that out below.

The gameplay has been taken directly from the beta, so it’s also a great preview of what is to come if you manage to get in on June 29th. If you are an EVE Online player and have already played DUST 514, give us your initial impressions of the game.