The moment has now arrived for Crysis fans, as EA are now ready for open beta testing of the upcoming Crysis 3 game. Developers Crytek have sent out word that the multiplayer beta will soon be available for everyone on all platforms, and servers will be kept open for two weeks giving you plenty of time to decide whether the game is worth paying for upon release or not.

There is a lot of promise that Crysis 3 running on the new CryEngine3 tech can be one of the standout games of 2013. It has been in alpha testing as of November, but now we all get to see what the game is really like and if actual gameplay is good enough compared to the impressive cinematic teases that we have had for the game so far.

The beta is available for all three platforms – PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Open beta testing will commence on January 29 and will run for two weeks just before the full release of the game on February 19. The Museum map was the only map available in alpha testing, but now Crytek are opening up another map, Airport, for open multiplayer testing.

There will also be two modes playable in the beta, Crash Site which you may already have heard about, and a new game mode called Hunter. This will be a survival based mode where two players play as Hunters armed with Predator crossbows, and the rest of the team play as Cell troopers who have to survive as long as possible within a time limit.

We can also confirm that beta testing will have a level cap of 10, but there will still be various nanosuit customization options available. We’re not sure if your data will carry over to the full game, but hopefully we can confirm this a little later for you. Let us know if you will be participating in the beta and if you agree that Crysis 3 has the potential to be a highlight of 2013.

That is a bold statement to make, especially when you consider other visually impressive games such as The Last of Us and Final Fantasy 14 that are both on the way to the PS3 in 2013. Crysis 2 was obviously a good looking game in its own right, but publicly stating that Crysis 3 is going to be the best ever seen on Xbox 360 and PS3 – that is surely worth a closer look.

Cevat Yerli is the CEO of Crytek and he hasn’t shied away in the past about bigging up the company’s Crysis portfolio. The first Crysis game on PC was considered a benchmark for how good PC games can look like, but it is also worth noting that not everyone saw Crysis 2 on console in the same shining light.

Still though, Crysis 3 is on course for a release in the first quarter of 2013 and Yerli has revealed that the game is currently maxing out the PS3 and Xbox 360, with ‘not even 1%’ left to utilize. He added that Crysis 3 is also going to be the best looking game ever technically, to come out on current consoles and that the game is even next-gen ready right now.

He also felt the need to single out Halo and Gears of War, to inform us that the data level in Crysis 3 is going to be far superior than these games. We hear a lot of talk about GTA V and The Last of Us being the two stand out games of 2013, but do you think Crysis 3 deserves an honorable mention as well?

Do you agree with Cevat that the game is on course to be the best we’ve ever seen on PS3 and Xbox 360? We have a feeling that other developers will disagree with this claim, but let’s see. Nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition.

It goes without saying that this is a bold statement indeed, but after seeing what Crytek were capable of with the first Crysis game on PC that blew everyone away, who’s to bet against them in saying that they won’t be able to achieve their goal?

Crytek’s Director of Creative Development Rasmus Højengaard made the statement in a recent interview with GamerZines. As well as aiming for the best looking game ever made, he revealed that Crytek are also looking to ‘push’ the technology as much as possible. It may seem a bit optimistic after mixed opinions about Crysis 2 which arrived on console, but there’s no doubt that the first gameplay trailer released for Crysis 3 is nothing short of mouthwatering.

The visuals are looking first class and dare we say it puts Modern Warfare 3 to shame in a direct comparison of graphics quality. The game will utilize the new CryEngine 3 and along with The last of Us, it looks like we have two upcoming games (on PS3 anyway) that will seriously push the boundaries on what the PS3 can still produce, eight years on since its launch back in 2006.

Watch the announcement trailer below for yourself and tell us if you think Crysis 3 is on the right track in becoming ‘the best looking game ever’. If you disagree with Crytek, what game do you think currently owns this title? There’s no word on if this is PC graphics we’re seeing here, or console. Perhaps Crytek will shed some light on this in their next reveal for the game.

This seems to have come out of nowhere, but it looks certain now that we’re just days away from a Crysis 3 announcement. To bring you up to speed, the rumors first started to appear when images were found on the Origin store. These images revealed the box art for the console and PC versions of the game and can be seen at the saved image here.

Following that, another image has been uncovered by Eurogamer and speculation from the images has begun to suggest that the game may be set in either New York or London. Given the global attention that this leak has now received, it has prompted Crytek’s CEO Cevat Yerli to seemingly confirm the existance of Crysis 3.

In a cryptic Tweet, he has said that ‘the best kept secret in shooters cannot be contained it seems’. He also told his followers to stay tuned for an announcement on April 16. We’re not sure about you, but it doesn’t get any more concrete than that and how often do we see a CEO of a company react to a AAA game leak like that? Sony wouldn’t certainly do anything similar.

So with Crysis 3 on the way, how do you feel about a third game in the franchise? There were mixed feelings over Crysis 2, although the game does have a decent score on Metacritic, with the PC version managing an 86 compared to the console versions on 84 (Xbox 360) and 85 (PS3) respectively.

Another factor worth mentioning is that it also means that Crysis 3 will become a current gen game. It looks to be a 2012 if not 2013 release game, which immediately rules out the possibility of the game being a next-gen console game. Is this disappointing to you, or are you just happy to see another Crysis 3 game in the works so soon after Crysis 2? Personally, we would have liked to see this running on brand new hardware, but there’s always Crysis 4 in another couple of years time.

The Crysis franchise is famed for its stunning graphics, so it looks like Crytek will once again have their work cut out to maximize the potential of the Xbox 360 and PS3 to make Crysis 3 look even better than Crysis 2. Will they be able to pull it off though?