PSA - Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer beta tomorrow, preload now

It's a stabbity good time for PlayStation Plus subscribers along with a few lucky Uplay members tomorrow.

Ubisoft's limited closed beta for Asssassin's Creed: Revelations goes live on September 3 - although it's likely to be closer to Sunday for Antipodean players.

PlayStation Plus members can download the client once the local PSN updates, while some members of Ubisoft's loyalty program, Uplay, will be emailed with a beta key, providing they've lined to a PSN ID. Ubisoft have made the client available for preload before the beta goes live; if you fall in either category, keep your eye on your inbox for a code.

The beta will feature three maps, but only two - Knight's Hospital and Antioch - will be available at launch, with Cnstantinople to be added at a later date. Ubisoft has said the new game's maps are more strategic than Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's offerings, with greater opportunity to break your pursuer's line of sight and escape - or the reverse, of course.

There will be four modes available, two of which - Wanted and Manhunt - featured in Brotherhood. The first of the two new modes is Deathmatch, a four to eight player free-for-all of ten minutes, with no compass, no chases, and only one of each persona type.

The second new mode, which will be added at a later date, is Artifact Assault, a team based game of four to eight players. Players can only make kills in their own territory, and must retrieve an object from the opposing team's field, where they are open to attack.

Additional features include leaderboards, limited character customisation (ahead of full customisation at release), challenges, and playlists. Players will be capped at level 30, and unlockable abilities have been scaled to meet this ceiling, and are not representative of progress in the final game. Unlockables must now be purchased with Abstergo credits earned in game.

There will be nine characters, all of whom will be available from the get-go:

• The Sentinel – A Wallachian noble by birth and a former Assassin, Vali cel Tradat seeks satisfaction through vengeance.
  Favored weapon: Long Katar
• The Vanguard – Oksana Razin worked for the Templars as a spy before joining their Order, exchanging loyalty for wealth.
  Favored weapon: Small Axe
• The Guardian – The estranged cousin of a Sultan, Odai Dunqas embraces the Templar ideology of seeking peace through order and stability.
  Favored weapon: Lance
• The Vizier – Damat Ali Pasha joined the Templars in hopes of bringing order and glory to a world ruled by chaos.
  Favored weapon: Sword
• The Thespian – The Templars often rely on Lysistrata’s seductive charisma to influence Ottoman officials and visiting monarchs.
  Favored weapon: Dagger
• The Deacon – Cyril of Rhodes uses his position in the Church to destroy it from within and further Templar dominance.
  Favored weapon: Long Sword
• The Bombardier – Kadir is a strong asset to the Templars. He trades weapons and information for money and power.
  Favored weapon: Mace
• The Trickster – A canny thief, the fortune-teller Mirela Djuric is the Templars’ link to a vast underworld of criminal activity.
  Favored weapon: Dagger
• The Champion – The professional fighter Georgios Kostas has earned the Templars’ esteem and the right to fight for the red cross.
  Favored weapon: Small Axe

For more information, visit the Assassin's Creed: Revelations website. The game launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November.