On a Thursday night after all the E3 shenanigans (and during our party, no less), we have word that Blizzard has begun the Wrath of the Lich King beta. Sources have told WoW Insider that the alpha phase reportedly shut down a few days ago and that invites should be going out soon for the beta. Additionally, a Blizzard site has gone live to help gamers get the beta set up. Are you one of the lucky few to get an invite? You can check out the patch notes here.

News

• WWI attendees get their own pet, Archangel Tyrael
  Turns out the folks at WWI were even luckier than we thought.
• Rumor: Wrath of the Lich King box revealed
  See what the game you'll be buying later this year actually looks like.
• US registration for Wrath beta now open
  Blizzard has opened up an opt-in for players in the US and EU, and we're that much closer to release.
• Rumor: Wrath of the Lich King collector's edition box
  But what we really want to know is what's inside it.
• Kisirani implies the return of the Scourge Invasion event
  Looks like Arthas and his cronies will step foot back in Azeroth at least once more.

Features

• Things that annoy me
  Allison Robert open up a legendary can of rant for the Fourth of July weekend.
• Ask a Lore Nerd: The swirling vortex of death
  The Lore Nerd ruins his cool forever by knowing so much nerdy history about Azeroth, but you get to reap the benefits!
• The Creamy GUI Center: Big bag blowout
  Our UI column tells you how to make the most of those bags in your inventory.
• WoW Crossword
  We premiere a brand new Sunday morning feature on WoW Insider for you xword fans.
• Archangel Tyrael pet revealed
  The world of Diablo visits the world of Warcraft yet again.

In case your appetite for voice-controlled strategizing hasn't been whetted enough by the bountiful beta leaks, an Ubisoft Forum Manager has announced that you can get "access to the exclusive Stress Test" (i.e. early playtime) for Tom Clancy's End War by pre-ordering the game at participating retailers. More details are said to be forthcoming; a stress test registration page has been unearthed on the End War website that lists July 8 as the opening day.

[Via Damngamer]

Blizzard has opened US registration for the Wrath of the Lich King beta. American World of Warcraft players should probably head over to this page now and register for a chance to opt in. Two helpful reminders:

1. Registering for the beta does not guarantee you a chance to play. It just adds your name to a pool of potential players that Blizzard will choose from.
   
2. Beware of e-mail scams. This is the official URL: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/beta-opt-in.html

Whether or not you get into the beta, be sure to check out WoW Insider for up-to-date coverage.
[Via WoW Insider]

We admit that we have an obsession with Little Big Planet, bordering on addiction. It's something with which we're trying our best to cope, a therapy helped somewhat by Media Molecule co-founder and technical guru David Smith. We like to think of his recent interview with Eurogamer as a kind of patch, letting information seep into our bloodstreams, taking the edge off as we pine for the game's October release.

Among the number of topics discussed, Smith spoke out in support of the game's beta testing, something he noted as being "in progress," and -- contrary to earlier reports -- that "it should gradually grow to include more people." In addition, with the recent addition of Trophies, he stated that the team is "having a lot of fun working out what trophies most fit" Little Big Planet, teasing that one will involve "making your sackperson be thrown at some huge velocity." Check out the full interview for more words strung together about Little Big Planet. We'll be quietly twitching in the corner.

The Super Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Deluxe Your Mom HD Remix beta started yesterday and, for those who just can't bring themselves to buy Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, we've placed some videos of what the beta looks like after the break. Although we received numerous complaints yesterday that the beta wasn't working properly, this seems a good a time as any to link the definition: Beta. For those who are playing the SSFIITHDR beta -- and actually have it working properly -- what do you think?

By the time you read this, there's a good chance the above video has already been pulled. However, if you're lucky enough to be reading Joystiq religiously (as you should), enjoy some leaked Gears of War 2 beta footage, care of Analog Hype.

Update: Now with more footage, including executions and "death crawls," after the break.

[Via X3F]

Just in case you've completely forgotten why you really bought Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 on Xbox Live Arcade in the first place, allow us to jog your memory: the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beta begins today. To access the beta, owners of Commando 3 should select the "SFII HD Remix Beta" option from the game's main menu, which will take them to a blade where they confirm the download. The SSFIITHDR beta will reside in the demo section of the games blade.

The beta will give players the option of using only Ken or Ryu in various online modes or in local two-player matches. Remember, this is a beta, so the actual purpose of it is to stress-test the network code for the multiplayer modes of the game. The beta will run until around August 20 or whenever Capcom decides to pull the plug. Don't worry, you'll probably get bored of Ken and Ryu by then.

Update: Ubi lawyer-ninjas (totally different than ninja-lawyers) move quick. Video is down.

It's off some guy's television screen and the audio is horrible, but if you're itching to see what Tom Clancy's EndWar looks like, some naughty beta-tester uploaded a video of the game for all to see.

Now watch the video above and enjoy the fruits of somebody breaking their non-disclosure agreement (NDA). If the video suddenly disappears, the Ubi lawyer-ninjas probably got to it. Now we need to photoshop some lawyer-ninjas in case that actually happens. Watch ... while you still can.

[Via X3F]

We'll be honest, at this point we wish Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix would finally release just so we never have to double-check that we spelled the title's name correctly again, but we still have this beta to get through. The Capcom Blog says the beta will begin June 25 and can only be accessed by purchasing the Xbox 360 version of Commando 3, which released today on XBLA.

On June 25, owners of Commando 3 will gain entry to the SSFIITHDR portion of the menu, which will take them to an XBL blade where they can download the beta. Capcom reiterates that the beta is unfortunately only available on Xbox 360 and not PS3. The release of SSFIITHDRWTFGTFOBBQ simply can't come fast enough.

[Via X3F]

Several Joystiq readers have clued us in on a private beta for Tom Clancy's EndWar coming in June. Now Ubisoft has posted a signup page for those who have received an invitation, and a few details are given.

The three-week beta will take place during both June and July and is available only for Xbox 360 players. You will be able to play three maps in online 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 matches. The beta, available in English only, requires participants to have Xbox Live Gold membership, broadband internet connection and 3GB of hard drive space. The beta is available in English only.

[Via X3F; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

This is one of those rare posts that we, in the industry, like to call "easy." When we tell you that sign-ups for the Battlefield Heroes beta are now open, the odds are that you've already beat cheeks down to the "Read" link. And that's just fine with us, because it means we can relax our brain muscle, confident in the fact that only us and the spam spiders are reading the text.

It also means we can use the rest of this space to cop to something we otherwise wouldn't with millions of prying eyes around. ... We've completely turned the corner on Uwe Boll. He's out of his mind, he'll fight anyone and he's possibly the greatest self-promoter alive. We love him. And if you're a theater owner who won't show Postal, we think you're a jerk. There, we said it. ... OK, well, good luck with the beta thing, not that you're here any more.

[Via Eurogamer]

Through the hard times, through the delays, fans of LittleBigPlanet -- or at least people who think they will be fans of LittleBigPlanet -- have been comforted by the fact that whenever the game arrives they'll be getting an early look at it through the oft-promised public beta of the game. Now, our friends at PS3 Fanboy are sadly reporting that they were bedside to see the public beta's death rattle.

There's still a chance that a limited number of gamers will be invited into Sony's internal beta or that a demo will make its way to awaiting PS3s. But for now, we must wait and hope and design our platforming levels with the only materials we've ever needed: Notebook paper, a Sharpie and a boring lecture in algebra class.

We're guessing that you missed your chance to grab an entry code for the Metal Gear Online beta, or you'd probably be too busy spending your Saturday afternoon brushing up on your CQC to read our humble gaming news site. Well, wipe away those tears of regret, little one, and we'll make you a deal -- check out this radical gameplay footage from the beta (including a very satisfying conclusion involving a dude launcher) to slake your thirst for Kojima's sneaky-creepy multiplayer outing, and we'll take you out for Chuck E. Cheese's. Sure, it won't do much to dull your regret, but you'll be too busy wondering why this restaurant elected to have a rat for a mascot to worry about all the online stealth action you're missing out on.