Gamers with beta keys for Halo 3 can begin playing at midnight on May 16.

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Just the sight of that number in the signature Halo font sends chills down the spines of millions of gamers around the world. Those chills turned to conniptions this morning when Bungie, the creators of Halo and the guardians of all that is awesome in the universe, announced the dates for the highly anticipated Halo 3 multiplayer beta test. Beginning at midnight PDT on May 16 and ending at 11:59pm PDT on June 6, gamers who have procured beta keys will be able to download the game files to their Xbox 360 and begin playing.

There will be three maps included in the beta — Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla — and each will be playable in several different game types, although exactly which game types have not been revealed. Some of the mysteries of Halo 3‘s multiplayer will be revealed, including the new use of the X button, which apparently deploys special items like trips mines, a portable gravity lift, and the bubble shield. The shield has been the topic of much speculation since it was first shown in the remarkable “Starry Night” ad that aired during last year’s Super Bowl. Exactly how it works — does everyone get one or is it a pickup, is it on a timer or does it disappear after it absorbs a certain amount of damage? — is still not known, but Bungie has finally confirmed that it exists in the game and will be usable in the beta. However, Bungie has been clear that not all game elements new to Halo 3 will appear in the beta, so there will still be plenty of surprises when the full game is released this Fall.

This morning Bungie also released a short documentary about the making of Halo 3 multiplayer. Titled Is Quisnam Protero Damno!, it shows players using some of the new abilities like trip mines and the bubble shield. It also shows a new feature: instant replays. In Halo 3, you will be able to record snippets of each game and play them back, complete with customizable camera angles, slow motion, and freeze frame. The documentary is now available for download on both Bungie‘s website (www.bungie.net) and Xbox Live.

There have been a few different ways to enter the beta test, most of which are now closed; but if you don’t have your key yet it’s not too late: specially-marked boxes of the new Xbox 360 game Crackdown include a beta key. Thankfully, Crackdown is great fun in its own right, so it won’t feel like you’re spending $60 just for the Halo 3 beta. But as any die-hard Halo fan will tell you, $60 is money well spent in return for three glorious weeks of Halo 3. That’s 528 hours of Halo, a mere 11¢ per day!