Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception for the Sony PlayStation 3 from developer Naughty Dog is still several months away, but eager fans can get in on the action a little earlier with the upcoming multiplayer beta that's set to launch on June 28, 2011.  PlayStation Plus members get into the beta automatically, while others will have to buy a specially marked copy of Infamous 2 (which I'm betting many Uncharted fans were already planning to do) in order to join in before everyone is invited in July.  While you wait for June, Naughty Dog has debuted a new trailer to show some out-of-context scenes from the Uncharted 3 multiplayer experience as well as outline some new information about the multiplayer mode itself.  It's a very long read over at the PlayStation Blog, but here's a piece of it:

New to Uncharted 3 multiplayer is character customization. Both heroes and villains skins will have a hundreds of customizable parts, from accessories to shirts and pants to a deep weapon customization feature. Even named characters, like Drake or Sully, will get plenty of options to make your character your own. Hand in hand with customization is our emblem editor. If you’ve worked with emblem editors in other games, you’ll be pretty familiar with the one we’ve implemented in Uncharted 3. Our emblem editor extends the level of customization of your online profile with hundreds of decals, three layers, rotate and scale functions – you’ll see your final emblem on your character and even possibly in the environment during matches.

Speaking of weapon customizations – it goes beyond the cosmetic. We have weapon mods that not only change the look of your weapon of choice, but they are functional too, adding precise scopes, bigger clips and more!

I liked the Uncharted 2 multiplayer, but like so many online shooters, the advantage went to those who have the time to play for dozens of hours per week.  I'm much more interested in hearing about a return of cooperative modes for this new sequel so that my pals and I can team up and take on challenges at our own pace and at our own levels of experience.  Not all of us are made of free time, and there's a reason why I generally prefer single-player modes in my favorite games.