ShadowRun is an intense FPS experience created for both XBOX 360 and Windows Vista that rewards cleverness and split-second improvisation through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology. Shadowrun will be the first game that uses LIVE to enable cross-platform gameplay. Enjoy text or voice messaging or send invitations to your friends playing Shadowrun on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live, Team up with or against your friends, PC vs. XBOX 360 – for revolutionary multiplayer gaming.

Halo2 won’t support cross-platform play (players on Xbox 360s vs. players on Vista PC) as this apparently wasn’t envisioned when the game was coded. The guide and gamer profiles will be accessible via Vista, which will be able to use the Xbox 360 controller. The initial release will apparently be missing some features like voice chat and webcams, which will come later.

One way is by playing Halo 2 on Xbox Live. In order to qualify, you have to play a total of three hours of games on Xbox Live between 12:01 AM (EST) on February 1, 2007 through 11:59 PM (EST) on February 3rd, 2007. According to the press release, if you play three hours of games during this period, you then go register via http://www.halo3.com for a chance to become a beta participant. Specifically, you have to play those games and then be among the first 13,333 players to register at the site.

Then there’s the guaranteed route: Anyone who purchases the upcoming Xbox 360 game “Crackdown” will get automatic entry into the Halo 3 beta. If you have a Crackdown disc you’ll be able to activate and download the beta once it goes live next Spring.

“We realize this latest announcement will spur a lot of questions, most of which we simply don’t have the answers to,” Bungie said on its web site. “While Bungie is obviously involved in the development of the beta and game itself, we don’t make the decisions regarding when, where and how the game content ultimately ends up in your hands. It’s really cool that our fans have the opportunity to share in our game early and in some ways actually help us polish the final product but ultimately we’re just developers – the business and consumer side of things are left up to our partners at MGS. As we get additional info and answers to your questions we will pass them along in future updates.”