Hawken closed beta due in two short weeks, sign-up details within

In advance of the game's December 12th launch, Hawken devs Adhesive Games are running a series of closed beta sessions, the first of which is due at the end of the month. You can sign up here for a chance to take part in the first event running October 26th to the 29th. Doing so will let you choose your in-game callsign ahead of the robo-battling game's release. I'm going with 'Iceman', unless it's already been nabbed by someone else.

Two new pieces of machinery have also been revealed: a mech capable of transforming into a turret (doesn't sound particularly helpful), plus a Repair Torch weapon that can patch up your fellow robots. If you want to know what one of those looks like, we've included a sexy, military grey pinup below.

If you're not excited about the free-to-play mech-battling game, then you haven't been paying close enough attention. Kickstart your education by reading our recent hands-on preview , or by watching the second half of District 9.

Corrections: Closed beta dates after October have not been announced, and were posted in error. The term "browser-based" has also been retracted.

Tom Sykes

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.