The players must hunt down targets while being hunted themselves. Players earn points by performing assassinations, defending against pursuers, attaining bonuses or completing mode-specific objectives. It also contains a variety of characters, most of which must be unlocked. The multiplayer mode also includes a leveling system, which allows players to unlock rewards by earning experience points during the matches and gaining new levels. Players can then unlock abilities, perks, and streaks. Abilities are active skills, which can be used again only after a cooldown time. Perks are passive skills, which can be equipped before the match and they are active all the time. Streaks are bonuses awarded for reaching a certain number of successful or failed contracts. The multiplayer beta, exclusive to PlayStation 3 users, was announced at E3 2010. It began on October 4, 2010, with early access for PlayStation Plus subscribers from September 27, and ended on October 18, 2010. Three maps were playable in the beta: Rome, Castel Gandolfo, and Siena. In "Wanted", at least six players are on a map where they must find and assassinate each other. Each player is given another player as a target. The goal is to find and kill a target without being seen or killed by the player's assigned pursuer or pursuers. Players are indistinguishable from some of the NPC's throughout the maps. If the player kills an NPC by mistake or otherwise breaks cover, they are more easily spotted by pursuer or target alike, sometimes resulting in a chase. The player with the highest score at the end of the session wins. Players will lose their contract if they kill an NPC, are stunned by their target or their target is killed by another player. A player cannot kill another player who is not the target, but they can stun their hunter. "Advanced Wanted" mode is a variant of "Wanted" mode, with differences including an increased amount of NPCs on the map to make it difficult to pick out targets and a less accurate compass. There is generally more stealth involved in this mode than in basic "Wanted". The "Assassinate" mode is similar to "Wanted", but instead of target contracts being assigned to players, all players are fair game. Players must identify other player characters and lock-on before assassinating. Because two players can kill each other, whoever locks on first becomes the hunter and the other becomes the target. The standard compass found in "Wanted" is replaced by directional arrows based on proximity, that grow to become arcs around the perimeter of the compass as other players near, and will eventually create a full circle when other players are very close.