If you're the kind of person who likes to consider Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2 to be competing franchises, this should please you: Resistance 2 will be released in North America on November 4th for PS3, just three days before Gears of War 2 arrives on 360. Sony's also revealed the details on the beta and Collector's Edition.

The Collector's Edition (suggested retail price $79.99) will come with the following goodies:

• An exclusive Chimeran Hybrid action figure with Bullseye weapon created by DC Unlimited.
• A double-sided hard-cover Resistance 2 art book covering war-torn America from two unique perspectives.
• Exclusive in-game HVAP Wraith multiplayer weapon skin
• Copy of Resistance 2 with special edition cover artwork selected by the fans

Along with all that, you'll also get a bonus DVD with the following content:

• A preview into the upcoming Resistance novel, “Resistance: The Gathering Storm” by well-known science fiction author William Dietz.
• “America Forever Lost”, Behind The Scenes video of Resistance 2 with Insomniac Games
• “Shattered History” Resistance chronology video — provides a visual guideline from the earliest days of the Chimera invasion to the current storyline.
• Digital copy of Issue #0 of the Resistance comic book series published by Wildstorm.

A beta for the cooperative and multiplayer modes is planned for early October. Players can guarantee themselves a spot in the beta in one of three ways: pre-ordering at Gamestop, subscribing to Sony's online mag Qore for a year, or buying the third episode of Qore. If you're the gambling type, you can register for the beta here for free but you might not get in. The folks who don't pay will also have to wait longer for the beta to open up for them, though it's not clear how long.