Zombie football players versus cactus' in cowboy hats. Sunflowers versus zombie scientists. Cornstrikes. Potato mines. So goes EA and Popcap's hilarious multiplayer shooter Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, and next month fans will finally get their hands on the sequel.

As it turns out, however, players will actually get a chance to take the new game for a spin much earlier. EA has announced Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 will be getting an open multiplayer beta on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 starting Jan. 14 and ending on Jan. 18.

Players will get the chance to try out each of the game's new six character classes, including Rose, Kernel Corn, Captain Deadbeard and the Z-Mech, as well as all of the classes from the first entry in the series. Several modes will be available for players to try out, ranging from the 24-man battles of Gardens and Graveyards and the new Herbal Assault mode to PvZ: GW2's king-of-the-hill inspired Flag of Power gametype.

All this will take place on four new maps: Moon Base Z, Frosty Creek, Z-Tech Factory and Seeds of time. Compared with many betas, it seems like there is a lot of content to explore in this early look at the game.

To play the beta, all you need to do is download it once it goes live on the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live, no sign-up required. If you're still trying to figure out what exactly this game is all about, EA has released a very informative beta trailer below to help get you up to speed.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 arrives Feb 23 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.