Black Ops 3 beta: Everything you need to know about the new Call of Duty multiplayer

Playstation 3 owners will be able to take a sneak peek at the multiplayer gameplay this week

Fans wait in line to play Black Ops 3 at E3 in June (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

PS4 owners, you're in luck - Treyarch have opened the doors to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 beta, letting those with a code get a taste of the game's online multiplayer ahead of official 6 November release date.

The easiest way to get one of these beta codes is to preorder the game - however, PlayStation says each retailer only has a limited number of beta codes, so get in there quick if you want one. If you preorder the game on the PlayStation Store, then you'll automatically get access to the beta.

The beta runs from 19 to 23 August, so it's only a short window to try it out - but with the long list of new features included in the multiplayer, it looks well worth giving a shot.

The beta includes three maps - Hunted, a big game hunting lodge in the Ethipoian mountains, Combine, a vertical farming facility in the Sahara desert, and Evac, an abandoned evacuation zone in flooded Singapore.

Beta gamers will be able to play the team deathmatch, hardpoint, demolition, domination, kill confirmed, capture the flag and search and destroy game modes. Unfortunately, the zombies and campaign modes won't be available in the beta.

So far it's pretty similar to past games, but one big new feature is the introduction of specialists - different classes of multiplayer characters, each with their own unique designs, abilities and weapons. It's a welcome split from the generic multiplayer characters of previous games.

Fortunately, the characters are only a template - the choice to customise killstreak perks and equipment is still completely down to the player.

You can use these characters to take advantage of the brand-new movement system, that lets players slide, power jump and wall-run around the map, sort of similar to the movement system used in Advanced Warfare.

The scenery and construction of the maps seems much more interactive than in previous games, allowing a much deeper gameplay experience.

For Xbox and PC owners, a separate beta will open on 26 August.