Many refer to the Call of Duty mockingly, referring to it as the butt of jokes usually to do with the general state of gaming. However, the fact remains that it’s a staggeringly massively popular series, largely due the healthy multiplayer surrounding it. Activision were kind enough to provide a sneak peak to us of the multiplayer awaiting fans in Call of Duty Black Ops II, in anticipation of the game’s showing at the EB Expo this week.

The change everyone is talking about this time around is the new class system. Now, players are able to customise classes to their liking using a point system – each piece of weaponry, skill and perk is assigned 1 point. You have ten points to use up how you choose, giving an RPG-like feel to class creation as well as a lot more control over your load-out.

Wildcards can also be added to mix things up even more. If you want to forgo a weapon in exchange for a boost in other perks, there’s a wildcard for that. If you want to load up on every perk but head into battle with just a knife in your hands, there’s a wildcard for that too. In short, there should be a lot more variety in the opponents you face and the challenges you set for yourself.

The ten-point system and wildcards really do introduce a lot of fun. Between every match, you have the opportunity to configure your play-style to exactly what you’re after, customising your guns, secondary weapons and projectiles to your heart’s content. Want to be a heavy gunner but still move quickly and have access to flashbangs? It’s all up to you.

We went through a series of different modes, starting with one of the new additions – Hardpoint. This is a ‘king of the hill’ type mode, where teams have to fight for control over a ‘hardpoint’ area on the map. However, this point moves from time to time around the map, mixing things up significantly as each team stands an equal chance of taking and securing the next one. It’s a very fun mode, and one that should be a mainstay in any Friday night gaming session.

After that, it was a pretty steady rotation between Team Deathmatch, Domination and Capture the Flag. These are all still great fun to play, and particularly Domination benefited from the new maps in the game. One map, taking place in a field of collapsed wind-power generators has precarious bridges to defend and tunnels to spring out of. Another is on the edges of a dock, with shipping containers continually being lifted around by cranes and placing them in different spots on the ground, providing and removing cover and affecting your strategy as you play.

If you’re at the EB Expo this weekend, head on over to the Activision booth to check out Black Ops II for yourself and have a lot of fun in its multiplayer. For everyone else, look forward to the game hitting on 13 November.