Another year has passed which means another “Call of Duty” has dropped. They have changed the mechanics to reinvigorate the classic formula “Call of Duty” is known for and works for the most part.

The story is engrossing with believable characters and unbridled action. Kevin Spacey adds depth to the role of the villain making the campaign one of the best in recent memory.

In terms of pure gameplay mechanics, “Call of Duty” has been the baseline of the first person shooter since it was released in 2007. The controls are really tight depending on the reaction time of the player to clinch online skirmishes.

There is one big distinction between “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” and the rest. It is its “exo movements”. The player is given a special mechanized suit allowing him to traverse the landscape and maps of the game in new ways. The player can now dash forward, side to side and jump up distances.

“Exo movements” add a whole new layer of complexity to how the game is played online. Having to cover the different tiers of the map instead of one flat plane is much more involved.

The pace of each battle is also exponentially increased due to the addition of “exo movements” making it much more chaotic than the traditional Call of Duty multiplayer experience. There are also online modes that turn off these abilities allowing “Call of Duty” purists to still enjoy the game. Although at its core the gameplay is still “Call of Duty”, there are no vehicles and no massive scale warfare – just one squad on foot against another.

There have been several additions in the multiplayer area with new game modes “uplink” and “momentum”. These game modes do a good job of utilizing the faster paced gameplay as well as the “exo movements” to create a fun twist on the traditional formula. “Uplink” is basketball essentially.

A ball is placed in the center of the map with one goal at either end and the team with the most goals at the end wins. Momentum is a faster paced version of the Domination game mode.

In momentum there are five flags on the map and the first team to capture all five wins the match. They creators also added a sniper-only mode where every landed shot is a kill giving players the ability to hone in their sniping skills.

The graphical fidelity of the game is stellar as well with “Advanced Warfare” being the first “Call of Duty” to be developed natively on the current generation consoles of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The details pop on the screen and everything is crystal clear.

The motion capture they did with the actors in the game’s campaign is fantastic. Being able to capture every facial twitch and emotional expression added to the depth of the performances dramatically.

In the campaign the player starts out as a young soldier, Jack Mitchell, and the tumultuous unfolding of events after the death of his best friend Will Irons.

He is picked up by the Atlus Corporation headed by his best friend’s father Jonathan Irons (Spacey). Later in the game, you learn Atlus has the power to defeat any nation and with Jonathan Irons at the helm, war ensues. It is a very well told and intricate story that engrosses you from beginning to end and the performances from the actors are just superb.

“Advanced Warfare” is one of the freshest, most intuitive takes on the “Call of Duty” formula.

It has the complete package in terms of story and multiplayer. If you’re looking for an exciting first person shooter to pick up in the lull before the big spring and summer releases, give this one a shot.