Gamers across the world are salivating at the latest news to come out over Call of Duty: Ghosts, which appears to be a significant advancement for an already treasured franchise. With Activision screening of the multiplayer mode for the new CoD this week, let's review some of the major high points of the new game thus far.

One brand new feature of the game is a small tweak, but for many, a very important one. For the first time ever, Call of Duty will be giving players the option of playing as either a male or female character. This coincides with the U.S. military deciding this past year to allow women to partake in a combat role for the first time.

"The official explanation is that it was technically impossible before the development of the latest version of the game. I'm no expert, but that seems implausible. A better argument against female avatars might be the sheer volume of abuse they'll be likely to encounter. Play too well (or too badly) online, and you're sure to receive an abusive message," notes Michael Moran for the Guardian.

It is true that such a recognition of one's gender will lead to plenty of inappropriate remarks from uncouth individuals who are all too common in the game. That, however, is not the responsibility of Activision to monitor via exclusion, and there will be plenty of women gamers thrilled to finally be able to accurately envision themselves in a war time role.

As for the gameplay itself, it appears to be receiving universal praise for both its aesthetics and game flow. One of the most exciting bits of news was the debut of the Xbox One controller during the Activision CoD event. It was hooked up to a PC running the same specs as the Xbox One, and by all accounts, it seemed to be a winner.

"I was able to get a feel for the new trigger and shoulder button designs, which have now taken on rounded, tapering edges. The shoulders and triggers now seamlessly blend with the base of the controller, which in effect, makes them feel like a natural extension of your fingers as you play. The design feels so good and intuitive, in fact, that I struggled to notice much else about them," writes Scott Lowe for IGN.

The new features of the game also seem to be garnering plenty of praise from CoD's already rabid fan base. This time around the environment will be taking on a much more pronounced role as certain buildings and objects will be able to be crumbled by the appropriate weaponry. Individuals clever enough to take advantage of such a feature will surely find the payoff exhilarating.

There will also be the addition of personal attack dogs and in-game multiplayer missions that will result in an opportunity to receive care packages. The graphics also get an extra boost of polygons, and the player movement is said to be much more fluid, allowing for peeks around corners and sliding on one's knees. Already, Call of Duty: Ghosts is adding up to be one of the most anticipated new games around.

"Overall, Infinity Ward's first look at Call of Duty: Ghosts' multiplayer shows a lot of promise. The action is as familiar as ever, with tight controls and satisfyingly chunky weapons. The changes are small yet numerous; they add up quickly, and together they go a long way toward speeding up the flow of the play and your sense of investment in it," says Adam Rosenberg for Digital Trends.