Without giving too much away, Call of Duty: Ghosts producer Mark Rubin unveiled many of the new developments for the latest installment in the best-selling Call of Duty franchise. Taking stage 1 at E3, Rubin only boasted the first-person shooter aspect of Ghosts, but introduced a new character that has the internet buzzing. Even better than the technical specs was the announcement that Ghosts, will be released on current-generation consoles November 5, and next-generation consoles upon their release.

Single Player Campaign

Rubin didn’t disclose too many storyline details but did mention the setting of the game and new characters. In Ghosts, the United States is in the uncharacteristic position of no longer being a global superpower after some kind of massive event devastated the entire nation.

Game-play begins while you, the protagonist, are a youngster growing up during this event but then the plot fast-forwards ten years to when you’re a military ops specialist along with your brother and German Shepherd and you attempt an underdog-type struggle to throw the oppressing enemy out of your country. Rubin notes, however, that the storyline takes a twist at one point to where you’re taking the offensive to them, possibly with revenge as the driving motivator.

Dog Mode

One of the perks of your accompanying German Shepherd is the ability to literally get inside his head. A new feature includes not only the pooch, but accessing a camera-like periscope attached to its gear that simply gives the user an excuse to play the dog as a character; skulk around or maul your enemies.

Rubin said during E3 that his team actually spent time with military-trained pups and tried to capture the emotional and technical savvy of their tactical prowess. The dog develops a deep connection with the owner, you, but it would only be fitting in such a cruel world setting if the dog, you know, met his demise. Perhaps this is where the revenge aspect comes into play?

Levels

Similar to rival game Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Ghosts featurs a sprawling map with seamless transitions from underwater scuba play to nighttime jungle reconnaissance. Interestingly, one of the early settings of the game is the house in which the protagonist grew up during that massive unknown country-crippling event.

Release

Unfortunately, Rubin did say that only single player would be on display at E3 with multi-player reveals to come sometime this summer. As for consoles, November 5 marks the release on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC while next-generation Xbox One and PlayStation 4 releases will come as soon as they are made consumer available.

Worth noting is how Rubin blatantly said that Ghosts would not be made available for Wii U anytime soon, only reinforcing the woes staring Nintendo square in the face. If Nintendo can make big waves at E3 for the rest of the week, they might be able to garner a few looks from gaming companies for future projects. But in the meantime, sorry Wii U owners no C.O.D for you.