One of videogaming’s biggest franchises is renewed tonight (Nov 5) in the form of Call of Duty: Ghosts; the first game in the action series to be released on the next generation of consoles as well as the current ones. To whet gamer’s appetites – if they needed any more whetting – a live action trailer featuring Megan Fox has been unloaded.

Call of Duty gameCall of Duty is one of the most successful games of all time

Featuring what Activision and InfintyWard consider to be archetypal gamers, aka: three handsome men and one fat geek, four dudes and a dog embark on a totally ridiculous mission to… well, it’s not clear what they’re doing. They drive into a battlefield unnecessarily, then get saved by Megan Fox (not before one of the ‘handsome’ guys tries it on).

Directed by The Wolverine’s James Mangold, the trailer is in the style of Microsoft’s latest advertising campaign, which sees regular guys and girls dragged into some ridiculous scenarios via the power of XBOX One – the company’s new flagship console, due for release on November 22nd.

Watch the live action trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts

It’s been a year since the last entry to the Call of Duty franchise was released, with Black Ops 2 proving a financial and critical success. But gamer’s expectations are growing higher; games like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead from ‘Telltale’ have pushed the envelope with regards to story. Is a simple shooter still enough?

Reviews suggest the game’s mechanics are still conducive to an entertaining product, with enough customisation to keep hardcore fans of the franchise happy. The single player, though, has been dipping since Call of Duty 4 – the gamer that reinvigorated the series – was released.

Call of Duty screenThe new game, Ghosts, promises more terrains to explore

“Call of Duty is, and has always been, a series about instant gratification,” write the Official XBOX Magazine. “It's fast food gaming at its most refined, a continual adrenaline rush that never thinks beyond the next kill. Ghosts maintains that heady, intoxicating momentum of shoot, kill, win, reward - but pales at the thought of taking the franchise in any interesting new directions.”

Destructoid weren’t impressed, chiming in with other reviews that have condemned the lazy implementation that make this ‘just another Call of Duty game’ with little imagination or regard for what modern games are now bringing to the table.

Call of Duty Ghosts pictureReviews suggest the new Call of Duty lacks in single player mode, but multiplayer is as strong as ever

Call of Duty: Ghosts, say the independent gaming site, “with its slapdash campaign and unambitious multiplayer, contains enough factory-standard cynicism to earn itself plenty of scorn. Nothing Ghosts does is especially bad, but nothing Ghosts does is worth paying any attention to. It exists to exist, a stopgap bit of filler spat out as the industry transitions from one generation of consoles to another.”

The franchise has a long way to go to trump Grand Theft Auto’s crown as ‘fastest selling entertainment product ever’. Within 24 hours of GTA V’s release, the game had generated more than $800 million in worldwide revenue. This smashed the previous first-day sales record of $500 million set by Call of Duty: Black Ops II. And that’s probably because they don’t try and release one every single year…

Call of Duty GhostsCall of Duty: Ghosts is released tonight, Nov 5th - expect fireworks (sorry)