Infinity Ward’s newest addition to the Call of Duty franchise, Ghosts, hit store shelves this week.

But if you’re coming right off the heels of last year’s smash hit Black Ops 2, expect to feel let down.

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a mediocre addition to the long running first person shooter franchise.

The game brings a new campaign, tweaked multiplayer mechanics and Infinity Ward’s version of co-Call of Duty developer Treyarch’s Zombies mode, now called Extinction.

The single player story sets itself the near future in which all of South America has united under the flag of “The Federation”. This new world super power promptly hijacks an orbital cannon and declares war against the US.

The six-hour campaign, which still can’t be played cooperatively, isn’t anything remarkable. The story is predictable, full of clichés, cookie-cutter characters, plot-holes and a reliance on grand set pieces to try and hold your attention for the little time you don’t spend looking down the sights of your gun.

However, the story mode does have its moments. Sneaking through an enemy infested base and your viscous, but lovable, attack dog Riley; defending a beachfront from oncoming Federation hovercraft with an attack drone; zero gravity shootouts.

While great, these moments are confined to the first 90 minutes of gameplay and the story after that is all “been there, done that.” Quick time events and slow-mo breach and clear segments are simply overdone.

Multiplayer is where Call of Duty always shines. Ghosts is no exception, in that its multiplayer is where it works what magic it has to offer.

Smaller and faster is the best way to describe the experience.

Gone, sadly, are big-team games, capture the flag and search and destroy game modes. Player count is capped at 12 rather than 18. Support and Specialist strike packages do make a return and players now have 35 perks to choose from of which they can equip up to eight at once.

Replacing capture the flag and search and destroy are; Blitz, which has players racing across the field to the enemy goal to score points, and Cranked which forces players to chain kills to stay alive.

While mildly amusing, neither mode requires teamwork to win and promotes mindless rushing of individuals. A single player can win either game for their team single handed.

Map design this time isn’t quite up to par and none of the maps really click or leave a lasting impact like they did in previous installments. Even the Free-Fall bonus map, which markets itself as a “dynamic” and changing map, is pretty unremarkable.

Dull military bases and urban areas in your favorite shade of brown just don’t cut it anymore. For all the emphasis put on zero-gravity and underwater combat in single player, they make no appearance in the multiplayer.

Weapon levels are gone and all items are purchased with the in game currency, squadpoints. A system that leaves players with little sense of progression.

The new leaning mechanic which works by using your aim down sights near a corner doesn’t work on most walls and feels clumsy. An in game option allows it to be disabled, however using lean to score kills is required for gold weapons.

Ghosts is a game that takes no chances, no risks and sticks to the established formula of the franchise.

There’s nothing game-breakingly wrong here but there also isn’t anything that will make veteran players scream for joy.

All-in-all the Ghosts is a “Call of Duty” title in name only, your standard action-shooter with little of the magic that made Black Ops 2 a success.

6/10