That’s right ladies and gents; it’s that time of the year again.

No, I am not talking about getting ready to stuff Thanksgiving turkeys, I’m talking about “Call of Duty” time.

The tenth installment of the popular video game series, “Ghosts,” was released on Nov. 5 on the XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, PC and the Nintendo Wii U.

“Call of Duty: Ghosts” will also be launch titles for the next generation of gaming consoles releasing later this month, the PlayStation 4 and XBOX One.

“CoD: Ghosts” was created by the combining studios at Infinity Ward, Neversoft and Raven Software. As with every “Call of Duty” game in the past, Activision handled the publishing.

The game’s campaign or story mode picks up 10 years after the United States had their own ODIN strike used against them after the game’s antagonist, the Federation (a technologically-superior power made up of many South American countries), hijacked it leaving the U.S. in shambles.

With their economy and government MIA, the remaining members of the elite special operations, the Ghosts, band together to fight off the Federation and defeat their leader, Rorke, who was once himself a member of the Ghosts.

Along the way, players can expect to tackle missions in outer space, underwater and even play as Riley, an attacking guard dog who enjoys nothing more than eating a Federation member or two for lunch.

The campaign features movie-like cut scenes which add to the gameplay. It’s almost to the point where I want to rush through the actual game to see what epic cut scene comes next.

As if the campaign doesn’t get you excited enough, the game also features other modes to play which brings more longevity to the game.

This year, Infinity Ward introduced a game mode called Extinction, which is in a way their answer to the very popular Zombie game mode made by Treyarch Studios (the makers of “Call of Duty: World at War”, “Call of Duty: Black Ops” and “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2”).

Extinction allows for up to four players to fight off aliens in a survival-like battle to the death.

Player’s objective in Extinction is to carry around a power drill and destroy alien hives around the map. Along the way, players can expect for the rounds to take longer and the aliens to be stronger.

In order to accomplish the mission at hand and defeat the aliens, players can use money and points awarded in the game to purchase special weapons, equipment and powerups to give themselves a better chance at not falling prey to the aliens.

Although Extinction is something different and new to the “Call of Duty” series, nothing can replace Zombies, and Extinction doesn’t even come close.

Now, when hardcore gamers like myself think of “Call of Duty”, we think of the one thing that has us wasting days of our time playing, the multiplayer.

This year, “Call of Duty: Ghosts” featured a few new game mechanics and elements that were not in previous titles.

Players now have the option to customize their soldier from head to toe and even change genders to play as a female soldier.

Along with character customization, “Ghosts” features interactive dynamic map elements which include things like blowing up gas stations that change the maps and the lines of sight to kill enemies.

The multiplayer in “Ghosts” plays very smooth, a lot smoother than previous games and the time it takes to kill an enemy is extremely fast.

Because of this, your average Joe Schmo off the street can pick up a controller and be able to handle themselves in an online match.

If you are a fan of the series and the previous games, “Call of Duty: Ghosts” is just what the doctor ordered to fulfill your gaming needs for the time being.

Also, if you are a newcomer to the series and looking to give a new game a shot, “Ghosts” is easy to learn and has an arcade-shooter feel to it which can be very addicting.

Overall, “Call of Duty: Ghosts” is a nice installment into the series and in my opinion better than its predecessor, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.”