It’s that time of the year when Activision releases its annual installment of the ‘Call of Duty’ franchise, which begs the question: what’s new? What keeps some people away from ‘Call of Duty’— or at least myself — is that it just seems like more of the same. While that is mostly true for ‘Black Ops 3,’ there are some new additions that are quite surprising.

This installment sees the return of the zombies play mode, introducing new characters and maps. In addition to the multiplayer zombies, there is a zombie filled campaign that is unlocked after the main campaign is completed. This new ‘nightmare’ mode brings a new story line complete with voice overs, but is mostly just a run through of the campaign missions.

The sci-fi themed main campaign, not available on Xbox 360 and PS3, boasts impressive visuals and some of the best motion capture I’ve ever seen. Despite the slow start to the story, the campaign picks up midway though and finishes strong. Cybernetic abilities are introduced in the campaign that let you manipulate or control your enemies, as well as enhance your abilities as a cyber-soldier.

Another new feature in the campaign is the level of customization you have over your character. Not only can you choose what weapons you take with you each mission, but you can adjust your characters appearance and gender, albeit in a limited fashion. Between each mission, you enter your ‘safe house’ where you can choose your loadout, outfit, abilities and more. The new customization options allow for a wide range of playstyles, and the game is all the more better for it.

The multiplayer, which contains nearly all of the same play modes and team sizes as previous games, adds in ‘specialists’ that function as your character model, as well as bring variety to the gameplay. In all, there are nine specialists and each of them have two separate abilities, which are usable after scoring points during your match.

‘Black Ops 3’ refines its enhanced movement system, allowing your character to perform rocket assisted jumps and slides, as well as being able to wall run. This movement system pairs well with the new ‘free run’ mode, which features 4 timed courses that test your movement skills.

All in all, there is a surprising amount of content to go through, which will keep you occupied for quite a while. The campaign, while not terribly impressive plot-wise, is a fun, action filled experience that is more customizable than ever before. Software developer, Treyarch, took a chance to change part of ‘Call of Duty,’ and it certainly seems like it paid off.