Hurrah: Call Of Duty Has Women Now, Also Multiplayer

Call of Duty: Ghosts may have given dogs the spotlight ahead of, er, half of the entire human race, but I suppose this is a case of better late than never. I mean, this is Call of Duty we're talking about. It really could've been never - or at least quite a bit longer. But hurrah: female combatants have finally joined the multiplayer fray! Even baby steps should be celebrated. Oh, and we can't forget today's other military-grade slab of COD news: Activision gathered a bunch of journofolk under some massive roof in Los Angeles to announce that Call of Duty still has multiplayer. The industry spent the year sick with worry, intestines tied in knots and palms slick with pale fear, over the obviously very real possibility that Activision might throw out the most lucrative part of its biggest breadwinner for no apparent reason.

Now, however, we can rest. Ghosts will have plentiful dudes (and ladies) with guns, dogs prancing about, and new mode where you can become the explosion. Sorta. I fear that this might lead to the occasional dogsplosion, though, and that is truly the saddest possibility.

According to the newshounds at VG247, standouts include new modes like Cranked - in which a kill will both boost your stats and turn you into a ticking time bomb, forcing you to either kill more or go ka-boom - and the life, death, and dogtag antics of Search and Rescue. Also on the docket: new killstreaks that include canine superstar Riley himself, customizable AI squads for a mode called - wait for it - Squads, new player customization options, and a persistent territory-based frolic in the battlefield known as Clan Wars. Could these be gaming's warringest clans? There is certainly precedent for the suggestion.

Call of Duty: Ghosts be out on November 5th. Four-and-a-half seconds later, it will break 27 million sales, as is the natural order of our world. I wouldn't call this one a bold stride into the unknown, but it is admirably pursuing a few interesting (and in the case of female characters, much-needed) avenues. Also, I want to play with the puppy. I'm still not in any rush to get this one, but between the aforementioned additions and a vaguely post-apocalyptic setting, my curiosity is maybe a little less morbid than it usually is about these things. How about you?