By Dustin Brewer

With a formal announcement of the latest installment in the blockbuster “Call of Duty” franchise expected May 4, we take a look at some of the more exciting things from the leaked first look at “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.”

Let’s face it; “Call of Duty: Ghosts” was awesome but lately it seems the franchise has fallen into a rut. It’s been more of the same old, same old for the last few versions now and while the multiplayer has gotten sharper, the storyline has fallen by the wayside (admittedly; I couldn’t tell you what the last three campaigns have been about, they’ve been untouched since I bought the games) but it seems that “Advanced Warfare” is looking to change all that. The debut trailer doesn’t show too much in the way of gameplay but there are more than a few things that have us here at HefferBrew optimistic come this November.

1. Kevin Spacey-

“Call of Duty” is no stranger to A-list actors featured in their games, Gary Oldman and Sam Worthington have both voiced major characters in the series but color us stoked for the appearance of Kevin Spacey, who seems to be playing close to his “House of Cards” persona but without the Southern accent. That they went out of their way  to hire someone like Spacey suggests a major focus on the campaign story. Why hire Kevin Spacey if you’re only worried about beefing up multiplayer again with a few new game-modes and different guns?

2. Someone’s Been Playing ‘Titanfall’-

Hmmm, maybe ‘Titanfall’ has COD more concerned than they wanted to let on. When ‘Titanfall’ came out it was lauded for its’ innovative multiplayer and its’ unique gameplay elements like the ability to cloak, a focus on parkour-like movements (scaling buildings, running along walls) and the ability to jump and double-jump which helps you cover long distances with relative ease. It seems that COD paid close attention to those elements and seem to be introducing something similar, at least in their campaign mode. The first picture above is of a soldier cloaking and the second shows two in what look to be mech-suits and coming down from a pretty high jump. It remains to be seen if elements like this are featured in the multiplayer, but if the name of the game is keeping up with the competition, you’d have to imagine they’ll include it in some capacity for the multiplayer portion.

3. Beautiful Map Design-

The “Call of Duty” cut-scenes have always resembled the biggest action movie that Hollywood can muster but there’s always some disappointment that the actual levels and gameplay don’t measure up to the high standards set by the cut-scenes. While the video doesn’t show too much gameplay (we firmly expect that to come with the official game announcement on Sunday) what we do get are looks at level designs that once again stand head and shoulders above the rest. The above scene on what looks to be a demolished bridge as well as a few quick snippets of seemingly a building raid suggest that extra attention has been given to the levels and their surroundings themselves, which will hopefully translate to a better in-game environment.

4. HOVERBIKES-

WHAAAAAT!?!?

Controlling vehicles has always been a mixed bag for the COD franchise, it’s been relegated basically to just sporadic in-campaign uses and virtually nothing in multiplayer, which is one of the things that the “Battlefield” franchise holds so high over its’ head like a teasing big brother. Again, in a world of “Titanfall” and “Battlefield” providing more competition than “Call of Duty” would like, for them to continue as the highest-selling and most popular franchise in gaming, they’re going to need to get with the times. Maybe this will be the time they add vehicles to the multiplayer experience and what better way to do that than with…HOVERBIKES? Clearly they’ll be used in the story, but more importantly- they better be included in online gaming. I can punch a robot in the face, then rip the person piloting it out and throw him across the map to certain doom in “Titanfall,” I should at least be able to drive a hoverbike in “Call of Duty.”

Stay tuned to HefferBrew for all the latest news on “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” and be sure to weigh in with your thoughts here in the comments or at facebook.com/HefferBrew