But it's not just about improving what already works from the battle royale genre since Apex Legends adds many all-new features too. Matches are fast and usually completed in less than 20 minutes. At the beginning of a given match there's a dropship players jump from, like any other battle royale, but in this one players jump together as a squad and one player is designated the "Jumpmaster" to keep them together. Players can manually separate from the pack of course, but it's a smart change to enforce the idea that Apex Legends is a truly a squad-based game. There currently are no solo or duo mo

Metro Exodus is a diamond in the rough here in terms of its gameplay and story, with the other releases this week falling agonizingly flat in one area or the other. While Apex Legends is being universally lauded for its impressive blend of frenzy and strategy, as well as for its revolutionary ping system that makes teamplay easier and more integral than in any shooter before it, February has brought little else in the way of gameplay innovation. Crackdown 3 is a fairly mindless power fantasy sandbox, which is great for players seeking that experience, but disappointing to others due to how few additions it brings to the table when compared with the 12-year-old initial entry into the ser

On top of being initially perceived as a somewhat desperate attempt on EA's part to chase market trends, Apex Legends launched on February 4 with almost no fanfare leading up to its surprise arrival. Nevertheless, Apex Legends has ballooned into nothing short of an enigmatic triumph for EA and developer Respawn, shattering player count milestones at speeds that would have made Fortnite wince. On its surface, it would seem that Apex Legends does little to nothing that this week's major releases don't, lacking the graphical spectacle of Metro Exodus and Anthem , the open-ended sandboxes of Far Cry New Dawn and Crackdown 3 , and the pop culture mélange that Jump Force provides. But it stands out from the throng, largely thanks to its simple-yet-enthralling gameplay loop, well-refined Titanfall gunplay and movement systems, and refreshing additions and improvements to the battle royale form

That really is the summary, unfortunately. It's terribly inaccurate and leaves you with your pants around your ankles way more often than you should be comfortable with. Give this a hard pass as soon as something else comes up, but appreciate its limited charms if you really need

Pathfinder is an often overlooked Legend, mainly because the majority of people sleep on his tactical and ultimate abilities. Why shoot zip lines when you can rain down missiles, you know? However, his grapple is actually very effective in the right hands and can be utilized offensively. Pathfinder can grapple enemy players, which of course swiftly closes the gap between their respective locations. Follow this up with a quick shotgun blast, and you can see how useful it can

I get it - you're new to the game, and you don't know what weapon does what. So, naturally, you pick it up and fire off a few rounds to see what the baby can do. Please don't do this. Apex Legends places a huge emphasis on sound, and distant gunshots are a huge part of that. Needlessly firing off your gun not only wastes ammo, but it gives away your location to nearby enemy teams. Keep those bullets in that

That downer aside, Apex Legends must be applauded for offering such a deep and polished experience from the get-go. Without any demo or beta tests, Apex Legends launched without a hitch and actually functions better than most full-retail triple-A online games. We can't emphasize enough how refreshing it is to have a polished battle royale game, that's also a polished triple-A online title, that's also F

This past week was crammed full of AAA game releases, with Friday alone having seen the simultaneous launches of Crackdown 3 , Far Cry New Dawn , Metro Exodus , and, for a select few PC players , Anthem . Despite this incredibly hectic launch window, Apex Legends _ continues to reign over all its newly released competition in terms of both popularity and acclaim. When a free-to-play battle royale title so handily beats back an entire wave of full-priced games, developers and producers alike are left to scratch their heads and wonder what Respawn Entertainment's _Apex Legends has that their titles do

Much like the Hemlok AR, this SMG fires in controlled bursts, but puts out five rounds instead of three. It's incredibly difficult to manage without modifications, as the accuracy isn't great to begin with. Compounding it with an awkward burst setting doesn't do it any fav

Similarly, Far Cry New Dawn feels like an over-familiar and over-priced expansion to last year's Far Cry 5 , a series that has slowly settled into creative stagnation since Far Cry 3 's retooling of the series formula. Jump Force , while not entirely fair to compare with a list of shooters, plays like a fairly straightforward 3D fighting game beneath its enticing facade of playing as Shonen Jump's most iconic characters and doesn't do anything radical that hasn't already been seen in the fighting SLG game walkthrough genre time and time bef