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

Move over Fortnite , there's a new king in town. OK, maybe it's too early to be saying stuff like that, but there's no denying the impact that Apex Legends has had on the gaming community. According to the latest report, the game has amassed 25 million players, but that number has likely expanded. It's also the top individual game on Twitch, and it has bumped Fortnite to third place (behind League of Legend

That leaves only Anthem , whose global February 22 launch will mark the only proper live-service competitor to Apex Legends . Though Anthem is unquestionably beautiful and has thrilling combat and movement that Crackdown developers ought to take note of, there is the unavoidable fact that it is EA's answer to Destiny , and the online loot-shooter genre Anthem 's obvious source material spawned is marred by a series of hard-to-avoid caveats. It does more to ensure that players won't be locked out of certain time-limited content by providing matchmaking in areas that the Destiny franchise neglects, but (as EA has clearly done its homework) it's difficult to not fear that launch content will prove much more sparse than initially expected, much as it was in both Destiny entr

That situation is likely salvageable due to the otherwise full-priced game's instant addition to the subscription-based Xbox Slg Game Tips Pass service, but missteps taken by Metro Exodus publisher Deep Silver have all but overshadowed the launch of the fantastic post-apocalyptic experience when they made the boldly abrupt decision to snub Steam and limit the game's PC release to the Epic Games Store . It's unknown how deeply this last-minute choice made from the top-down has affected Metro Exodus ' sales, but it generated enough online backlash among outraged PC players to drown out any positive news about the g

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

It happens in most games - a particularly overzealous player sees some specks in the distance, pings their location to their teammates, and starts shooting at them with an assault rifle. This is probably the worst thing you could possibly do. Sure, if you have a sniper rifle, then go crazy, but otherwise leave them alone. It's not only a huge waste of ammo, but it gives away your position to them and the squads in the nearby vicinity. Try tracking inst

And while we're on the topic, you can absolutely interrupt an enemy's execution. Like I said, performing executions are very slow and they leave the player wide open for attack, so you might as well take advantage of the opportunity. But beware, attacking an enemy snaps them out of their attack animation, allowing them to defend themselves and/or perform counter attack against you. So you better make it count - a nice shotgun blast or two should do the tr

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

Gamers hoping to become the best at **Apex Legends ** are going to need to know tips and tricks that'll help them win. Respawn Entertainment's first foray into the battle royale genre is something very unique from other shooters, tho