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

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

Why was Apex Legends able to rest on its laurels this week while Respawn works on future content? The simplest answer can actually be found in what was likely perceived by EA to be its greatest weakness: it's near-total lack of pre-release marketing. Leaked only a day prior to launch, Apex Legends set the internet abuzz with the immediate promise of an all-new and well-polished experience that players could get their hands on for the tantalizing price of "free." Meanwhile, Crackdown 3 has suffered from a grueling, years-long embarrassment for Xbox Games Studios that began when it was revealed all the way back at E3 2014, greatly reducing the impact of the exclusive's largely overlooked February 15 release d

Pathfinder - Ideal for scouting ahead, Pathfinder is equipped with a grappling hook to climb up cliffs in order to survey the situation ahead. His Zipline Gun is also great for getting teammates out of a sticky situat

Another unique element to Apex Legends is the ability to revive downed allies. Like other battle royale titles, a player is downed before being killed off and they can hold a shield item in their inventory to prevent players from shooting them to finish them off. Enemies can however, get up close an employ a lethal execution animation (these are also battler royale fists). But even then, players can recover the tags of their downed ally and bring them to a revive point where they can then re-enter the match via a dropship, but without any of their loot. These layers upon layers add so much to the dynamic of the usual die and go back to the menu style of more punishing battle royale experien

That situation is likely salvageable due to the otherwise full-priced game's instant addition to the subscription-based Xbox slg game news 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

Functionally more of an SMG than a pistol, this compact, fully automatic handgun packs a lot of punch into a neat little package. But is it truly enough punch to justify taking up one of your weapon sl

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

Respawn entertainment has also already clearly outlined its future plans, and Apex Legends is designed to be modular in a way that we can see plenty of interesting events and tweaks coming. Imagine a mode with larger squads, different gear, or changes to the map. It's all possi

One thing to be said is that this is a pretty unique rifle, kicking out a horizontal spread of three simultaneous shots per trigger pull, which can really help with tracking long distance targets. You can tighten the spread a bit with the precision choke hop-up mod. But again, it is still a sniper ri