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
In a Solo Mode gunfight, phasing during a bullet battle allows Wraith to survive long enough to find cover and shield the character from damage. This ability also means her character can avoid taking damage in the storm for short periods of time, which can sometimes means the difference between outliving an opponent as players race toward the safe z
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
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 legend class 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
It’s a worthy endeavor, and introducing Solos as a limited time mode is ideal. In order to combat the potential for an all-Pathfinder or all-Wraith meta, Respawn could introduce some character adjustments beyond slight damage- and speed-related nerfs and buffs like the ones it introduced at the beginning of Season 2 . Even with adjustments that increase incoming damage by 5% for Wraith, Pathfinder and Lifeline, this minor reduction didn’t appear to affect players’ choices at the competitive le
Additionally, the character’s zip line ultimate lets players reach areas of the map that others can’t reach. As in most shooter games, high ground is extremely advantageous, particularly for both hiding out of the view of players on the battlefield and for landing headshots on oppone
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
However, a Solos Mode is a curiosity in this game, given that the game has its genesis in team play. Team compositions seem designed to balance one another out (if not always effectively), allowing players to combine their characters’ unique skills to become champions of the arena. The goal in having multiple characters is that there is some variance on the battlefield, which is something that’s in jeopardy in a Solos M
It wouldn’t be strange for the game’s developer, Respawn, to incorporate mysterious new elements into the game in an effort to ramp up player enthusiasm for new content. The company has done so in the past, with a prime example being the addition of bounce pads by Market in advance of Octane’s rele
A skilled player can do perfectly fine using the Longbow, but it’s a bit slow. The damage per shot is very solid, but the DPS suffers greatly from the lag between shots, and it leaves your opponents a lot of room to get into cover for a quick heal. It’s not a bad gun, but high DPS, high-pressure weapons result in decisive victories far more of