Comparing **Apex Legends ** to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 's Blackout reveals two fairly similar gameplay experiences, but what sets the former apart is its major quality-of-life improvements and marriage of the hero shooter and battle royale genres. If the game industry avoided pre-launch gaffes like Metro Exodus ' and changed the answers on its copied homework a bit more than Anthem seems willing, perhaps a free-to-play title wouldn't have so easily trounced so many expensive AAA titles in the first pl

But of course, being limited to two selections at a time, you’re inevitably going to have to make some tough calls as you’re ravenously vacuuming loot into your backpack. So which ones do you take into battle, and which ones get left in the dust? Knowing the answers to this question ahead of time can mean the difference between victory and def

Players love to execute each other. It's a nice way to rub your victory in their faces, and it looks cool to boot. But there's a time and a place for executions, and the middle of a gunfight is not one of them. You're better off shooting a downed enemy, because performing an execution leaves you wide open for attack. Plus, the animation is slow, so you're only wasting precious time by showing off. Save the execution for the last pla

The SLG game Collectibles's monetization model involves selling premium currency that can be spent on (very expensive) premium character and weapon skins, and the game's loot boxes (called Apex Packs). The Apex Packs contain everything from skins, to emotes, lines of dialogue for characters, and scrap that can be used to craft cosmetics not yet acquired. The best part of this take on the Overwatch loot formula is that there are no duplicates, and the rarity levels of everything are outlined on the official Apex Legends website. In the future, there will be battle passes for seasons (taking from the Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege playbook) that last three months where limited time cosmetics can be earned or purcha

It manages to climb this high on the list due to its select fire hop-up mod, allowing it to fire in full auto, really giving this thing some punch. Back it up by learning how to control the ludicrous recoil and you'll totally dominate close to mid range firefights. However, completely depending on a relatively rare attachment to bring out its potential is a definite hindra

A lot of new players like to play cautiously. Therefore, they will sidestep around a massive ledge and find a way safe way down rather than just jumping. There is absolutely no fall damage in this game, so you are free to jump from any height, including from the supply ships. It helps keep the game flowing, and it allows for quick escapes if you find yourself in trouble. Seriously, go against your instincts and don't be afraid to j

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

New players may feel the need to pick up everything - after all, you never know when a Skullpiercer will come in handy! The only thing is that certain items are only applicable with certain weapons, and that Skullpiercer is useless if you're using a Devotion and Peacekeeper. Picking up random items is a good way to needlessly clog your backpack, and worse, you could be inhibiting your teammate who DOES have a gun compatible with the Skullpiercer. Pay attention to what does w

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

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