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

Instead, Apex Legends is a multiplayer-only, squad and class-based spin on the battle royale formula that draws inspirations from several other hit games, and adds to them all in player-friendly ways. Apex Legends is not only the best battle royale game currently available, but it may be one of the best free-to-play releases of all-t

The Hot Zone is the initial area on the map with incredible loot. Naturally, teams flock to it in the hopes of obtaining high tier armor and weapons. And there's nothing worse than a new player going to it and getting downed in the first thirty seconds while their teammates are on the other side of the map. We understand that dropping there makes for a good learning experience, but if you want to train, play with friends and not with rand

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

No Traffic Zones - Competitive fans may be agitated to hear this, but sometimes securing victory is as easy as hiding until the very end. Pay very close attention to the location that each enemy team is dropping. If the frequently loot-heavy areas are all claimed, players should head as far away from everyone else as humanly possible. There will still be loot to find once they land and from that point it's just a matter of waiting out the clock and grinding for

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 SLG game Heroes 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

The Alternator SMG really only ranks above the P2020 because it fires in full auto, dishing out a little more damage, and doing it faster. But the damage output is still pretty low and the tiny magazine is likely to leave you unable to finish the job at the most inopportune ti

Picking where to drop in Apex Legends can be a challenge with two other teammates tagging along. It can also be challenging when there's one Jumpmaster ultimately deciding where players will land. Since separating from the group is often a poor decision, convincing others where to drop in order to find the best loot stands out as a good one. There are a number of locales worth exploring for anyone eager to win, but scouting out where teams are dropping and avoiding conflict is an equally strong strat

Of course, that's impossible to truly ascertain from our experience so far with Anthem 's early hours , meaning players will have to wait and see if they will be undergoing the gauntlet of tedium that constitutes for the genre's standard end-game. However, it will undoubtedly be nigh impossible for Anthem to be able to suitably compete with a free-to-play battle royale like Apex Legends when it comes to keeping players interested with a steady flow of content. For those in the industry seeking to recreate Apex Legends ' sleeper success, or at least successfully leech away some of its massive player base, there are a couple of lessons to be learned from this week's cramped mix of launches. First, consider the option that prolonged marketing and over-exposure might actually serve to hurt games; while not all games can capture the attention of millions overnight, producer's should at the very least take steps to avoid Crackdown 3 's five-year gap between announcement and release. Second, and most importantly, developers should innovate where others have not within their genre, even if it doesn't amount to reinventing the wh

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