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

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

Catalyst’s kit has also seen many improvements. For starters, Catalyst can now completely reconstruct broken doors and further reinforce them with Ferrofluid. This should allow players to catch their breath in the heat of a battle. Loba’s abilities need no introduction, and she is revered as one of the best Support legends in the g

She’s described as the type of individual who, once they find a passion, does everything in their power to devour any piece of educational material on the matter and become so familiar with it, it feels like second nature to t

When Electronic Arts first released _ Apex Legends _ , many thought this character’s abilities were second-tier as compared to more powerful ones such as Bangalore’s airstrike ultimate, which has a large area of effect. However, Pathfinder rapidly rose to become one of the most popular characters in the g

Wraith’s portal will also prove incredibly effective in Solos as it allows a quick retreat should a player move to a new location and suddenly find themselves being targeted by enemies. However, just as in team play, the player must be aware of enemies the follow Wraith through the por

Alter is one of the strongest characters in Apex Legends right now. Players can use her tactical skills to sift in and out of buildings, escape quickly, or gain elevated positioning. They can also use the tactical to unnerve enemy players by kidnapping them into their room if they’re on the roof of a building. The ultimate ability, however, makes this comp work really well as it allows players to fall back to a predetermined s

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 updates 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

In the current state of the game, Wraith is easily one of its most valuable players. Her ability to quickly reposition using Into the Void, paired with a Dimensional Rift portal that allows her and other characters to travel longer distances in the blink of an eye, will also prove valuable in solo com

This squad is all about smoke. Caustic creates smoke that hampers enemies’ vision, damages their health despite their shield condition, and slows them down when inside a building. Bangalore has her own smoke capabilities that create a veritable blanket of smoke no one can see through. Making matters more interesting, Apex Legends has removed the Digital Threat optic from ground loot. As such, the only real counter to Bangalore’s smoke is using a recon legend, like Bloodhound or Cry