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

Taking the dubious honor of this list's bottom entry is this unremarkable semi-auto pistol. The magazine size is best described as claustrophobic and it has the weakest damage output in the game, barring maybe the melee attack. But even that has redeeming qualit

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

Grab Everything And Share Everything Else - What's meant by this tip is that it's important to grab whatever is available as quickly as possible. There's not telling which other players may be around the corner and it's better to be safe than sorry. Of course, a player's survival is usually contingent on their team surviving as well, so any gear that's unneeded should be shared with the gr

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

Learning how to best utilize character abilities, reading other teams to determine where to drop at the beginning of a match, and which gear to scavenge for during a round are all vital to winning in Apex Legends . There's a lot to commit to memory, but anyone looking to step up their game in Apex Legends needn't look any further than this guide from Screen R

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 stay with me the 12-year-old initial entry into the ser

Generally speaking, some sort of long-range, sniper rifle equivalent would normally be a must-have piece of kit for a battle royale match. But while they're certainly not the worst things to have, sniper rifles are a little unimpressive when it comes to Apex Lege

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

Caustic - This Legend is all about baiting characters into a trap and killing them with toxic gas. Caustic is also a good defensive character for those that are trying to put some space between them and their attack

The Hemlok fulfills the role of the standard, three round burst firing assault rifle that you're probably familiar with from every other FPS game. While it manages to succeed in playing the role, it doesn't tend to do it overly well at any po

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