Eradicating duplicates is just one of the for-the-player quality of life improvements Apex Legends offers. When starting a match, there's virtually no load time, nor is there a lobby waiting area. Players get into matches almost immediately. During gameplay players can mark and highlight enemies, loot, or any point of interest on the map (a version of the marking system from Rainbow Six Siege mixed with enemy marking from Battlefield ) for very welcome in-game intel sharing/communication. When picking up mods and armor, items are automatically equipped where they should be instantaneously and there's already ammo in the weapon. Every thing a player would want or imagine should happen with fundamental game mechanics, simply does in Apex Legends and it just goes to show how other shooters and battle royale games are missing out on some key featu

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

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

That situation is likely salvageable due to the otherwise full-priced SLG game Strategy's instant addition to the subscription-based Xbox Game Pass service, but missteps taken by Metro Exodus publisher Deep Silver have all but overshadowed the launch of the fantastic post-apocalyptic experience when they made the boldly abrupt decision to snub Steam and limit the game's PC release to the Epic Games Store . It's unknown how deeply this last-minute choice made from the top-down has affected Metro Exodus ' sales, but it generated enough online backlash among outraged PC players to drown out any positive news about the g

Utilize the Revive Ability - If a friend gets put put to pasture by an enemy, it's possible for a teammate to pick up the deceased user's banner and revive them at a respawn station. Be ready to equip them though, as they'll rejoin the fight without a single wea

Common Loot Havens - Anyone eager to get decked out in the best gear may want to visit Airbase, Bunker, or Pit upon jumping into a game. Pit in particular has a number of boxes that players can crack open, but they'll be very exposed while they harvest all of that precious g

This lightweight sniper rifle has a few advantages that help to combat the drawbacks of its weapon class, but ultimately still has a difficult time overcoming them. It kicks out bullets faster than its counterparts, keeping a little more utility as you track your shots and the enemy closes

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

Apex Legends' game map also includes an emphasis on verticality. There are zip lines in and around the map and its hot spots, and there are balloon launching points that players can zip up to and jet away to other parts of the map. One of the playable characters can even deploy their own zip lines for the squad. These systems work well with the nicely flowing control scheme and animations of Apex Legends where players can slide down hills or mantle up to high ledges. If you see something, there's usually a way to get there, except for some of the cliff and mountain tops which are out of bounds. Did we mention that top player Legends will be displayed in-game on banners and there's bonus XP for taking out kill lead

This strange, triple-barreled shotgun-pistol hybrid handles poorly, and necessitates frequent, sluggish reload animations. The only upside is that if you come face to face with another poorly equipped looter in the early game, you'll be able to kick out surprising amounts of dam