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

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

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

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

Respawn entertainment has also already clearly outlined its future plans, and Apex Legends is designed to be modular in a way that we can see plenty of interesting events and tweaks coming. Imagine a mode with larger squads, different gear, or changes to the map. It's all possi

Caustic's gas traps are one of the most frustrating things to encounter in the slg game heroes. Finding yourself in the middle of a gas maze almost always results in elimination, and the traps can seem way too OP as a result. Luckily, there IS a way to counter the traps (aside from utilizing tactical abilities). Simply shoot the red portion of the trap (located near the bottom) in order to disable it, allowing safe passage for you and your team. Easy pe

This guy shouldn't be considered an option outside of complete and utter desperation, though it is actually proven to be slightly more effective than nothing. But even then, you should swap it out as soon as possible with pretty much anything e

Firstly, you can bash down doors. Since players often use them as cover or as crude "alarm" systems when camping, there are obvious applications here. Next, it's a great way to get past knockdown shields, saving you valuable ammunition. It's also worth noting that you can perform flying kicks while airborne, and uppercuts while sliding. Though being honest, both are pretty impracti

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

Like Dark Souls, Apex Legends contains many "hidden" mechanics, and it expects you to learn as you go. And that's not a bad thing. Unfortunately, this causes a rift between the experienced players and the newbies. How dejecting is it to see your level 5 player with one kill next to a level 85 adorned with achievement bad

Land Faster - Instead of just aiming up or down while jet-packing - either from dropping out of the ship at the beginning or using one of the balloon points - be sure to swoop down-and-up in order to increase speed. It's not necessarily about distance in Apex Legends , but rather getting to whichever location fi

Another unique element to Apex Legends is the ability to revive downed allies. Like other battle royale titles, a player is downed before being killed off and they can hold a shield item in their inventory to prevent players from shooting them to finish them off. Enemies can however, get up close an employ a lethal execution animation (these are also battler royale fists). But even then, players can recover the tags of their downed ally and bring them to a revive point where they can then re-enter the match via a dropship, but without any of their loot. These layers upon layers add so much to the dynamic of the usual die and go back to the menu style of more punishing battle royale experien