Apex Legends Review

Well what can I say about Apex Legends…it’s not Titanfall 3 and that is ok. Right?

If like me you was hoping for another sequel to the underrated series, your hopes was crashed at the announcement of Apex Legends. Dear god, I hear you all say ‘’not another bloomin Battle Royale’’, and you could be very well right.

What was the enthusiasm of hearing the developer announcing a new game, was soon to be a long distant sigh at what can now only be seen as an oversaturated market. But just hold up, please for one second, as I too was one of those people.

Now I don’t play BR, and never saw the appeal of them if I’m honest. I could only see it for what most of them are, an entertaining way to bleed more money from your pocket and sell a more profit appealing live service that only really benefits shareholders over gamers. However, Respawn has done something quite lovely with their new game Apex legend that may very well sway you.

My curiosity was peaked and even though there are no Mech’s here, the 8 characters with unique special abilities did give me pause for thought. The best way I can describe Apex Legends is a large-scale team death match game, with Titanfall mechanics and weapons, Overwatch abilities and micro transaction system, due to it being free-to-play. The micro-transactions at current stage are for skins only which I can’t argue you with being that the game is free. I still don’t like it, but I’ll make the concession. 

Gameplay

Before you are dropped into the fray, each player of a three-person squad gets to choose their character with the order randomly determined. This eliminates the obsessing over your favourite couple of characters for anyone and forces the players to ensure they have some knowledge of all characters. You then start the game with a single person crowned Jumpmaster, who controls all three players and the location where they land. However, as you shoot down to the ground in a synchronized dive, anyone is freely given the choice to dive on their own and/or go rogue after landing. My advice though, is its best to stick together or prepare to die early.

It is then where the real fun begins, as you all scrabble to get some weapons and take out the other 20 squads rushing to do the same. One of the cleverest elements delivered by the game, especially for people like myself who like to remain silent, is the communication system. Chat is an easy-to-execute, pick-a-point system designed to allow players to highlight specific items for your teammates, making your character state locations of weapons or even a potential destination/building. For me and others like me, it’s a superb feature which will get you thinking why it isn’t in others squad based games.

There are 8 characters for you to choose from with 2 being locked behind a paywall, however, these can be unlocked with in game currency. All of them work well with each other and can have varies strengths and weaknesses based on the skill of the player and their choice within the group. All have special abilities that charge up over the course of a match, and using them wisely is paramount in getting the best outcome for your team members as well against the enemy. Your ultimate’s are truly lovely to behold, and can be a deal breaker when carefully used.

A big difference here from Titanfall is the verticality and quick movement of the origianl franchise. It does lives on, but not all of it such as the wall running. This doesn’t stop the speed and pace but it does seem less hectic and specific than you may be used to. Fall damage is also absent, and no matter how many hundreds of feet below your squad maybe, a fearless jump can get you back together. There are zip lines around the place to help push the speed of the game, but these are abundant in only some locations.

The biggest item I had to get to grips with when playing, was the looting system and choosing on the fly what weapon or mod or pick-up I needed with speed. The system helps by telling you if the item you need is lower or better than you have equipped, but depending on if you the go or watching over your shoulder, this can be abit too much to take on. There are moments with respite and I have had some matches where you can almost spend the entire match sneaking about collecting a decent array of weapons before a full blow out of action. However, with a slow-closing death circle, it’s is more rare to find action chasing you at every corner.

Graphics

Apex’s map is huge. Combine this with its verticality and it has a square footage clearly makes it one of the biggest maps in any team death match franchise. There are clear areas of lush vegetation and stark cold mountains, with a plethora of buildings / shacks and even military camps. Visually, this is a superb looking game with a colour vibrancy that few seem to pull off well. Explosions, weapons and abilities make this game a visual treat for all whom play it and at any point you can find your self admiring the landscape. 

Sound

Sounds is how you would expect with from Respawn, weapons/voice work and a general atmosphere are perfect in every way. I found a headset is still the best way to play, but if you have a sound bar, you won’t be disappointed with the results.

Verdict

With a price tag of zero, optional non-intrusive micro-transactions at the moment at least, and the promise of constant updates, Respawn may have hit on a winner. Finally I can say I now understand the lure of Battle Royale, and for a Noob in the genre, that is very telling. I found the game fun, easy to pick up and addictive to play with enough to ensure that I’ll keep coming back. However, we all know EA has its thumb in this, so how they will ensure this remains this way is anyone guess.

But right now Apex Legends…it’s not Titanfall 3 and that is ok.