Ben Gibson 
In a market filled to the brim with Battle Royale titles, another game releases and hopes to capture its share of the market. Apex Legends, a Free to Play title created by the developers of Titanfall, released on February 4th on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the game’s launch was its lack of marketing, hype, or fanfare. In an interesting marketing move, the developers have generated interest in the game by getting a number of high profile Twitch streamers to compete in a Twitch Rivals challenge, which is a competition taking place in February that features 48 streamers competing for $200,000 in prizes. Names include DrDisrespect, DisguisedToast and shroud.
The game is Free to Play, including having no initial cost, and the developers have stressed in a post that no player will have an advantage from having paid for any in-game purchases. There are 3 different currency types in the game; Apex Coins, Legend Tokens and Crafting Materials. Apex Coins cost real money to acquire, and can be used to purchase a number of cosmetic items, as well as to unlock characters (known as Legends – more on this later) or Apex Packs, which are a form of loot box that will only contain cosmetic items. Legend Tokens are gained as a player levels up, and can still be obtained at max level. These tokens can also be used to unlock Legends, as well as purchase cosmetic items in the shop. Apex Packs (whether purchased or earned through play) give crafting materials that can be used to craft cosmetic items. The game will follow a seasonal structure, with a Battle Pass available for each season. A player can purchase a Battle Pass to unlock exclusive items each season as they play the game.
The aforementioned Legends will have a marked impact on the game. Legends act in the same way as classes may operate in other FPS games, with each one having unique abilities, advantages/disadvantages and playstyles. 8 Legends are available on launch, 2 of which will need to be purchased through one of the previously mentioned methods. Games are 3-man squad only, so choice of Legends will be vital to having an effective team composition. Those that have played either of the Titanfall games will find some familiarity with the weapons and movement, but the developers have tried to make it clear that this is not a Titanfall title, so don’t expect any smart pistols, or to be able to drop a mech from the sky. Anyone who has played a Battle Royale game before will find familiarity with the basic gameplay, including finding weapons and relevant attachments, ammo, grenades etc. There are a few other unique mechanics, such as the ping system which you can read about in more detail here, and the respawn beacons, which allow you to revive dead teammates, assuming you can find the beacons and complete the process without dying.
Although the game is launching into an already saturated market, its sudden release and presence on Twitch has already garnered a great deal of interest, especially to fans of the Titanfall series. The download link to the PC version of the game, as well as other information such as system requirements can be found here.
