PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

(Maropa) #1
L

ast season
notwithstanding, Apex
Legends has had one
hell of a year. So, to
celebrate, Respawn
has sentour gangofdelightful
murderbudsoff onanunseasonably
sunny holiday toclose out the year.
Welcome toStorm Point, Apex
Legends’ largest map todate.


With a landmass roughly 15% larger
than World’s Edge, Storm Point is
truly massive. But it’s also both
denser and taller than any Apexarena
yet, laid out as a sprawling jungle
wrapped around a mountain that
extends higher than any previous
map, dusty peaks descending into
thick foliage before levelling out into
white sandy beaches.
It’s gorgeous, but it’s also a jarring
shift from the tight, clustered maps
we’ve seen so far. Without obvious
hotspots like Kings Canyon’s
Skulltown (RIP), or World’s Edge’s
Fragment, matches are scattered, and
it can take some time before you find
a scrap. It’s the closest Apexhas ever
come to feeling like a more
traditional battle royale likePUBGor
Fortnite, trading constant firefights
for the lingering tension of stalking
through the wilds for five, ten, even
fifteen minutes before firing a shot.
I’m not entirely sure it’s a
trade-off that works. Apexis
traditionally a game that wants you to
fight early and often, and already you
can see players choosing to land in


more central locations like Barometer
or Cascade Falls to force an early
combat. Clustering in one spot just
makes the rest of the map feel even
emptier. It’s a shame, because Storm
Point has some of the strongest
locations of any map – densely
layered, tactical arenas with a strong
focus on verticality.
To help you get around the island
quicker, Storm Point features the
nippy wee Trident hovercars from
Olympus. But it also trades the
traditional redeploy balloons for
Halo-style gravity cannons which
punt you in a single direction at
ludicrous speeds. You’ll need them,
too, lest you risk being bogged down
fighting the island’s ecosystem, with
Prowler dens and spider nests ready
to ensnare passing squads. These
beasties can be shockingly vicious,
but reward hunters with extra loot,
evo shield charges, and crafting
materials for clearing them out.

ASH, CATCH ’EM!
Who better to guide you through the
jungle than an expert tracker, then?
Season 11 brings backTitanfall 2
baddie Ash as a new Legend, and as a
deadly hunter-killer, she’s already
proving herself a favourite among

Twitch streamers and Wraith mains.
Ash’s abilities are powerful enough in
their own right – her tactical is a
snare that prevents enemies from
leaving a small radius, while her
ultimate tears a rift in space-time,
leaving a one-way portal to bring her
and her team straight into the fight.
But her real trick lies with her
passive, which flags death boxes on
the map as soon as any player on the
map beefs it. This lets her know
where the fights are happening,
pulling her squad into the action with
terrifying efficiency. By throwing a
data-knife into a death box, she can
even ping the poor sod’s killers. In a
game defined by third-partying fights,
Ash is brutal, and has already

established herself as a top-tier pick.
Following a good Ash around the
map can be a terrifying thrill, as you
track down and pick off weakened
squads with ruthless precision. But
it’s so, so easy for a bad Ash to lead
you to your doom, and her lone-wolf
kit often makes playing with one feel
like you’re playing constant catch-up.
Really, my favourite thing about
Ash is the absolute venom she brings
out in my main space mum, Horizon.
There’s a sour history between these
two, one that’s been spun out
through cinematic trailers and now
plays out through Apex’s
phenomenal voice interactions.
Believe me when I say I’ll never tire
of hearing Dr Somers revive this
cold, calculating murderbot while
spitting out lines like “back on yer
hooves, ya heartless toaster”.

NEED TO KNOW

RELEASE
Out now
PUBLISHER
Electronic Arts

DEVELOPER
Respawn Entertainment

LINK
bit.ly/3Cp4bvG

APEX LEGENDS

Storm the beaches witha backstabbing blender. By Nat Clayton


I’M NOT

ENTIRELYSURE

IT’SA TRADE OFF

THATWORKS

ASHES TO ASH Our newestSimulacrumhas thiswhole ‘deathand resurrection’ thing downtoa tee

1

Dr Ashleigh Reid,
scientist and dear
friend, punts Dr Mary
‘Horizon’ Somers into a
black hole. This will have
consequences in 87
years’ time.

2

Reid then dies,
stabbed in the back
while attempting to
murder the rest of
Somers’ colleagues to
steal their unobtanium
crystals.

3

Reid’s mind is
salvaged and turned
into a Simulacrum, a
cyborg built from the
fleshy brain of a human
being, and shortens her
name to ‘Ash’.

4

Ash then dies,
crushed into a pulp by
Titanfall 2’s best metal
boy BT-7274, as kind of a
footnote during that
game’s stellar
singleplayer campaign.

5

The shattered pieces
of Ash’s skull are
retrieved inApex
Legends’ Season 5 quest.
A few months later, she
gets a cushy job running
the game’s Arenas mode.

6

Horizon, having not
quite gotten over the
whole black hole
situation, accidentally
wakes up Ash’s latent
memories and triggers
her entry into the game.

WHAT’S NEW IN THE BIGGEST GAMES


UPDATE
Free download pdf