The original version of Apex Legends was released in 2019 on consoles and PC and was an instant hit. It was possible to gain immense popularity due to the competent mixing of the rules of the “royal battle” and the system of heroes with unique skills, as well as dynamic gameplay, borrowed straight from Titanfall 2.
But time passes, and over the past three years, the gaming industry has faced a lot of problems, starting with the coronavirus epidemic and ending with a crisis of ideas with the dominance of self-repetitions and remakes. Just at this turbulent time, developers began to massively release mobile adaptations of large network projects: Codd: Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Fortnight, Loll: Wild Rift. Looking at this trend, Electronic Arts decided to keep up with the competition and released Apex Legends Mobile with a slight delay.
It is worth noting that the game is still in the final stages of testing and is not available in all regions. Players from Russia can change the region in the App Store to Kazakh or American, and Android owners can download the ask file from third-party sites. However, during the game one way or another you will have to use a VPN.
Surprisingly, the developers managed to fully preserve all the key features of the large version – what is happening on the small screen of the smartphone is almost indistinguishable from the original.
The second advantage has always been the feeling of shooting. Each weapon has its own characteristics, and each type of weapon requires separate skill and adaptation, which is why the interest in gunfights increases several times.
But the painstaking search for the best armor, modifications, and other things is noticeably facilitated by the automatic system, which, if desired, can choose what you need: cartridges, armor, first-aid kits. This is the most interesting improvement in the mobile version.
since manually scrolling and reading the stats of each of the items is quite difficult. What is even more difficult is to shoot accurately using touch controls. And if in PUBG the pace is noticeably lower, and in Codd the cost of an error is extremely low, then in Apex it is extremely important to always be fast and accurate.
Yes, you can fine-tune every element on the screen, but as soon as you connect the gamepad, the game will simply take on a new look, and your nerve cells will catch Zen. We tested the Dual sense and the Xbox controller – everything plays much better with them. You can only find fault with the standard layout, where it happens that finishing, reloading and dropping an item are assigned to one button, depending on the situation. Overlays occur very rarely, but once every five matches happen.
There are also differences on a deeper level. Not only has a new character unique to the mobile version already appeared in the game, but a system of perks for each of the specialists has also been added. It doesn’t fundamentally change anything, but it often forces you to act differently in familiar situations and try something new. Everything else is the same as the big version, including the characters, their skills, and the map.
Technically, everything in the game is also at a decent level. There are no lags on the iPhone 11, the game runs in HD quality at 60 FPS. With other hardware and on other devices, you can either increase or decrease the graphics in the settings. The network code was also able to surprise, because in Russia the game only works with VPN so far, but even with a free VPN everything works without friezes and lags.
The main screen is replete with dozens of menus that offer something to get, activate or participate somewhere. Far from everything is bought for real money, but this is the main catch, that you can get carried away by activating dailies and gifts, and poke into a paid offer. The game also has a combat pass, which is already familiar to many, but the matter is not limited to them. Skins, experience boosts and more are sold for real money for everyone, but you can also get something for completing tasks.
I’ll clarify that purchases from the large version are not transferred here: if you play Apex Legends on your phone and PC, buy two passes. But still, there is enough free content in the game, and the main value is far from that.
Apex Legends Mobile is a true example of how you can take big projects from consoles to mobile devices. The game has retained all of its key features, and is a great alternative to any big online shooter if you are away from home and don’t want to play something mobile. Despite the “Mobile” in the title, the game is almost indistinguishable from the older version.
