Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition Review

Making its way across the console generation, Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition includes all the extras from the original as well as a few improvements to boot, but is it worth the price tag?

Firstly, and most importantly, Diablo 3 isn’t for everyone; it’s an old school unapologetic dungeon crawler. That means you can expect hours upon hours of gathering loot, grinding levels and perfecting your load out.

If that doesn’t sound like the action you’re after, this game may not be for you.

 

If however you’re elated from finding a magical belt, excited by levelling up, and enjoy experimenting with every new skill, this game might be a great catch.

The skills themselves are fairly unique, allowing a lot of customisation while making sure that everyone can exploit their own play style. Each set of skills is locked to a certain button, so you’ll have to select each skill very carefully. This mode is optional however, so if you’d prefer to boost your character with all your favourite powers that is also entirely possible, but picking the most complimentary powers is quite satisfying.

And you’d better like your powers, because you’ll be using them, a lot. Diablo 3 is stuffed to the brim with enemies of all shapes and sizes. Combat is undeniably fun, but it does become repetitive after a while, letting you slip into whatever pattern you’ve created for yourself. Playing begins to feel trancelike, as you calmly carve your way through hordes of enemies to find the next loot chest. It’s a long game too, spanning dozens of hours per playthrough, which is spilt into five acts (assuming you haven’t played the basic Diablo 3 game already).

The acts can feel like they last a lifetime; luckily each act has a completely distinct feel and atmosphere, with their own enemies and environments. The first act has you exploring a mystic forest, while the second is based in a desert, and the third in a wintry fortress. Each new act is a refreshing change, and a needed one. The story of Diablo 3 is fairly weak; if you manage to complete the game without skipping any dialogue then I salute you. The story begins with the player arriving in a town besieged by the dead, only to find a ‘Stranger’ who requires his sword rebuilt, because magic stuff, or something. By the end of each act I found myself craving for new enemies and locations, with everything beginning to feel a bit samey.

Playing as different class adds quite a lot of replayability to the game, with six classes that all play quite differently with their own set of abilities. The new addition brought by Reaper of Souls is the Crusader, a mighty warrior class with a defensive fashion. The crusader is an entertaining choice, with by far the most amusing power, summoning a flaming steed to charge into battle with.

Although the plot might be a bit rubbish, restarting the game as new character won’t be as tiresome as you might expect. With each dungeon now procedurally generated, you’ll never explore quite the same map twice, nor will it bare the same loot. Although the enemies will be same variations, the randomly generating mini bosses will be different as well. As you crawl through the dungeon you will occasionally encounter such bosses, more powerful than the standard fair and powered by their own unique abilities.

 

On top of that, different ‘events’ will be available each time you play as well. These are quests happened upon by chance, requiring you to kill certain bosses, or a horde within a strict time frame. All of these features add together to make playing through again and again as different classes an entertaining break from any one character.

 

One of the most disappointing aspects of Diablo 3 is the difficulty however. If it were more challenging on normal maybe the game could keep your attention more easily. And if harder modes weren’t near impossible maybe you wouldn’t quit from frustration.

Multiplayer in theory increases the difficulty, but the inclusion of another player makes everything die pretty fast. That being said, multiplayer is by far the most fun you can have with this game. Picking classes that suit one another, and delving in with friends is a great way to explore the game’s dungeons.

One of the most interesting features of Diablo 3 Ultimate Evil Edition is the Nemesis system, which is exclusive to consoles. Being killed in the game creates a Nemesis, which in turn will reappear at any given point throughout the game and attempt to kill you once again. This feature applies online because a Nemesis will also hunt your friends, and theirs will hunt you. Every time a Nemesis scores a kill it becomes stronger, meaning you might encounter a particularly destructive foe that your friend just couldn’t beat; it’s a nifty addition, and it’s a pity for PC players that this is missing in their version of the game.

Another console exclusive is the mail system - you’ll be able to send item gifts to your friends, which is currently impossible on PC.

Diablo 3 is a very fun game, although it eventually gets repetitive. Whether you slog it out alone or find some friends to play with, you’ll spend hours happily, albeit mindlessly, cutting through hordes of enemies on the way to fulfill your destiny, whatever that is; moreover, there is nothing quite like it on consoles.