Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls

It’s been quite a time since its announcement and it was inevitable that the fantastic Diablo 3 made its transition to next gen consoles. Now...that time is upon us as Blizzard Entertainments flagship dungeon crawler hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Coming as a complete package with the Reaper of Souls Add-on, a new Adventure Mode, a new character class and the ability to continue on with your previous generation characters via cross save; Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition is by far the best most complete version of Diablo 3 you can buy.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Aug 2014, 15:23 BST
Diablo III Reaper of SoulsDiablo III Reaper of Souls
Diablo III Reaper of Souls

After witnessing a falling star crash into the cathedral of New Tristram shortly after your arrival, you soon discover that within the star is a man who warns of two imminent evils that threatens the land of Sanctuary in the form of demon lords Belial and Azmodan and it’s up to your selected hero to stop them. Of course I can’t go into too much detail without giving away the many surprises that the plot has but the fully voiced dialogue and smartly put together script makes for quite an epic tale that can be expanded upon at will thanks to explanations of Diablo lore which is scattered around the game. The lore goes into an impressive amount of detail and any new creature you encounter has its very own story to tell from which you can read up on in the character menu. The Reaper of Souls expansion adds a new act to the main game extending it with an additional storyline.

Every element of the PC versions of Diablo 3 and its expansion has made the jump successfully and is fully intact with a few added extras. Players get to choose to plays as one of six character classes; monk, barbarian, demon hunter, wizard, witch doctor and new class the crusader each with their own individual unique abilities that is expanded upon as the game progresses and your character levels up. After selecting a class, it’s straight onto the introduction cut scene which differs depending on which character you play as. What you really want to know though is how the console has dealt with the native control scheme of mouse and keyboard, well, fantastically actually as the character feels more connected to the player thanks to the left analog stick which controls the character and combat is made easier thanks to the targeting system which highlights the enemy your avatar is focused on. New to consoles is the ability to dodge using the right analog stick which works identical to the God of War series, this new ability is a god send when used correctly making the tough combat that little bit more forgivable. The PS4’s touch pad function activates your characters inventory screen and information menu’s which range from quest details, lore descriptions and bestiary which is jam packed full of content.
High class item drops are a lot more common on console also with rare and legendary drops never too far away which mainly drops from bosses or unique enemies which carry a yellow glow and have a lot more health than a regular enemy. Kitting out your character is a blast as different items have different appearances and you also have the choice of a companion to aid you in battle which you can kit out with found weaponry and unlockable abilities. The fact that your character is constantly upgrading makes Diablo 3 one of the most rewarding games I’ve ever played. Not only that, but the vast world of Sanctuary, New Tristram and its surroundings scream to be explored with a fine tooth comb with many new areas, dungeons and side quests to discover.

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The new Adventure mode is an endless stream of quests which allow you to level up your character to your hearts content and hunt for the best equipment. The new Crusader class is extremely powerful and is ideal for beginners due to the powerful holy abilities you will unlock along the way ranging from a powerful heavenly shield blast to blazing through enemies on an angelic steed.

Diablo III Reaper of SoulsDiablo III Reaper of Souls
Diablo III Reaper of Souls

Diablo 3 looks phenomenal on next gen consoles, super sharp characters, seamless uninterrupted 60 frames per second and a vast world with different areas to explore each one looking beautifully feature rich and excellently detailed. Enemies have fantastic death animations making battles superb fun and particles from spells and powers litter the screen. Every time I found some cool new items I often paused the game just to admire how badass I looked in it.

Summary

There’s no mistaking that Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition is by far the best version of the game to date and with the announcement of Blizzard regularly updating it means it will continue to thrive after release. The new story line, crusader class and adventure mode adds an impressive amount of replayability and the seemingly endless amount of special items and equipment to find will keep players going and even short bursts of play time will see a significant amount of progress. The best version of the best dungeon crawler available.

Story - 5/5

Graphics - 5/5

Gameplay - 5/5

Overall - 5/5

Version Reviewed - PlayStation 4