Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition Review – Excellence Reborn

Diablo 3 has undergone tremendous improvement since its debut in 2012. Following dozens of patches which balanced the game and ushered in worthwhile features, earlier in the year it met its first expansion, along with one of the most significant updates for a game the world has ever seen (patch 2.0). It seemed like overnight it would turn from a great game into an absolutely amazing one.

Frankly, there is no better time for it to make the transition to consoles, offering more gamers a chance to see what Blizzard’s 15+ million unit selling action RPG is all about. For that, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is here.

As we learned with Diablo 3‘s original release on consoles, the game plays extremely well on a controller. While melee is favored for its more direct style of approach, kiting as a ranged class is certainly feasible given some practice. Menu navigation has been designed very intuitively to utilize the input of the analog sticks and bumper buttons to move between menu screens and alternate quickly between equipment slots. What’s here is just as snappy and precise as using a keyboard and mouse, which may surprise you.

Ultimate Evil Edition comes packed together with Reaper of Souls, an expansion many fell in love with when it arrived on PC earlier in the year—we awarded it a score of 9.0/10. This expansion does a few things to make Diablo 3 a more complete experience. For one, it adds a new class: Crusader. Crusader is a magically proficient plate-wearing class that has some very fun abilities to use, not to mention flashy—literally. It’s also one of the best classes to have in a party as it provides valuable utility and can direct attacks their way to keep ranged from having to move around too much.

Additionally, Act V is included. This act, as the expansion’s name suggests, is evil in tone and atmosphere. Requiring about four hours to complete, it’s arguably the best chapter of the entire game. It has some very well designed enemies, and is as immersive as any action RPG chapter has ever been.

There are other important features from the expansion included, such as Adventure Mode, Bounties, Nephalem Rifts, and Mystic, as well as the significant additions made in patch 2.0. Basically, all you need to know is this is a game packed to the brim with content, so even if you’ve only completed the original experience from level 1 to 60 on console or PC, you’re in for several dozen hours of new entertainment. Speaking of which, if you played Diablo 3 on PS3 or Xbox 360, you can very easily transfer your character over and begin where you left off, no matter which version of Ultimate Evil Edition you get.

Also See: Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls Review

Although you could argue that the PC version of Diablo 3 is the greatest version to play, Ultimate Evil Edition has some very alluring perks. Local multiplayer isn’t something games see very often, and Ultimate Evil Edition does it with brilliance. Having a friend join you during your journey is as easy as them turning on a controller, and choosing whether to use a console profile so their progress can be saved, or to play as a guest just to slay enemies alongside you for a single session, is laudable. What makes this so successful is how Blizzard has designed it so your friends automatically boost up to whatever level you are, addressing the common problem on PC where friends are rarely the same level as one another—unless they’re at level cap. This will likely become a staple of your game library, being the first game you think of when friends come over.

This isn’t the PC version killer you may be hoping for, though. From a community standpoint, there’s far less competition and progression on this casual version. While that isn’t important to most players, what is important is that the console versions will receive patches later than their PC counterpart. This is quite significant, as Blizzard’s patches are the most dense in the industry. For example, patch 2.1 just landed on PC this week and brought with it a laundry list of adjustments and additions, including Seasons, Greater Rifts, and Leaderboards. This will arrive on the PS4 and Xbox One at a later date.

While Ultimate Evil Edition is available on PS3 and Xbox 360, you’ll definitely want to get it on a next-gen console if you have one or are planning to purchase one in the future. Diablo 3 looks remarkably good on the television at 1080p with 60 FPS. Comparatively, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions run at 720p. The difference is noticeable.

As far as which of the two next-gen consoles to get it on if you own both, either is a great choice. There are major differences, although the PS4 version has an exclusive area with The Last of Us enemies, and a Shadow of the Colossus themed armor set. That may be enough to woo you.

There are also some console exclusive features that add some unique flavor to the game. For one, you’ll encounter Player Gifts on occasion when a legendary item drops. These offer you a valuable opportunity to send someone on your friends list a great item. This results in positive social interactions, and an exciting sequence of events as you’re doubly rewarded for a rare drop, and get to make a friend of yours happy.

Also See: What You Need to Know About D3: Ultimate Evil

Additionally, when a player is killed by a monster, that monster will sometimes spawn as a Nemesis in the games of players on their friends list. This Nemesis isn’t easy to take down, but drops rare loot. Knowing that these foes killed your friends only further incentivizes your demolition of them. It’s a nice feature, but not a significant one.

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition packs tremendous value, offering players a sizable journey full of exciting moments, in addition to serving as the best co-op game on next-gen consoles. If you’re more of a competitive player, and want the latest and greatest, the PC version is still the best given its larger, more experienced community and platform-first patch support. Even then, owning both isn’t such a bad idea, even if only to use Ultimate Evil Edition as your go-to for local multiplayer scenarios.

Jonathan Leack is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline. You can follow him on Twitter @jleack.

Copy provided by publisher. Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is available on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360.