Reviewing the Ultimate Evil Edition of Diablo 3 for new gen consoles is a tricky proposition because most of you will already know whether you will or won’t be buying it. Having already seen numerous editions of the game released both for PC and last gen consoles, many who wanted the game will have already played it through. But does the Ultimate Evil Edition do enough to warrant another purchase?

One of the quintessential dungeon crawler franchises, Diablo 3 was critically well received when it was first launched on PC. However many series veterans were not keen on inclusion of the game having to be always online and the auction house, where players could effectively use real money to buy the best items.

 

It then saw release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013 and attempted to fix the issues fans had taken umbrage with. The always online requirement was removed as was the controversial auction house and the drop rate of rare and legendary items was significantly increased to give casual players more of a fair shot of building a good character.

Now we see it releasing on new gen consoles with the inclusion of the Reaper of Souls expansion previously released on PC which introduces a number of new elements to the game, alongside various other tweaks to try and make it the most complete edition to date.

 

Firstly, the game adds a new fifth act to the end of the game, which extends the playtime by another few hours and gives new enemies to battle. It also raises the level cap to 70, meaning addicted players have more levels to grind and better loot to find.

The Crusader is also introduced as a sixth playable class. Focusing on melee combat similar to the barbarian, the crusader has the added bonus of being able to wield two handed weapons in just one, giving great options for very high damage classes. Helpfully as well the game includes the options to import characters you have ranked up from previous versions of the game, and this even allows for cross-platform importing, which should help save some time for series veterans.

The biggest new addition however is arguably the inclusion of the end game adventure mode. This allows the player to revisit any area after completing the game to farm for better loot and also introduces bounties, which gives random rare enemies to kill and rewards better loot once completed. Also, if an enemy kills the controlling player, that enemy has the chance to appear in a friend’s game so they can try and avenge your death. If they succeed, they will be awarded with rarer loot. Adventure mode adds a new element to the game for ranking up and acquiring loot as opposed to just playing through the story again so it is a more than welcome addition.

 

Being released on new gen consoles as well has naturally seen the game have a buff in performance when compared to its last gen counterparts. The graphics are significantly increased and the frame rate holds up much better than previously, even during the most hectic battles. Granted it is still not the prettiest game you will see on your PS4 or Xbox One but it isn’t aiming to be. Given the choice, most players would prefer solid frame rate over photorealisitic graphics, especially in this type of game so it is great it plays so well.

 

However the swap to new consoles has not been able to paper over all of the issues the previous instalments of the game suffered from. The story is still clichéd, uninteresting nonsense and is delivered in a monotonous, dreary way that never really gets you caring about the characters. The dungeon crawling action also lends itself very well to co-op play and is a blast when played with three other friends. However the downside of this is that solo players can find it quite repetitive after a while and may become bored long before hitting the level cap. This is a big issue as many players will say that the ‘real’ Diablo does not start until you hit the level cap and start acquiring legendary loot and trying to build the best possible character.

Based on the above paragraph, the real question you need to ask yourself, whether you are brand new to the franchise or a returning veteran is whether you can be bothered grinding through the game four to five times in order to hit the level cap before the real fun begins. If you can be bothered and have the time to do so, the game will suck you in and before you know it you know it you will have developed a case of serious loot addiction.

 

Overall, the Ultimate Evil Edition is by far the most definitive version of Diablo 3 yet released and if you have never played it before and have even a passing interest in the genre then it comes strongly recommended. However if you are a returning player who has played the game to death already then it really comes down to whether you can be bothered doing it all again for the sake a few, admittedly interesting, new features.

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