Diablo 3: Ultimate Edition is easily the best edition of the title to hit consoles. PC gamers are probably chuckling knowing that they have had access to the Reaper of Souls DLC long before the console release. However, the PS4/Xbox One version is as good as the PC version. Actual, dare I say, better than the PC version. Even though we have had to wait a bit longer to get our hands on the title it has certainly been worth the wait and is easily one of the best titles to release this year.  Those that have been playing the PC version and were planning to jump to the console release I have some bad news. Unfortunately, characters can’t be ported over from the PC or Mac version.

For those that have never played the Diablo series, Diablo is a popular action-RPG, created by Blizzard Entertainment. The game has an intricate plot; there is a mysterious star that crashes into earth meaning it’s the end of days. You, the hero of the story arrives at Tristram and has to battle an evil presence that has started to take over the realm of Sanctuary. You battle your through everything evil, even trees! Bundled together with interesting quests, with tons of exploring to do. If you are looking for a title that is a value for money, look no further as you will spend countless hours play Diablo 3: Ultimate Edition. Exploring dungeons, finding loot and epic boss battles. It’s all present in this bundle of joy.

Before you drop into the game you have the opportunity to choose between several characters which include: Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Demon Hunter or Crusader.  From here, you will enter the realm of Sanctuary, battling several undead enemies and unfriendly creatures.  Once the game is completed, you gain access to the Reaper of Souls, which adds a bit more to the story, which is easy to follow and focuses on taking down Malthael aka the “Angel of Death.” It’s nice to have all the DLC included in this release, but this isn’t the sole reason to purchase the title.

The controls are solid and movement is controlled through the left analogue stick, with various attacks mapped to the various buttons on the controller. The control layout is very easy to follow, the whole time I was playing Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition on the PS4, I was playing co-op with my girlfriend. The first thing she noticed was how easy it was to pick up and play, she ended up really enjoying the title, a game that she would have never played if it wasn’t ported to the PlayStation 4. So, from her experience and my own, we both found the navigation to be a dream.  This also goes for the menus with its simple User Interface.

One nice edition for PS4 users is the ability to use the DualShock 4 touch pad to navigate through the menus; however it’s not as smooth as one would hope.  PC players will always say they prefer the mouse and keyboard option for games like Diablo, but in all honestly, Blizzard has created a control scheme that not only works for consoles, it feels good on the consoles, and in my opinion better than on PC or Mac.

The console versions offer something the PC and Mac versions don’t and that is local split-screen co-op. This is easily one of my favourite features of the game, as I previously mentioned my girlfriend was able to jump in to pick up and play with considerable ease. The local-player can also hop online with you and another two players with no issues. Surprisingly Blizzard has also included the option for LAN lay with another two players on another single console. This is a delightful feature. The only problem with offline co-op is the fact you’re stuck exploring together and not able to split up to cover more ground on the map, but if you’re playing with two other players online it won’t be much of an issue. Diablo 3 is certainly a game that is better played with friends.

A new feature Blizzard has experimented is an new in-game mail system which allows you gift loot to friends, which works very well. The other new feature is something that I was terrified to experience and that was the nemesis system. This system means that any of your previously killed monsters/enemies can come back to join the undead for another battle in a more powerful form. They will come after you and will put up one hell of a fight. Your friends will have to be on guard too as they will slay anyone in their path. They are welcomed features, but don’t really add too much to the game.

The Ultimate Evil Edition’s presentation on PS4 and Xbox One is far superior to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. The game runs at 1080p/60fps on both new gen consoles and it certainly shows, but there will be few instances of slowdown when the enemies decide to clog up your screen. If you are running Diablo 3 on the PC at the max settings, it still looks that tad better than the console versions do. However, it’s not far off and the new gen versions more then hold their own.

If you have played Diablo 3 before on the PC or Mac, then there really isn’t much reason to pick up the console version unless you wanted to try a different control scheme, as the PC and Mac versions currently don’t support external controllers. If you were to go for one of the new gen versions however, I would certainly recommend picking it up on the PS4, considering the fact that it comes with exclusive content and this exclusive goodness is none other than The Last of Us and The Nephalem Rift themed content.

 

The The Last of Us themed dungeon has been re-designed to accommodate the look and feel of the ever popular exclusive Playstation title and brings a whole new feel to what you’re often use to with the Diablo series. If you have played TLOU, then you will be happy to see the inclusion of the Stalker, Clicker and Bloater all making an appearance, with yellow spores floating around the dungeon, to give it that truly infected feel.  This fits into the game nicely and would be fantastic to see a The Last of Us themed RPG sometime in the future. I believe it would work quite well. Blizzard and Naughty dog, get talking! Lucky PlayStation owners can also receive Shadow of the Colossus themed Transmog armour that includes six unique armour appearances.

Overall Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is easily the best co-op game on new gen consoles to date. The game contains its PC counterpart in a delightful package that works far better than expected. The controls are fantastic, making it easy for anyone to pick up and play. The game features the original Diablo 3 and the Reaper Of Souls DLC with incalculable improvements. It offers fantastic value for money and is certainly worth picking up. Blizzard have done a fantastic job bringing the title to the consoles and is a must have.

Do you want reveal the Review Score?