Last year Blizzard took a risk and brought their action RPG Diablo 3, which had gone through emergency surgery on PC to cure problems like Error 37, to the console world. Startlingly it worked. Not long ago they also released the Reaper of Souls expansion onto the PC world, before taking out controversial features like the Real Money Auction House. Mechanically the PC version represents a prize-winning Shiba Inu which, only a year ago, was fat with unnecessary features and in need of a good pampering. Now Blizzard is taking their shining dog to a whole new playing field for walkies with the (deep breath) Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition.
First and foremost let’s get something clear. This isn’t a fresh new game in the franchise but an expansion on the original — which is included in the purchase on console. Reaper of Souls‘ most obvious addition is that of Act 5. Taking place in the region of Westmarch, the Nephalem (that’s you) must help stop a crazed former angel from turning everyone into ghosts and ghouls. Of course there’s more to it than that but going into any further detail would take so long Blizzard would probably release another expansion pack. The tangled web of a storyline isn’t bad per se, just a little lacking in any particular depth or consequence.
And Diablo 3 :Reaper of Souls is better for it.
Rather than being the thread that holds events together, the narrative around the game exists simply as a basic reason for killing numerous enemies and wandering through gloomy locale after gloomy locale. To put it another way, the story resembles the frame around the Mona Lisa; it serves its purpose but doesn’t obscure the focus, that focus being its gameplay.
Reaper of Souls‘ control scheme could have been a monumental failure of Ben Affleck as Daredevil proportions. The translation from left-clicking across the floor to using the analogue stick for movement thankfully holds up extremely well. What veterans of the PC version may miss is the precision afforded by using a mouse but with the addition of a console-only roll (think Marcus Fenix in Gears of War rather than the Arwings of Starfox) allowing Nephalem to swiftly dodge incoming attacks. It’s not perfect or foolproof, but it’ll get you out of a tight corner.
Engaging in battle during the game is the crux of everything. Rarely does more than 20 seconds go by when something isn’t being trying to bash out a xylophone solo on your ribcage and giving enemies the same courtesy is nothing short of a breeze. Whether you’re dropping from the sky as a Crusader shattering the undead into a thousand tiny pieces or commanding zombie dogs into battle with the Witch Doctor, dishing out a tasty portion of death only requires the pointing of a stick and the pushing of a button. That’s not to say combat here is always easy.
Not if you don’t make it so anyhow.
As progress wears on, more powerful enemies start flinging around a load of abilities which, when combined, can become seemingly impossible to tear apart. For instance, Arcane Enchanted elites dot around sentinels which radiate a powerful purple beam for a short time and can generally be easily avoided. When mixed in with the ability to raise stone walls and freeze you in place though, they become incredibly dangerous.
That’s really where Reaper of Souls excels. The progress you make is matched by a well-balanced bump in the difficulty of enemies displayed before you to keep gameplay interesting but at a level where you feel comfortable. However it must be said, the difficulty levels don’t quite match up to their titles. Normal difficulty requires little more brain power than the average bowel movement. If you want to actually delve into an engaging action-RPG, switch it up to Hard at least.
There is one major difference which at first seems rather trivial. Taking out 10 or more enemies in quick succession sets off a “massacre” counter with a small fuse above it. Killing as many enemies as possible before that timer runs out dishes out a sizable experience bonus. The PC version has close to the same thing but how its presented in the Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition provides a small and yet infinitely compelling drive to push on quickly into conflict.
Now this may sound strange but this maelstrom of blood and death has a strangely cathartic element to it. Wading through enemy after enemy never gets dull. After spending 30 hours on the PS4 version and well over 150 hours on the PC version, my desire to keep playing has not been dulled by anything. Admittedly there are a few niggling problems like how enemy path-finding sometimes decides to act like a stone-age SatNav system and the console user interface, while generally competent, has a few clunks like a 10 year old minivan.
As you may expect there’s a graphical upgrade on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions when compared to last generation. Now the game does look good on the latest generation, running at a happily stable frame-rate in 1080p on both systems — which should confuse the console warriors. Loading screens go by in a flash so you’re always straight in the action. However, you do sometimes find that when portaling into an area the loading screen fades a few seconds too late, jamming whichever one of the six characters you’ve chosen into a temporary prison of marmalade.
Reaper of Souls may have an impressive roster of features but it still holds one ace in the hole to keep you coming back for days and weeks: Adventure Mode. This takes you back into any of the five Acts to take on five different challenges for a bonus cache. Sounds a little simple, but a “quick session” with Adventure Mode quickly becomes a three hour lootfest which ends with you realizing you’re sat in a pool of your own filth, shivering while the cat decides whether or not you’re dead.
Alongside Adventure Mode is a little set of events called Nephalem Rifts. These instanced zones require you to systematically murder enemy after enemy until a really big one rocks up for you to split in half with an axe. Even the music doesn’t become annoying after 100 hours listening to the same soundtrack thanks to the fact that its a very passive but wonderful accompaniment rather than an obvious cacophony of orchestral nonsense.
What Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition does is nothing ground breaking. The world will not suddenly be at peace. The ozone layer will not suddenly be prepared. Firefly won’t suddenly be recommissioned. However there is something a little special about it. There’s an incredible amount of polish sat comfortably with hours upon hours of content in a happy little embrace.
Action RPGs may not be your thing but if the idea of bringing death to thousands of gruesome monsters in a forboding world burning in the flames of unending war sounds like fun, then Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition is a shining prospect as a game to pick up. Its not a replacement for the already-strong PC version but there’s definitely enough here to keep anyone going for hours.
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