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After a falling star plummets through the cathedral of the town of New Tristram, your character, chosen from one of six classes, is charged with investigating the crater-causing incident. So begins Diablo 3, and soon you’re hacking, slashing and looting as you defend the town from the rising dead. There’s little respite as you then set forth on a series of quests across the fantastic world of Sanctuary.
Concessions have been made for consoles, with a couple of attacks initially mapped to specific buttons, but these are multiplied and spread over the whole controller as you level up by besting foes, reading lore and completing quests. Combat, like the PC version, is a combination of melee and, depending on your character, magical attacks that can be chained together to inflict awesome damage on your foes.
The barrage of enemies and resultant button-mashing can sometimes seem indefinite, but a moment’s distraction can mean evisceration by some new manifestation of evil. As your stats and hardiness develop, your foes increase in number and strength so you’re rarely overpowered for too long.
As ever, management of your skills and items is of enormous importance. Finding and using stat-boosting magical weapons and armour is essential, and these can be broken down into special elements or sold once they’re replaced with superior wares.
Diablo 3 is a fast and fluid beast of an RPG; a massive game spanning four distinct acts over memorable locations and terrains. Both series’ veterans and newcomers will be able to pick up and play after only a cursory glance at the controls, which have translated well from the PC; feeling natural and instinctive on the gamepad. The constant acquisition of powerful and exotic items is the driving force behind the game’s appeal and its challenges and rewards are many.
Version Tested: Xbox 360. Played for 13 hours. Click here to read about VideoGamer.com’s new review policy.
Diablo 4 OUT NOW – head over to our dedicated Diablo 4 reviews, news and guides hub. You may also want to check out the best barbarian build in Diablo 4, which is one of our favourite classes in the game. Or, for those more familiar with the Diablo series, have a read of our best Necromancer build in Diablo 4.
