Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition brings a welcome list of new features, alongside the expected visual bump. If you like hitting things by pressing buttons on a controller – and Blizzard holds up its promise to keep the game updated – this is easily the best way to do it.
Combining the original title and Reaper of Souls in a single package, this is the version to pick up if you’re looking to jump into the game for the first time. Many of the initial concerns (most notably the player-driven auction house) have been addressed, and the addition of Adventure Mode, among others, help extend the end-game content.
Exclusive here, too, are a number of tricks that aim to make your Diablo binging a litte more… social. That’s a scary word to start throwing around in a game such as this, but the end result is a more entertaining one.
Discovering legendary items offers a small chance you’ll be able to share the fortune with a friend by sending them an item of their own; being killed by certain enemies triggers the Nemesis System, which allows said foe to hop over to a friend’s game, also growing in strength. Your friend can then attempt to avenge you and gain a reward in the process, or die themselves and have the enemy jump to another player’s world. Even if you prefer to dungeon crawl alone, the occasional reminder that other players are out there is a nice touch.
If you do want to form a group, the experience is largely the same to the previous console outing. It’s recommended with one or two others, but gets real messy if you create a full team of four heroes – particularly so, if you’re playing locally. Thankfully, small touches, such as ‘Apprentice Mode’, help the overall concept: players of different levels can still crawl together without the lower levelled character feeling useless.
It addresses one of the biggest problems I’ve had playing games like Diablo III in a multiplayer setup and makes it all the better for it.
Played on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Both the Xbox One and PS4 version of the game will support 1080p resolution, although the former will require a day one patch.
