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Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo franchise is renowned for its hack-and-slash roleplaying gameplay, beginning with the first game’s release on PCs in 1996, its first sequel seeing release in 2000. The first two games would receive expansion packs sometime after their releases, with development of the third entry commencing in 2001, the tertiary title officially announced in 2008. Diablo III would not see its initial release until 2012, with the PlayStation 3 release, upon which this review is based, coming the following year, and eventually a collection of the original game and its expansion entitled Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition, which like its predecessors provides solid action RPG gameplay.
Upon starting a new game, the player can choose to create a character from six classes (crusader being the newest one in the expansion), each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The player can outfit them with a variety of weapons and armor, each able to hack away at the enemy with their weapons and use skills that require a recharge time before the player can use them again (the same going for HP-restoring potions). Some skills require the use of points called wrath, which recovers as the player hacks away at the enemy with normal attacks. The battle system works superbly, with players also able to have an A.I. controlled ally with their own weapons, armor, and skills, with virtually no room for improvement.
Although the third entry sports some improvements over its predecessor in terms of control, chiefly more generous inventory space, organized as a list rather than a grid, that negate the necessity to return to town constantly to sell excess gear, there are rare glitches that freeze the game during loading screens, and even potential points where the game will fail to load entirely, which occurred when this reviewer was a ways into the extra Act V, and as this writer owns a fat PlayStation 3 without Wi-Fi or internet connection, he is unable to download potential patches to rectify the issue. Ultimately, interaction could have been much better.
Most Western RPGs tend to sport blank-slate protagonists, although fortunately, whichever class the player chooses to play as does have sundry interaction during story scenes, the narrative itself continuing from the second game, with journals revealing various backstory, although there are some points that make the plot feel slightly like a rehash of that in the second game. Although Act V is new to the expanded addition, the transition between the fourth and fifth nonetheless feels fluid, this reviewer lamentably unable to enjoy the remainder of the game’s storyline due to the aforementioned technical issues encountered a ways into the fifth chapter. All in all, the plot is good, if somewhat derivative of the game’s predecessors.
This reviewer has yet to experience a Western RPG soundtrack on par with those featured in Japanese roleplaying games, and Diablo III is no exception, with few memorable tracks, although the superb voice acting mostly compensates for that particular shortcoming.
The visuals border on perfection, with a 2.5-dimensional view of the game environs, which are largely devoid of things such as jaggies and pixilated texturing, and the character models look nice as well with realistic anatomy, although they don’t express much emotion.
Finally, finishing the game can take a little over twenty hours, with the variety of classes nicely enhancing replay value.
Overall, the PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III combined with its expansion is for the most part solid, what with its flawless hack-and-slash gameplay, decent storyline, superb voice acting, beautiful visuals, and plentiful lasting appeal. Unfortunately, the aforementioned technical issues with regards to occasional freezes during loading and the potential inability to complete the game properly make a full recommendation of the third entry’s PS3 iteration. Perhaps having an internet connection might have given access to a patch to resolve the mentioned flaws, although those without it for their systems such as this reviewer will lamentably not be able to experience the entire game’s offerings.
This review is based on a playthrough as a crusader, and an incomplete playthrough ending a ways into Act V, where the player became unable to reload his saved progress.
The Good:
+Excellent hack-and-slash gameplay.
+Decent narrative.
+Great voice acting.
+Gorgeous graphics.
+Plenty lasting appeal.
The Bad:
-Some glitches potentially making it impossible to finish all five Acts, especially V.
-Story sometimes feels like a rehash of the previous game.
-Forgettable soundtrack.
The Bottom Line:
The gameplay is superb, but the glitches can make it impossible to finish entirely.
Score Breakdown:
Platform: PlayStation 3
Game Mechanics: 10/10
Controls: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Music/Sound: 7/10
Graphics: 9/10
Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Difficulty: Adjustable
Playing Time: 20-30 Hours
Overall: 8.5/10
Upon starting a new game, the player can choose to create a character from six classes (crusader being the newest one in the expansion), each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The player can outfit them with a variety of weapons and armor, each able to hack away at the enemy with their weapons and use skills that require a recharge time before the player can use them again (the same going for HP-restoring potions). Some skills require the use of points called wrath, which recovers as the player hacks away at the enemy with normal attacks. The battle system works superbly, with players also able to have an A.I. controlled ally with their own weapons, armor, and skills, with virtually no room for improvement.
Although the third entry sports some improvements over its predecessor in terms of control, chiefly more generous inventory space, organized as a list rather than a grid, that negate the necessity to return to town constantly to sell excess gear, there are rare glitches that freeze the game during loading screens, and even potential points where the game will fail to load entirely, which occurred when this reviewer was a ways into the extra Act V, and as this writer owns a fat PlayStation 3 without Wi-Fi or internet connection, he is unable to download potential patches to rectify the issue. Ultimately, interaction could have been much better.
Most Western RPGs tend to sport blank-slate protagonists, although fortunately, whichever class the player chooses to play as does have sundry interaction during story scenes, the narrative itself continuing from the second game, with journals revealing various backstory, although there are some points that make the plot feel slightly like a rehash of that in the second game. Although Act V is new to the expanded addition, the transition between the fourth and fifth nonetheless feels fluid, this reviewer lamentably unable to enjoy the remainder of the game’s storyline due to the aforementioned technical issues encountered a ways into the fifth chapter. All in all, the plot is good, if somewhat derivative of the game’s predecessors.
This reviewer has yet to experience a Western RPG soundtrack on par with those featured in Japanese roleplaying games, and Diablo III is no exception, with few memorable tracks, although the superb voice acting mostly compensates for that particular shortcoming.
The visuals border on perfection, with a 2.5-dimensional view of the game environs, which are largely devoid of things such as jaggies and pixilated texturing, and the character models look nice as well with realistic anatomy, although they don’t express much emotion.
Finally, finishing the game can take a little over twenty hours, with the variety of classes nicely enhancing replay value.
Overall, the PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III combined with its expansion is for the most part solid, what with its flawless hack-and-slash gameplay, decent storyline, superb voice acting, beautiful visuals, and plentiful lasting appeal. Unfortunately, the aforementioned technical issues with regards to occasional freezes during loading and the potential inability to complete the game properly make a full recommendation of the third entry’s PS3 iteration. Perhaps having an internet connection might have given access to a patch to resolve the mentioned flaws, although those without it for their systems such as this reviewer will lamentably not be able to experience the entire game’s offerings.
This review is based on a playthrough as a crusader, and an incomplete playthrough ending a ways into Act V, where the player became unable to reload his saved progress.
The Good:
+Excellent hack-and-slash gameplay.
+Decent narrative.
+Great voice acting.
+Gorgeous graphics.
+Plenty lasting appeal.
The Bad:
-Some glitches potentially making it impossible to finish all five Acts, especially V.
-Story sometimes feels like a rehash of the previous game.
-Forgettable soundtrack.
The Bottom Line:
The gameplay is superb, but the glitches can make it impossible to finish entirely.
Score Breakdown:
Platform: PlayStation 3
Game Mechanics: 10/10
Controls: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Music/Sound: 7/10
Graphics: 9/10
Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Difficulty: Adjustable
Playing Time: 20-30 Hours
Overall: 8.5/10
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