I never bought Diablo 3 on it’s initial release on PC. I had played Diablo 2 briefly in the past and it hadn’t grabbed me. I found it a bit dull and at the time (I was a lot younger) I just wasn’t interested in it. There were other games on my mind and other games that I just found a lot more engaging. When I initially heard the announcement that Diablo 3 would be coming to consoles, I was, again, unmoved. It wasn’t until I had heard that my local Game was having a lock in with some free goodies that I decided to go check it out. This is also the moment I discovered that the game was coming to the Xbox 360.
After playing the game I decided that I might have been missing out on something, so I decided to put down money for a pre-order. I got a free-t-shirt, poster and key chain and had been impressed with what I had played. It was very well ported and with a controller, it felt a lot better than the constant clicking I had tried in Diablo 2, and not enjoyed. It wasn’t until my birthday when I recieved a gift voucher that I managed to get round to picking up my copy.
Sitting down with the game, immediately I remembered from that one Lock-In how good the controller felt in a game like this. I could easily cast spells, dodge, attack and generally play the game with a controller. Never miss clicking and always doing exactly what I wanted to do. It was a fantastic port, and I was impressed. After the first initial plays, I was pretty hooked, though I hadn’t really come to terms with how much I was enjoying the game.
I played it a lot after that, pretty much every free night I had between my studies and it wasn’t long until I had killed Diablo with my Wizard and started anew with the newly unlocked Nightmare mode, upping to difficulty to Master I, adding some health and damage to the enemies in exchange for some of that sweet sweet loot. It had grabbed me more than I thought it would. Initially I thought it was enjoyable, but nothing more than that. Something I didn’t regret buying in the slightest, but not a game that I would go back to. It was something that got me not only into playing the game, but into the franchise as a whole, and the fact that it was the console version of the game that did this shocked me. I’m by no means a PC elitist (hence why I write for this site, and own consoles) but I know for a fact a lot of games just objectively play and work better on PC. The fact that Blizzard essentially tested new features that have been included with the latest updates to the PC version just proves that the console version was successful and well received.
After getting to Act 2 on Nightmare, I had put the game aside for a while. There were other games, and a lot of work due to University. It wasn’t until Reaper of Souls, the first expansion pack, had been released that my interest again was peaked. I had dabbled in a Hardcore character before, a character with only one life, but I had never fully invested in one. So, during my gaming time I set aside, I decided to start a Demon Hunter. It wasn’t long before I found out that I really enjoy the class and have been remaking the same character, named Whisper, over and over again each time I die. I have gotten to the point where I’m almost completed Act 1, but always die due to my own stupidity, or just pure bad luck.
I’ve not gotten into the game again. I’m sunk a lot time into it now that I’ve finished Dark Souls 2, and it’s been a lot of fun, despite the fact that I’ve been dying over and over again. It’s been great, and it’s just reminded me how much I’ve enjoyed the game on the console. I occasionally hop back into my Wizard, play a few dungeons and then get back to trying to level up a Hardcore Demon Hunter. Between this, I’ve tried other classes and haven’t found one I’ve enjoyed as much as the two I’ve mentioned, though the Monk is a close contender for a third character, if I ever make one.
It also recently came to my attention that the Paragon system, which is essentially a leveling system after you reach the cap on a character, is also in the console version, which has encouraged me to keep going with my wizard and blast through the game, leveling him up as much as possible that could potentially make my Demon Hunter runs a little less painful. My mind is on Diablo a lot these days, and it’s probably not going to change until I get bored, or something else takes away my attention (Ground Zeroes and Titanfall are still on my “To Buy” list..)
Then, it was reported by me last week that the expansion pack would be coming to the PS4 via the Ultimate Evil Edition of the game and while there is a version for the Xbox One that is also in development, Blizzard are unsure if it’ll even be released. This confused me, but it wasn’t too surprising that it’s release was up in the air. Initially, Diablo 3 was announced at a Sony Conference, for both of Sony’s current consoles, the PS3 and PS4. It was a shock to find out that it was in fact coming out simultaneously on the 360, since it was never advertised until close to release.
According to Blizzard, it’s up to Microsoft to make it’s mind up about whether or not the Ultimate Evil Edition will be released on the Xbox One. I feel that it would be a bad idea to not release it, as there are many of us that would gladly play the game on the Xbox One, and I personally would buy it a second time, even if I don’t get to keep my characters. They have a lot of potential, even having the “trade in” possibility to get more people to buy the game, much like Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts had to upgrade the game from the previous generation. Even if this isn’t a possibility, that would mean more money for not only Blizzard, who are clearly up for the idea, but Microsoft themselves. I would be much more inclined to buy the Ultimate Evil Edition than to buy the expansion pack when it comes out, as I want more games for my Xbox One, and it generally would be a more pleasant experience for me, personally. I would love to record some footage, stream me playing and be able to chill out while watching Netflix or Twitch streams at the same time, as it can be a relaxing game that you can just switch off your brain and play.
There isn’t a game like Diablo currently on the Xbox One, and the only other game similar that people can play at the moment is the Torchlight franchise, which is funnily enough made by previous Blizzard Developers who had worked on the Diablo Franchise. It’s a unique, fast paced action RPG, that encourages replay-ability and testing of new characters, not to mention it being a great game for couch and online co-operation. I would love to see what the Xbox One could handle, as the 360 version of the game runs fantastically. More graphical fidelity would be the obvious benefits, but there are also opportunities to improve the games difficult by having the ability to have a lot more enemies on screen.
Whatever the reason this is up for debate, I feel that the existence of the game for the Xbox One at the moment speaks wonders. If Blizzard are willing to make it, and are already close to finishing (as was stated in the article linked above) then why wouldn’t you sell it? It’s unusual for a product in the games industry to be completed but not ever released. Games close to completion being cancelled has happened before, but Blizzard are smart and have a lot of pull with developers. There a large company, and having them on the side of Microsoft and Sony would increase competition, which is a very healthy thing that we as consumers should be encouraging.
These are just a few of my thoughts on Diablo 3 and the hopeful release on the Xbox One. If you haven’t played it and are interested in it, I highly suggest you either pick it up, or if you have a PC that can play games, download the Starter Edition from Blizzard for free. I’m looking forward to more news, hopefully before E3, and I look forward each night to when I can sit back, relax and start my Demon Hunter all over again. Killing demons is just so much fun.
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