Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Reviews
The Reaper of Souls expansion provides a great amount of content, changes and balancing that significantly improves and extends the original Diablo III experience. The maps feel more focused, the bosses refined and the Crusader class is a joy to play. There is however one little sting in the tail: the cost.
The best way to sum up Reaper of Souls is to unfortunately badmouth the original release, as this is the definitive version of Diablo III, which makes the version we all played two years ago seem like a work-in-progress. Everything has been changed for the better, and when you factor in all the new content and the fantastic new Crusader class, you have what is arguably the best entry in the series. Or at the very least a worthy sequel to Diablo II, which after all, is what a lot fans wanted the first time around.
I've really enjoyed coming back to Diablo 3 with this expansion, Reaper of Souls. I had grown bored of playing through the same stuff, so having some fresh content to dive into has been great. It's still the same, fun game it always has been, but now with more stuff to do after you finish the story, and extra randomness that can hopefully stop its end game from becoming stale as quickly as the main game did. Whether or not this new Adventure Mode will be enough to keep away the boredom of repetition is something that is too early to tell. But after putting a good chunk of hours into it, I am hopeful it will.
Reaper of Souls will feel like a brand new game. Right from the get go, it is clear that Blizzard has taken what they have learned and addressed what people were upset about.
I am sure Blizzard will find ways to improve the new systems even more in future patches, but as it stands now they're small issues that hurt the experience just a small bit. In reality, there is nothing to fear, this is a great addition to the game and we are looking forward to seeing how Blizzard will move on with the universe in Diablo III. As for now, I don't know why you're still reading this, go get the expansion and begin your epic loot hunts in Adventure Modes.
With a really good Act V, an awesome new area, new skills for every class, the addition of the Crusader, the Mystic, and entirely new modes to play that changes the way to get loot, Diablo 3 is finally the game we all hoped it would be.
Does Reaper of Souls justify its asking price of a full game? If it only presented itself with Act V then no, but the inclusion of an all-new-ish character class and Adventure Mode does soothe the sting. Reaper of Souls, in conjunction with the Loot 2.0 patch, finally brings us the Diablo III we want and that fans deserve.
All in all, Reaper of Souls has made a number of huge leaps forward for the Diablo franchise, introducing a new level of random generation that isn't entirely intrusive in the form of Rifts. As well as restoring purpose for your farming escapades from Bounties, the game has newfound freedom. Adventure Mode is a very welcome improvement; the monster hunting experience enthralls and compels, thanks to loot changes and class rebalancing.
Pre loot 2.0 Diablo 3 was grindy with the temptation of the gold auction house to remove the need to even play the game. The pre-patch to Reaper of Souls known as Loot 2.0 gave everyone the Diablo 3 it should have been 2 years ago and Reaper of Souls truly is the icing on the cake and well worth the 35 Euros/40 Dollars many times over for the hours you can spend inside this beautiful dungeon crawler!
It's not enough to bring back people who didn't like the skill tree implementation, but for fans who grew a little tired of the end game, they will be happy to know that the evolution of Diablo III has moved in the right direction, and with an endless randomly generated mode that will keep fans hooked for hours upon hours until the next expansion hits, Reaper of Souls is a must own for fans of Diablo III.
Diablo III Reaper of Souls boasts great graphics, sturdy gameplay and a very interesting story that will have both veterans and newcomers of Diablo III entertained and busy for months to come. With the possibility of reaching level 70 and the inclusion of fixes, tweaks and a new character, I for one cannot wait to get back into this game again because it's been far too long between drinks.
We have gotten used to games like Borderlands 2's introducing us to whole new areas and multiple hours of new plot in its DLC packs, or BioShock Infinite's DLC expanding on other games in the series and introducing us to new and old characters. Reaper of Souls isn't like that. It's really only giving fans of the original a few more toys to play with. Unfortunately, the $40 price of admission weighs heavy on this title, and the sparse new content doesn't quite justify it. In short, if you weren't a huge Diablo III fan then Reaper of Souls won't change your mind. However, if you enjoyed the original then Reaper of Souls adds a new class, several new environments, and a bunch of replay value. Just be warned, the plot isn't the greatest and you'll likely have to purchase another expansion in the future to finally see some sort of satisfying conclusion.
But subjectively it boils down to just how much use you will find yourself getting out of these new additions. The Crusader requires a reroll, bounties reuse locations and the addition of randomised dungeons might genuinely be a case of too little, too late. This is a superlative effort from Blizzard, but is it enough to change your mind if you've already decided against the instalment? Sadly, that's not a question we can answer for you.
This expansion was what the game needed, and it did so quite well. Congratulations to Blizzard on that! If you come back, hope to see you there in the game!
Blizzard are asking for £29.99 ( ~ $40.00) for Reaper of Souls, which does seem like a lot, and for those that really weren't sold on the original, I would counsel them to give it another go now that all of the aforementioned patches have gone through before deciding to take the plunge with Reaper of Souls. That said, I had a lot of fun with it and shall probably be playing it for some time, as after a year-long Diablo hiatus I've been sufficiently pleased by the tweaks and enhancements that the developers have made to game to strongly recommend it.
This is the meat and potatoes of Reaper of Souls. Act V to me feels longer than the dreaded Act II. I literally spent 16 hours of uninterrupted game time completing the new story. It's very rewarding to those who, like me, have to search every nook and cranny. There are a lot of dungeons and events placed in far out places.
They found a way to fix Diablo III.
Everything about Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls leaves me wanting to more, despite the fact that I've already cleared the campaign on multiple occasions, and I wouldn't be shocked if I've got a full roster of level 70 characters by the time the year comes to a close. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a hack-and-slash title as much as I'm enjoying Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls, and I plan to milk that for all it's worth. I suggest you do the same.
The gist of Reaper of Souls is a good experience. It's more of stuff that keeps people coming back, but you'll have to trudge through dungeons for a few hours because there's another threat to all existence Tyrael says needs your attention before you can bathe in the cleansing waters of the main attraction, which is Adventure Mode. You do what you gotta do, I guess.
Anyway, away with such idle talk. The promise of riches and delicious loot hangs in the air.