Diablo III Console Preview

The previews for Diablo III‘s console version have all covered the PS3 version so far, so if you want a take on the Xbox 360 port of the title you’ll have to check this recent hands-on preview from Computer and Videogames, which is, to my memory, the first to focus on the Microsoft console’s version. Here’s a snippet:

So that’s the single-player version of Diablo 3 pretty much dealt with, a full and faithful rendering of its PC counterpart which has been skilfully tweaked for life on its new platforms.

But the real potential win for Diablo 3 on console, is what it offers for multiplayer. Fortunately, the options are impressive: you can mix and match up to four characters on the same-screen or online at any time and you could even bring your character over to a mate’s house on a USB stick. It’s straight up drop in, drop out too, so you can play and explore at your leisure and everything’s been set up to make it as smooth and seamless an experience as possible.

Being big fans of co-operative gaming, we’ve been looking forward immensely to this and Diablo 3 doesn’t disappoint. The different heroes provide a well-balanced team and if you can assemble four friends to play, it really does put a new spin on things. A couple of players usually tank-up and confront the hordes of demons head on, while missile and magic specialists can nip in to lay traps, then retreat back and hammer their foes from a distance. You can develop all sorts of tactics and techniques to battle Diablo’s demons and the shouts of encouragement, taunts and plaintive cries of the fallen add a new layer of fun to the experience.

Multiplayer specific bonuses, like collecting golden globes, really encourage co-op play and result in perks like four-way lightning chain attacks. Meanwhile the ability to share or craft loot adds a whole wealth of gameplay features for the co-op connoisseur. It’s like playing a modern, massive and beautiful version of Gauntlet from the comfort of your own sofa and the addition of a slick multiplayer mode is definitely one of Diablo 3’s finest hours.