Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (Video Game Review)

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is the first major expansion to arrive for Blizzard Entertainment's PC hit Diablo III. Players that have already mastered the game's main campaign with multiple character classes will be able to breathe new life into the game with the addition of an all new act for the game's storyline and a brand new character known as the Crusader. Additionally, players will find new game modes that challenge players to experience the game in whole new ways including the exciting Adventure Mode that opens up all areas and checkpoints for the game from the onset. Players that have yet to experience the game will find no better time than now to try out the game with the game available to try for free or purchase for only $19.99. Players that preorder Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will also gain access to plenty of preorder specials, so it's worth purchasing the game as soon as possible to take advantage of all these offers.

The new storyline featured in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls adds an additional act onto the end of the standard Diablo III storyline. The narrative features dark tones when Malthael, the Angel of Death, returns on a quest to gain unimaginable powers and destroy the world. Only the player controlled Nephalem can stand in the menace's way, and the new enemy will give players a chance to experience a whole new act and add considerable length onto the already full length campaign. Like the full game, the expansion doesn't offer a whole lot of depth in the new storyline, but the new antagonist is an interesting figure that longtime fans of the series will no doubt be excited to see return, and there are a few different cutscenes included in the storyline that are definitely pretty awesome to watch unfold on high end PCs.


In addition to the new act, Diablo III: Reaper of Souls adds a brand new character class for players to test out with a new save file. The Crusader is a warrior that fights to preserve the ancient teachings of a religion that guides their every decision. The character class will be familiar to anyone that has played other role playing games that featured clerics or paladin classes, as the Crusader comes equipped with a large shield and heavy armor that makes him a tough character to take down in battle. The Crusader uses his faith to summon celestial powers of light to deal lots of damage to foes or lock them in place with a binding light. Crusaders also come with other skills such as abilities to hit large groups of enemies at once, taunts that make enemies focus attacks on the Crusader or buffs that strengthen allies in combat. The Crusader is a strong class that works best in multiplayer games, but the class is powerful enough to still tackle the game in solo play.

There is plenty of other new content for players not interested in trying out the Crusader in a new game save though. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls includes some very interesting new attacks and abilities for all of the existing classes including an ability to summon a swarm of bloodthirsty piranhas, create a blackhole that easily annihilates weaker enemies and a new move that summons a hail of large boulders to crush foes. Other new content for the release include new skills to pour points into Paragon abilities, a new loot system that better balances drops to ensure players are getting good item drops when they should and new items that can be found in those drops.



Diablo III: Reaper of Souls adds new game modes not seen in the previous version of the game. Blizzard has removed the controversial Auction House from the game, but players will gladly sacrifice the seldom used content for the all new Adventure Mode, where players can play through the game's main quest in any order they choose. After starting a new game in Adventure Mode, the entire map and all quests will be unlocked from the beginning, so that players can travel to any area at any time for increased challenges in late game missions. Players can also use the new mode to skip over levels they may not enjoy as much as others or simply skip to the new missions available in Act V of the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion.

The expansion packs a large amount of new content into an already exciting game, but the price point, $39.99 for standard edition downloads and $59.99 for Digital Dexluxe packaging, may put it out of reach for some gamers. That's not to say the expansion isn't worth its asking price, because it is, and players will get some pretty cool bonus content for preordering the game including Wings of Valor and Valla the Demon Hunter add-ons for Diablo III and Heroes of the Storm. Fans will also nab some bonus loot for other Blizzard games with the Digital Deluxe packaging that includes weapons imbued with the powers of the Angel of Death and Spectral Hound minion for Diablo III, Treasure Goblin Pet for use in World of Warcraft, new portraits and decals for use in Starcraft II and more. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is available now; do you have what it takes to battle against Death itself?

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is now available for PC and can be purchased for $39.99 or $59.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls is rated M by the ESRB for Blood and Gore & Violence. For more information on the game expansion, check out the official Diablo III: Reaper of Souls website.

Game Features:

• Online Multiplayer 1-4
• New Crusader Class
• Adds Act V to Storyline
• Challenge the All New Adventure Mode
• More Loot

Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Available exclusively for PC (reviewed)
Release Date: March 25, 2014

Score: 9 out of 10