In some respects, this is the question asked by expansion packs more often than sequels, these days. Sequels usually make changes, sometimes massive ones, that make them a distinctive entity despite being part of a series. Expansion packs generally stay within the framework of the existing title, maybe making a few tweaks here and there to compensate for the original game's shortcomings. Of course, some games need more than just a few tweaks when putting out an expansion. Diablo III was arguably one of those games.Two years after its release, plenty of changes have been made incrementally, but Reaper of Souls puts everything in one nice neat package for those who abandoned the game long ago. The end result is still not the game we could have gotten, but it goes a long way towards making it playable and even enjoyable in spots.
It should be kept in mind at all times that because this is an expansion, it's necessarily going to have less to consider than the original title. The giant chunks of red meat, second helpings for gamers (Throne of Bhaal for the Baldur's Gate series, for example) are much less common than they used to be. That being said, Reaper of Souls delivers a good solid weekend's worth of enjoyment if you're going to slog your way through the new “Act V” content. The Adventure Mode can string that out, and you can always start over at higher difficulty levels if you're in the mood.
Improvements have clearly been made all over the place, starting with the long overdue removal of the Real Money Auction House, as well as a complete rebalancing of loot drops that has been half-whimsically referred to as “Loot 2.0.”
In short, you're not going to have to hunt around for gear nearly as much as you used to do.
That being said, if you happened to have had any gear socked away in your stash between the time you stopped playing and the time you picked up the expansion, that gear will now be substantially devalued. If you were carrying any gold, you can probably forge or buy a few new pieces and get drops to get back up to strength, but it's still kind of annoying.
The new Crusader class is the remix version of the Paladin from Diablo II, but it's not nearly as interesting as its forebearer. Some of the abilities are interesting, but the class as a whole feels kind of tacked on. It doesn't have the same sort of organic presence in the game world that the expansion classes from the second game had.
Given the inexplicable desire for Blizzard to be treating the game as a pseudo-MMO, I have the sinking suspicion that somebody said, “We need a tank!” and the Crusader was the best they could come up with. That same sort of “tacked on” feel extends to the Act V storyline. It could have been treated almost like a side story or an epilogue. Instead, it just bolts on to the end of Act IV and hopes nobody makes any complaints about it. It's particularly upsetting when you stop to look at how the developers went to the trouble of tying up the loose ends for your three hirelings and for the two original vendors. Those smaller stories felt more engaging than the great big one they were trying to tell. When did Blizzard lose the ability to tell great stories in their games?
Just by the skin of its teeth, Reaper of Souls brings Diablo III to a point where it's not a bad game to play. Plenty of eye candy, plenty of ear candy as well, and the screwed up ethos of the original release has been more or less removed. I still can't see large numbers of people playing this in droves in any sort of regular fashion. It's RPG fast food, something you grab with friends when time is short and you can't devote the time to games with more robust demands. If you were disappointed in Diablo III, take a chance and grab the expansion. You may not get tons out of it, but it makes up a lot of lost ground from those first days.
- Axel Cushing
The Good:
- Still a damn good looking game
- No Real Money Auction House, finally
- Crusader class gives players something new to try out
The Bad:
- Unsatisfying main storyline for Act V
- Still can't quite shake the grinding mechanics
- Still not an MMO, despite efforts to the contrary
Score: 7.0 / 10
