Diablo III: PC and Console comparison

After my first post here, some people asked me alot of questions regarding the console version of Diablo III. One of the biggest was, how was it different from the PC version. Well here's a breakdown of the key differences between the 2 versions. WARNING: Long post ahead.

No Real Money/Gold Auction House

One of the most controversial features of the PC version; the Real Money Auction House (RMAH), is not present on the console version of Diablo III. For most old-school Diablo fans (like myself), this brings back the core Diablo experience of finding awesome loot in-game, NOT in auction houses. Another positive thing about the lack of RMAH is...

You can play Completely Offline

Yes you read that right. You can play the game OFFLINE. A side-effect of removing the Auction House, was removal of any need for any online verification to play the game. Thus Blizzard was able to make the most requested feature of alot of Diablo fans a reality. No more logins. No more "Error 37". No more need for Internet connection to be able to play the game... ever! Just pop in the disc, and you can start slaying the denizens of hell to your heart's content.

With yesterday's announcement of Blizzard removing the Auction Houses on the PC version, I'm hopeful that an Offline mode will be the next thing that will be implemented by Blizzard.

Loot Rate is FUN again

Yes, Blizzard fine tuned the loot, and made it awesome again. The picture above just show how amazing loots are now in the console version. It actually reminds me of Diablo II (particularly patch 1.10-onwards) where the loot is so rewarding (and addicting) that it keeps you hooked in finding more evil things to slay. It captures the very core of the Diablo experience. The best news is, loots are now custom tailored to drop a higher percentage of items that are suited to whatever class you're playing as. In my personal experience, I have actually gotten my fair share of awesome Legendary items. Here's some of what my Demon Hunter found in-game, when I was just starting out at Normal Mode.

If this is but a taste of what "Loot 2.0" will be for the PC version, I'm all for it!

Reworked Boss Fights

Some of the Boss fights in the console version of Diablo III, has been retweaked. They are either given new abilities, new attack patterns, new dialogue, and even new view angles (as seen on top with the Belial boss fight, which looks more epic than ever before) which gives the game a fresh new look and feel, even if you've played the game before on your PC.

A completely new way of playing... using a Gamepad

Mouse + keyboard controls are NOT supported on the console version of Diablo III. Instead, the game is controlled using a gamepad. And after spending much time playing it this way, I actually prefer this method than the mouse + keyboard config. Now, before you raise your pitchforks and claim "sacrilege", I suggest you give it a try first. It feels as if you have a much more direct control over your character than using mouse + keyboard. Yes you will lose the precision of directly targeting specific enemies from afar using this setup, BUT with the game's smart auto-targeting system and Target lock, you won't feel too frustrated dishing out punishment to the denizens of hell. Which brings me to...

The new "Evade" Button Mechanic

As I mentioned in my previous post, exclusive to the console version of Diablo III, is the new "Evade" mechanic. It is an indispensible ability that ALL CLASSES have, which can save you from very hectic situations. It has no cooldown, no cost to use, ensures you don't get hit by monsters/incoming projectiles if timed correctly and is totally very useful throughout your adventure. You can see it in action by watching the clip above (being spoofed by Team Coco at the 1:05 mark).

Completely reworked Inventory System

This is how the Inventory system looked on the PC version:

It's got the usual, familiar look as in the previous Diablo games. Item management in your inventory is pretty much a mini-game of its own, where you try to fit in as much loot that you can, using Tetris-like skills to make everything fit. On the console version, it looks like this:

It may be a stark change from the usual, since the console version of the game doesn't support mouse + keyboards. As clunky as this may look, it actually has some benefits:

• All items are now organized by its item-type, making it easier to sort thru items.
• If you noticed below, there's an "Inventory" limit (which says 22/60). This means you can loot as many as 60 items at a time, regardless of its size, as each item is treated as a value of 1. This means lesser trips back to town and time spent making every item fit in your bag.
• It's easier to compare detailed stats between 2 items as they are placed side by side. Here's how it looks like:
  
• There's is now a quick stat guide for those who are not into reading tons of stat effect text. This is great for new players, so that can quickly and easily see whether or not an item is better than the one they are currently holding by just looking at the quick stat guide.
  

Mutliple ways of Playing Multiplayer

First off, there is no cross-platform multiplayer for the console version of Diablo III. What this means is, PC gamers cannot play with PS3/Xbox360 gamers, just as PS3 gamers cannot play with Xbox 360 gamers. That being said, there is alot of different options for console gamers to play multiplayer with friends:

• Offline local co-op - one of the highlights of the console version of Diablo III, is this mode. Playing with friends on a single console in the same room, is an experience that is hard to beat. No internet required (but pizza and chips are recommended).
• LAN Play - if you don't want to share the screen with buddies, then you can hook up 2 PS3 via LAN cable and play multiplayer with your respective screens all to yourself (just like in the PC version).
• Invite Only - if you want to play online, but you don't like random people popping in your game, then you can invite friends over to join in your game.
• Friends Only - similar to "Invite Only", but in this mode, you don't need to invite friends to come play. If you set your game to this mode, you simply put up a game room online where only your friends on your friends list can see and join in at anytime while you're playing.
• Open to Public - similar to "Friends Only", but in this mode you put up a game room online where everyone online can see and join in your game at anytime while you're playing.
• Quick Match - in this mode, you can search for hosted online games and automatically joins you in the said game. You can set the search based its on its Difficulty level, Mode, Quest, etc.

Adjustable Difficulty modes

As I mentioned in my previous post, the console version of Diablo III allows players to adjust the difficulty to suit their tastes. Unlike the Game mode (Normal, Nightmare, Hell, Inferno), Difficulty simply adjusts a monster's health, damage and number of monsters that appear on the screen.

This is perfect for players with varying experiences with the series. If you're just new to the series (or you're a PC player who isn't used to playing using a gamepad), set it to easy. If you're a Diablo vet and you're comfortable playing with a gamepad, then set it to either Medium or Hard. All 3 difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard) has no differences in terms of item drop rate and experience points bonuses, thus you can switch between difficulties with no problems.

However, if you are up to the challenge, you can set the difficulty to Master I or higher. Setting up the difficulty in this level gives bonuses similar to "Monster Power" mechanic found on the PC version, but works differently for the console version. Here's a quick guide:

• Master I = +60% Magic Find, +60% Gold Find, +120% XP Bonus
• Master II = +70% Magic Find, +70% Gold Find, +140% XP Bonus
• Master III = +80% Magic Find, +80% Gold Find, +160% XP Bonus
• Master IV = +90% Magic Find, +90% Gold Find, +180% XP Bonus
• Master V = +100% Magic Find, +100% Gold Find, +200% XP Bonus

Other Notable Differences

Aside from the ones I posted above, here are some notable differences from between the console version & the PC version of Diablo III:

• Paragon Levels are included in the console version. However, what's different is, Paragon Level bonuses are account wide. This means all characters under your account will receive the bonuses unlocked by a SINGLE Paragon leveled character in your account. So even new characters you create will get those bonuses as well.
• Nephalem Glory globes are added in the game. These are similar to Healing globes, but they give characters a boost in stats and skills when picked up.
• Stash space is much more larger than in the PC version when fully upgraded.
• Crafting gems & gear now have different costs, due to the removal of the RMAH. All ingredients can be easily found in-game.
• Players are now given a choice how they should be resurrected (go back to town, revive on your last checkpoint, revive on spot).
• Vendors now actually sell better (useful) gear. Most of which are actually powerful rare items.

So what do you guys think? Sound off your comments below! :)