How does Diablo III look compared to the newly released Ultimate Evil Edition?

By Adam Rosenberg Published August 25, 2014

Read our full Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition review.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is out now, bringing Blizzard’s loot-filled dungeon crawl to the latest Microsoft and Sony consoles, along with all of the content from the recent Reaper of Souls add-on and related balancing updates. We already know from the PC release of Reaper that Blizzard’s tweaks and additions to Diablo III are a very good thing, and now console players get to find out for themselves.

Recommended Videos

While what’s under the hood is what matters most in Ultimate Evil Edition, those that grab the game for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One — it’s also available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — also get to enjoyed some freshly souped up graphics that take advantage of the new consoles. The difference is pretty dramatic, too. We don’t have an Xbox 360 version of Ultimate Evil Edition to compare, we do have the console version of vanilla Diablo III that was released in 2013.

Related: Your guide to getting the most out of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls and the Loot 2.0 changes

You can see both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of the game running side by side in the video above. The biggest element separating the two is the overall level of clarity; Diablo III certainly doesn’t (and didn’t, in 2013) look bad on PS3 and Xbox 360, but the textures are visibly less defined in the older release as compared to the Xbox One game.

The difference in detail extends to the visual effects as well. The Xbox One version of the game feels more lively overall. There’s more definition in flames and other spray effects, the glow surrounding elite monsters is crisper, and ambient elements like fog feel less like a visual overlay blanketing the screen and more like a physical, ever-changing quantity within the virtual world.

There’s a good chance that anyone making the jump to Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4 or Xbox One is more interested in the content changes than the technical execution, but you’ll be happy to know that there’s a very noticeable added layer of visual polish in Diablo III‘s appearance on the new consoles.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Topics

PC Gaming

Computing

The Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop with RTX 4090 is $900 off

The Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop with Evil Dead The Game on the screen.

You have to be prepared to spend a significant amount of cash if you want a powerful gaming laptop, but you should also be on the lookout for any opportunities at savings. Take a look at Alienware deals at Dell, which has tempting offers like this one: the Alienware x16 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with a $900 discount. From its original price of $3,600, it's down to $2,700, which is still pretty expensive, but an excellent price for a device of its caliber. You need to hurry though, as it may be back to its regular price as soon as tomorrow!

Why you should buy the Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop

Gaming

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is adding that really jacked bug in next update

Buzzwole jumps in the air in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket will get its next major update on Thursday, May 29 which will add a new booster pack to the popular mobile game. Dubbed Extradimensional Crisis, the new pack will add Ultra Beasts from Pokémon Sun and Moon to the mix.

Since its release last year, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has received regular updates. Its most recent one, which featured two Celestial Guardians booster packs, introduced critters from the Alola region to the card game. Extradimensional Crisis will continue that thread, adding some missing monsters to the card pool.

Gaming

Elden Ring Nightreign preload guide: release date, file size, and more

A knight sitting at the roundtable hold in Elden Ring Nightreign.

After the massive base experience with Elden Ring, plus the huge Shadow of the Erdree DLC, we still haven't had our fill of FromSoftware's greatest work. Elden Ring Nightreign takes the base mechanics of the main game and transforms it into a co-op survival game with roguelike elements. While you can play alone, this is a game built for you and your friends to conquer together, although the lack of cross-platform support is a big downer. All the trailers and footage make this game look like a greatest hits of FromSoftware, with tons of returning bosses, armor sets, and locations that we can't wait to discover. To make sure you're not waiting a second longer than you need to, here's all the preorder information about Elden Ring Nightreign, including when preloads begin and how big the game is.

Elden Ring Nightreign release date