Review – Diablo III Signature Series Guide (Console Version)
Overview
Type: Strategy GuidesPros:
+ Extensive item and creature guides
+ Complete achievement/trphy guide
+ Superior design aesthetic
Cons:
- Pages held up but felt subject to tear
This guide is an absolutely necessary companion for anyone who wants to get the most out of Diablo III.
Cover
The cover art on this guide is an exact copy of the art on the game box. The back cover advertises the content of the guide. As with most BradyGames Signature Series guides, the quality is great. It is made of a heavy paper stock and has a nice matte finish. The only complaint I have is that the cover art itself is rather boring.
Build
BradyGames has once again created a quality Signature Series Guide. This guide features a durable paper binding, high quality paper, and a thick matte front and back cover. It is built to last while you conquer the demons in Diablo III over and over again. I only had one concern while using this guide; I felt like the paper was a bit brittle and felt like it would tear easily. However, after using the guide in its entirety, I never experienced a tear.
Design
The design for this guide is really well done. The BradyGames designers did a good job making it feel like it belonged in the Diablo III realm. One thing really stood out to me while I used this guide; the way they used screenshots/concept art throughout the guide really elevated its aesthetic quality. Overall the design and content do a great job showcasing the feel of Diablo III.
Content
The amount of content in this guide blew me away. It covers literally everything in Diablo III, from the first mission to the cow level and beyond. It features a comprehensive walkthrough, skill and rune descriptions for every class, a bestiary that contains every single monster in the game, a crafting guide, a section outlining every unique/set item in the game, a guide to what every prefix/suffix means, and a section dedicated to end or what to do after you have conquered the main story.
The walkthrough itself is pretty expansive. It covers, in depth, every minion, boss, quest, and lootable item that you will find along the way. This includes descriptions of all unique monsters as you encounter them, along with lore and related info.
The class section provides everything you need to know and more in order to figure out what character you want to play. Every skill/rune combination, as well as all passive skills are outlined and described in detail. The bestiary will tell you the health, level, damage, and the XP reward for each creature in the game, across all difficulties. It even tells you the chance of health globes dropping.
The crafting section is equally detailed. It includes every recipe in the game. This even covers the elusive legendary recipes. The loot section talks about every item type in the game. However, it mainly covers the legendary and set items. This is because Diablo III uses a random loot system based on affixes. There is a fully detailed guide to these affixes near the end of the guide.
Lastly there is the endgame section that fully details everything from paragon levels to über bosses. There is also a section that will help you unlock every achievement in the game.
Overall this guide has literally everything that you need to conquer Diablo again. Expected quality from a Signature Series Guide.
Value
This guide covers the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Diablo III. There are a fair few differences between the console versions and the PC version. Luckily for us, BradyGames has a PC version Diablo 3 Signature Series guide as well. As far as price, the guide will set you back $21.99 MSRP. However, at the time of writing this you can pick it up for $15.39 at BradyGames or $11.99 at Gamestop.
