Blizzard has been talking about it for quite a while, but this month we actually saw the first console release of a Diablo game since a half-decent conversion on the original PlayStation back in 1998. I've finally had some time to play through a few hours of the Xbox 360 version of the game with a few different character classes, both single-player and cooperatively, and I think I'm ready to say that I actually prefer playing Diablo III on a console to the original PC version.

The handheld controller is going to be the elephant in the room for the Diablo PC partisan, so let's get this out of the way up front: moving away from a mouse-based control system for Diablo is not the end of the world. On the contrary, running around using an analog stick feels perfectly natural. I actually found it quite a bit easier and quicker to reposition myself by simply tilting in the direction I wanted to go, rather than having to slide the mouse pointer to the specific location that I wanted to end up in (or even to have to slide and click in the general direction I wanted to go).

Putting a quick roll-dodge on the right stick is a great design choice that makes it relatively painless to quickly escape from area effects or telegraphed attacks. The only real issue is that it takes a bit too long to reposition the right thumb from face-button attacks to a quick flick of the escape stick. It was much easier to operate when I was using attacks mapped to the shoulder buttons, instead. In any case, these dodges were a lot simpler than trying to move the mouse pointer away and click in a panic to get out of a hairy situation.

Attacking with the melee characters by using button presses instead of enemy clicks is perfectly natural and avoids problems with misclicks that sometimes get in the way of tight combat on the PC. The ranged characters are a bit more of a mixed bag. Standing in place and aiming a Demon Hunter's crossbow with the left analog stick, for instance, isn't too difficult, especially with some generous auto-aim and helpful highlighting of the current target.

It only becomes an issue when you have to run away from encroaching enemies and then slowly pivot around to face them again with new attacks. Using those dodging rolls helps a little, but even then you often have to take precious moments to readjust your aim. There is also a system that lets you keep targeting centered on a single enemy by holding the left trigger, but I found it hard to choose the right foe every time, and the centering would disengage at the most inopportune moments for no discernible reason. These control problems don't make ranged characters unplayable, but they just become a bit frustrating if you're planning on kiting your foes.

One of the most welcome changes for the console re-release is the way item management has been streamlined to limit time spent wading through inventory menus. When you pick up an item, a quick tap of the d-pad now shows you how equipping it will affect your attack, defense, and vitality stats (via a set of easy-to-read green or red arrows on the side of the screen). At that point, one more button press will equip the item, drop it, or keep it in your inventory for later, without ever pulling up a menu or losing control of your character.

You can still go into your inventory menu to see all the details of your hoard, and you'll need to do this occasionally in order to compare the status effects and detriments of similar items. Overall, though, this one little interface change increased my enjoyment of the console version of the game immensely and minimized one of the most annoying parts of the game.

The item streamlining is particularly welcome when playing cooperatively with someone else on the same couch. This is really the killer app that makes the console version of Diablo III the one I would recommend to friends looking into the game for the first time. In theory, playing the game together in the same space shouldn't be that different from playing together online, connected by a headset. In practice, though, there's something about working together from a single couch that makes for a stronger connection. Sure, you could pull this off LAN-party style on the PC version of the game, but having one console, one TV, and a few controllers is a much simpler way to get everyone playing together.

There are some limitations, though. If players get too far apart in single-screen co-op, the distant players will warp to the location of player one, rather than going into a split screen mode or simply putting up an artificial wall. This happened only rarely in my time with the game so far—most of the time you're battling or exploring together in a small space anyway, and there's no reason to go traipsing off by yourself. In any case, if one player puts down the controller to get a snack or something, the game will set him to auto-follow the leader until he touches the controls again, which is a nice touch.

Other than that, playing Diablo III on the consoles is a whole lot like playing Diablo III on a PC. The storyline, quest progression, enemy selection, leveling system, and general layout of the game are practically identical, as far as I can tell. The only things that are really missing from the PC release are the auction house and the requirement that you be online to play (two things I doubt most players will miss).

If you've already played the original version of Diablo III to death, I'd only recommend picking up this one if you have a group of local friends that you want to get some co-operative single screen play in with (especially if they haven't played it yet). If you still haven't tried the game yet, this is a good chance to see what all the fuss is about in a manner that actually improves upon the original game in a number of ways.