Question: In the new version of Google Docs is it possible to view/compare revision differences as you used to be able to do to see the changes highlighted.

I know you can view previous versions but what I want is to see the individual changes highlighted by the user that made them.

Answer: 
You can use <https://github.com/larsks/gitdriver> to create a git repository mirroring a google doc. In the repository is only one file stored and there is a commit for each Google Drive revision. Then, you can use commands like `git log` of `git diff` or graphical tools for showing the diff as described here: <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/255202/how-do-i-view-git-diff-output-with-a-visual-diff-program>.

It is a shame that people must invent such tools for Google's inability to accomodate user's workflow.
If you have access to Adobe Acrobat, you can print the two documents to PDF files using Docs Print/Save As PDF command, then compare them using Adobe Acrobat's Compare Documents feature.