If you’ve ever played surreal brawler Zeno Clash then you are already familiar with the unusual minds possessed by Chilean developer, ACE Team. Rock of Ages is their second game and is no less surreal.
I know what you’re thinking: “I’ve always wanted to play as a massive boulder, smash buildings, crush people, dodge traps and squelch my foes!” Well, now you can.
The single-player portion of Rock of Ages spans across five periods in time, from Ancient Greece to Spanish romanticism; with Medieval, Renaissance and Rococo between.
The art direction throughout the time periods is very well-designed and thoroughly thought-out. It’s clear that considerable care and detail was put into this game by very talented artists. The Ancient Greece time period utilises the art used on Grecian urns. The Rococo period art style is ornate with elegant 18th century French décor. This attention to detail is maintained throughout the game.
Your foes are appropriately suited to their place in time and include, but are by no means limited to, Vlad the Impaler, Agamemnon, Plague and beloved philosopher zombies, Plato and Aristotle. You get to squish ’em all.
Rock of Ages is a sort of tower defence and rolling ball hybrid. Your objective is essentially to smash through the gates of your enemy’s castle and squish him before he manages to do the same to you.
The health of both yours and the enemy’s gates will require a couple of tries before finally being able to barge through.
It takes about 30-seconds before a new boulder is chiselled out. During this phase, you’re in the tower defence portion of the gameplay where you spend money to lay traps and build obstacles that will damage your opponent, interrupt his attempts to squish you and, most importantly, buy you time.
Rock of Ages
If you can deal enough damage to an opponent, his boulder begins to break apart and become smaller until eventually being completely destroyed. The smaller his boulder becomes and the less speed he manages to attain, the less damage he’ll be able to do to your gate once he reaches it.
It’s also advantageous to use wind traps, cows, elephants and bombs to push your enemy’s boulder off the edge of the map. This results in his position being reset to his last point on the track.
There’s a satisfying “squelch” sound effect when running over your enemies. Not to mention a wonderfully hilarious girly scream the moment their inevitable fate dawns on them. Rock of Ages has a very upbeat, atmospheric soundtrack that simply works.
Rock of Ages sports an online, local and split-screen multiplayer using Steam’s matchmaking service. Pick an avatar and give your boulder a face. Then either challenge a human opponent to face off against you on one of the 18 single-player maps or play SkeeBoulder.
Rock of Ages
SkeeBoulder is a race to rake up the most points in three rounds by landing your ball in one of the multiplier holes before your opponent. Landing in the multiplier before your opponent ends the round for both of you.
Rock of Ages uses Unreal Engine 3 and it shows. The graphics are crisp and detailed and there’s a insufferable pleasure watching your boulder break apart. It also makes beautiful use of PhysX which can be felt when navigating your boulder and seen when barrelling through obstacles.
All-in-all, Rock of Ages is a remarkable gem that is a credit to ACE Team’s creativity and courage to challenge the status quo. A wonderful multiplayer component, brilliant level design and great mechanics make this indie game worthwhile for anyone who wants something different.
You have to wonder if ACE Team might not have it in them to be this generation’s Interplay.
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