Review

Rock of Ages

It seems as if everyone is making their own tower defense games nowadays. Developers are taking the normal tower defense mechanics and tweaking them, giving players more action oriented titles. The newest title to follow in this trend is Atlus’s Rock of Ages.
Developed by ACE Team, this game is easily one of the most unique downloadable titles to come out this year. Featuring an interesting take on tower defense and great humor to back it up, it certainly stands out in the crowd.

In Rock of Ages, gamers will take on the task of rolling giant boulders at fortresses in hopes of squishing their opponent. At the same time, they must protect their own castle doors from the enemy. This means that gamers will need to be diligent in making sure that their castle doors are protected at all times. This also means that there isn’t anytime for resting as there is always something to do. The scenario usually goes like this: while the sculptors are making the boulder, players will place defenses. When the boulder is complete, they’ll use it to attack their opponents. Once the boulder has done its job, they’ll most likely need to refortify their defenses due to their opponents attack. Rinse and repeat. Sounds simple right? Well, there is a lot more to it than that. In order to be successful in Rock of Ages, gamers must be able to strategize on the go.

The boulder itself is one strategic element in Rock of Ages. In order to do the most damage to the opposing castle’s doors, the boulder must make it there in one piece. The greater the size and speed of the boulder, the greater the damage it does. Hitting structures, breaking through defenses, and falling off of the map all chip away at the large stone. The boulder’s integrity is displayed physically (with surface cracks and chips in the stone) as well as on a life bar.  Once it has taken enough damage, it will get smaller which means it will be a less effective weapon. What’s cool is the fact that once the boulder starts rolling, gamers will be in full control of it. They’ll be able to dodge obstacles, manipulate the speed, and jump over pit falls in the map in order to land a successful attack.

Another thing that gamers will have to worry about is money, which is primarily generated by destroying your opponents landscape. Building defenses comes at a cost; the stronger the defense, the higher the cost. At anytime gamers can bring up a wheel showcasing the different defensive units and their respective costs before placing them on the field. The defensive units like explosives, path-blocking wooly mammoths, and giant boulder-blowing fans are a must if gamers hope to stave off attacks. They also have to factor in the cost of boulder upgrades. Pay enough money and gamers can control the high damage-dealing flaming boulder. Gamers can even purchase an income generator, where minions will mine for gold to use on more defenses and upgrades.  The upgrades can only be used once per match and usually cost a lot. Gamers will have to decide if and/or when they want to save money for more defenses or buy upgraded boulders.  All of these elements make Rock of Ages a thinking man’s game. Thank goodness there is a story mode that helps introduce gamers to the mechanics.

Speaking of modes, there are three different ones in Rock of Ages. The first is the story mode based on the Greek Myth of Sisyphus (cursed to roll a boulder up a hill for all eternity). By rolling his boulder at the gates of Hades, he is able to escape this fate. During his journey, Sisyphus runs into all sorts of characters and of course engages in the giant rock fights mentioned earlier. Although the story is really an excuse to get into fights, the cuts scenes before each match are hilarious. ACE Teams cleverly pulled references from other media to introduce characters. There is one memorable scene, pulled from the Matrix where Sisyphus meets Leonardo da Vinci who explains that he is the architect and that Sisyphus is being controlled in a game!

The other modes are SkeeBoulder and Time Trail. SkeeBoulder plays like a giant game of Skee ball where you roll the boulder though one of the many games maps in Rock of Ages. Time Trail mode has gamers racing to reach a finish line, gaining metals depending on their time. Out of the two modes, Time Trail was the better one. I found that with SkeeBoulder, it was easy to score a lot of points due to the fact that the boulder is controllable. There is no need to worry about ramping up the incline in hopes of reaching the hole worth the most points. Moving the boulder slowly up the incline and jumping in the hole is way easier, which successfully breaks the game.

All in all, I had a fun time with this title. Rock of Ages is a fast paced game, as players are always trying to attack and defend. It was fun to go through the story mode; battling famous people throughout time. There are even some boss fights sprinkled in for good measure. In addition to the three playing modes Rock of Ages also sports online and local multiplayer. It also stands out when it comes to graphics, with styles inspired from many eras (Ancient Greece and the Italian Renaissance are just two examples). Rock of Ages is definitely a unique title. It’s also a good one!