Think about some insane mix of pinball, crazy golf and Super Monkey Ball (but not as annoying) and you’d not be too far off Rock of Ages.
The aim of the game, or at least story mode, is to get your boulder to break the enemy gate by rolling down the hill gaining as much momentum as you can before the enemy breaks your gate by doing the same thing. There are of course obstacles that the enemy places in your way which, if you hit them, will slow you down and damage your boulder. More importantly though, they award you money which you use to purchase obstacles to put in the path of the enemy. So there is a very tactical sense to the game. How much damage are you willing to take to ensure you have enough cash to slow down your enemy without compromising your own strength and momentum?
You get to upgrade your boulder, adding spikes or even turning it into a boulder of flame! Again if you take too much damage on your way down then your boulder will get downgraded.
In the annoying way Super Monkey Ball allows you to fall off the map Rock of Ages is the same, however your boulder yells on his way down… not that I’ve ever heard it cos I’m just so ace at this game… certainly not heard my boulder yell several hundred time…ahem! Of course if you are going fast enough you could clear the jump and land on the next part of the trail…voila, lucky escape, I mean…I meant to do that! *shines badge of awesomeness*. If you are lucky enough to destroy your enemy gate first then you get to use your boulder to roll over your enemy. Sparta is one such enemy early on, and you get to hear a very satisfying squish!
Other modes include Time Trial, SkeeBoulder Training and Multiplayer. The tutorial does it’s job well and eases you nicely in. After you have taken your first boulder down and done some damage – hopefully – you will be shown your area which the enemy travels through and while your new builder is being made you get time to place the likes of catapults, siege towers and yes even cows to get in the way of your enemy. I always seemed to be rather unlucky and get punted off course by a fancy elephant! You get a view of what your enemy is doing in the corner of your screen and see the health bars of each gate. You must be careful though as speed is also a factor. If you enemy is faster at getting to your gate than you are then their next boulder will set off before yours and you will need to make sure your next boulder does more damage than theirs in order to get ahead of the game.
In all honesty I sucked big time at this game. I felt that the enemy just glided through my defences while i struggled to navigate through theirs. Though it was thoroughly enjoyable I wish I could have progressed further. It wasn’t a ” argh I can’t do this, I suck at this” *bites controller* kind of game. It’s great fun to play, gorgeous to look at and very nicely designed with a quirky mythical and historical theme and funny cinematics. If you find someone equally as bad, or good, as you are then multiplayer would be top notch!
I’ll get the boulder rolling and say a jolly good….
7 moss-free stones out of 10