The new game from ACE Team, places you in the role of the unfortunate Sisyphus.  Condemned to perpetually roll a boulder uphill only to have it fall back down again, you eventually realise that escape is not so silly an idea. . . .and escape!  You know you must eventually challenge your gaoler, Chronos/Saturn, in order to secure your freedom, but first you must travel through the ages defeating significant figures from history. Game on!

Rock of Ages is an extremely endearing game because it is just so vastly silly. Each level of the game begins with hilarious cinematics animated in the Terry Gilliam fashion (cut-outs from famous paintings accompanied by a range of silly noises). Each scene tells the story behind the famous figure (Val Tepes, Napoleon, Zombie Socrates) and sets the scene for the subsequent challenge. These short segments may be designed to mask the level loading, but they are also some of the funniest cut scenes you’ll ever see. Forget chuckles. Forget LOLs. Expect genuine tears-in-your-eyes laughter. These magnificent scenes justify the price of admission before you even consider the gameplay.

Rock of Ages is a melange of two game styles, the most obvious one being a rolling ball (think Trailblazer or any bowling game) and tower defence.  Neither on their own would make a drastic impact, but when combined with hilarity and the pure fun on display, this becomes something to remember and celebrate.

The quest begins with your peons carving out the boulder that you will control, while you place defensive elements along the path that your enemy’s boulder must take. Once released, the challenge is to make it through the course as quickly as you can, smashing enemies and buildings to earn money on the way. Your boulder can jump, accelerate and steer. There is a level of momentum to overcome that can throw you off the raised path if you try to tackle the turns too fast. Jumping is needed to get over steps and gaps and well as cut corners.  As you are rolling, so is the enemy, and it quickly becomes a race to reach the enemy’s castle gate and smash into it with the most possible force.  Several runs are needed to break through the gates and squash your opponent. The girly squeal and fart noise when you run over your arch nemesis is wonderfully contrasted with the dramatic classical sample.

Earning money on the way down enables you to upgrade the strength and potential damage of your boulder, allowing for more protection and greater damage to your adversary’s forces.  You need to make sure that you don’t try to smash too many defences as your boulder will take damage and crack, losing a layer of rock and becoming smaller. This means that any damage you will inflict when smashing into the castle gate will be drastically reduced.

To delay the enemy from smashing your gates, you can purchase defensive measures such as explosives, towers, wind machines and cows!  You open upgrades as you progress through the levels which cost more but have a significantly improved impact on the enemy boulder. No one of these defences in particular will win you the map, but you’ll soon work out which defences work best in bottle-necks and open areas.

Each competitive map contains a downhill run of varying complexity. Some require you to navigate uphill steps or jump between islands, and others reduce the effectiveness of certain upgrades (such as the fireball boulder being extinguished in water). Some levels require several runs just to learn the best way to speed through, minimising the time taken and maintaining your boulder size for crashing into the enemy gates.

Every few levels you progress to a boss battle requiring a change in style and tactics from the main downhill missions. These pit you against large enemies that luckily have a vulnerable spot to be exploited. One level tasks you with shooting yourself out of a cannon at a giant statue of David. Another has you smack a demented cherub in the face. The incredible scale of these encounters is reminiscent of God of War, but the gameplay is much simpler.

Other modes include Time Trial, where you roll through the maps as fast as you can to earn medals, and SkeeBoulder, where you roll over a ramp to score the most points. Both offer only a slight extension to the game mechanic, but they do allow you to practise the various maps outside of the main campaign. Rock of Ages also offers a couple of online modes, including head-to-head multiplayer, but you’ll probably struggle to get a game. Maybe ACE team doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to properly service Australian gamers. Maybe there just aren’t enough players online. Either way, it’s a shame.

Rock of Ages presents that all too rare opportunity in gaming to just enjoy what you are being given and laugh at the audacity and originality on offer. This is by no means the greatest game of the year, but it may well be the funniest. Check it out.