Have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined Monty Python art and humor with Marble Madness and tower defense games? Then why the heck didn’t you play the original Rock of Ages? If you’ve never heard of Rock of Ages, welcome to the club. When I first heard of Rock of Ages II I was so hyped to try it out – I LOVE Monty Python and I love wacky games!
Title: Rock of Ages II: Bigger & Boulder
Developed By: ACE Team
Available For: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Steam (Windows)
Rock of Ages II: Bigger & Boulder, from all the reviews I’ve read, lives up to its name – it’s both bigger than the original and it still involves giant boulders and hilarity. The main game plays out like this – you and your opponent have your own identical paths to throw your boulder of doom down, crushing your enemy’s obstacles and trying to retain as much boulder integrity as possible so that when you inevitably slam into your foe’s castle door you’ll do as much damage as you can.
After your boulder smashes into the enemy’s door (or if your boulder gets entirely destroyed) you’ll have to wait until another boulder is chiseled out of stone. While you wait for your next boulder you can use your currency to lay down various traps and obstacles for your enemy. Spring boards, tower walls, ballista, balloons that dangle lions that cling to enemy boulders and make them wonky, sticky cows… There are loads of options! Each one has a different value, and most of them increase in value with each one you lay down. My personal favorite is the spring board – these pop out of the ground and fling the enemy boulder in the direction the spring board is aimed, typically sending them backwards or throwing them to their doom! This not only damages the boulder, it also greatly slows them down, and in a game where 3 boulders almost always means victory that bit of extra time can really be beneficial.
The game balances the importance of laying down objectives wisely and being able to control your boulders. However, if you’re terrible at controlling the boulder (like me) you’re doomed to fail on the harder levels that involve crazy jumps (yes, of course your boulder can jump!) and tight turns. By the 6th or 7th map I was hitting the enemy’s door less than half of the time while they had no problem demolishing me.
The game has two main modes of play – the standard “war” and an “obstacle course” that’s essentially a race. The obstacle course is basically war without laying obstacles, and both you and your opponent(s) race the same course together. The first to three points wins, and each time the course is played in a match the obstacles get more and more crazy.
These game modes are available both online and offline. Offline you’re presented with a hilarious campaign mode, obstacle course and a time trial mode that allows you to run any course without obstacles in the hopes of getting on the online leaderboards. You can also set up your profile – you can set up your banner, change your leader and paint your ball. While the obstacle course is the same as I already explained, the campaign is where I spent most of my time.
In campaign mode, you go up against various figures – like Adam and Eve or William Wallace – and artwork – like the Scream. Each battle begins with a ridiculously funny clip that looks like something right out of Monty Python, sometimes blatantly showing off their inspiration with things like pokeballs that look like Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch (if you don’t get that reference go buy Monty Python and the Holy Grail right now and watch it immediately!). Each battle takes place on the enemy’s turf and beating them on any difficulty gives you a star, their boulder, their leader as someone you can use and a banner customization option. Stars are then used to take down gates for the game’s crazy boss battles, and whether you win the battle or not you’ll knock the tower down so you can progress (thank goodness!). As you roll around the map, you’ll also find new traps, obstacles and weapons to use against your opponent, but you’ll only have 4 slots to equip with the dozens of options until you take down the bosses and collect more slots. All of campaign mode is also playable in split-screen couch co-op, something fantastic for people like my gal and I to play together. Each side’s castle door still seems to have the same amount of health though so slowing enemies down is even more important!
Like any multiplayer game, the real fun comes when you play with other people you actually know. This includes co-op and against one another on a couch of course, but the trash talk flows even more beautifully with up to four-player online play, battling it out 2v2 in war or free-for-all with the obstacle course. For the best odds of winning you’ll want to play through the campaign first though so you can practice and unlock all the different obstacles and balls. The courses, however, are all unlocked from the second you get the game! Like most everything else in the game, you can choose which ball you use as well, and you get the vast majority of them from beating campaign levels. Some roll faster, some are more agile and some have special abilities like the paint ball that doesn’t allow your opponent to lay down new obstacles where you roll for a limited time.
While I found the game incredibly frustrating after a handful of levels, it was still a pretty hilarious time and it’s something my gal and I will have plenty of laughs with. If you enjoyed the original Rock of Ages or Monty Python, those reasons are enough to dive into Rock of Ages II.
Note: I received a code for the game from the developer in exchange for an honest review.