Rock of Ages II: Bigger and Boulder

Genre: Tower Defense / Arcade

Players: 1-4 Team Competitive (Online)

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Review:

Rock of Ages II, like its predecessor, is a game that combines two very disparate genres. First, players will be managing resources and constructing a gauntlet of towers, traps, and other defenses to protect their path from an attack by a giant boulder. And conversely, they’ll be rolling a boulder down the enemy’s path, trying to avoid obstacles until they can get to the bottom, bash open the gates to the enemy’s castle, and squish their leader under the weight of the boulder.

These two wildly different playstyles worked surprisingly well together in the first game (released on other platforms), and the sequel brings much of that back. There’s a good deal of enjoyment out of trying to build the ultimate defense against the opponent, and then thrill int trying to circumvent the enemy’s defenses while they attack yours.

This time around, there are a few other elements at work here, such as a new 2v2 online team competitive mode, a new silly story, and of course new units and maps. The art team also came up with some really inspired new designs for the visual aesthetic in some of the levels, and this game overall has a more loose feel to how it’s put together.

One thing that hasn’t changed much, and thankfully so, is the game’s sense of humor. Much like the first Rock of Ages II, this game is hilarious, making use of Monty Python-esque animated cutscenes with absurd caricatures of various historical figures. And of course, it’s always a delight to bash down the enemy’s castle gate and hear their big tough leader squealing like a little girl before the impending squish noise that soon follows.

I absolutely love this series… however, the Nintendo Switch port of the game has some issues. Firstly, while the game seems to look fine in docked mode (actually, it looks pretty damn good), in handheld mode the resolution is atrocious – it looks like someone smeared Vasoline over the game. Also, the font size for this game is eye-wateringly small in places, and it’s damn near microscopic in handheld mode. Whoever worked on the Switch port of the game clearly didn’t know how to optimize the game for handheld mode. Also, the Switch version of the game cuts out the game’s local multiplayer, which is really disappointing.

It’s unfortunate that this is the case, because the core gameplay of Rock of Ages II is still really amazing, and it’s such a unique blend of strategy and arcadey elements with a wonderfully silly presentation that there’s not really much else like it out there. But sadly, the Switch port of the game is pretty compromised, and players who have the option of getting a different version of the game are probably better off doing so.

tl;dr – Rock of Ages II combines the Tower Defense genre with an Arcade-y ball-rolling game into a unique, wonderful, silly formula that’s a blast to play. Unfortunately, the Switch version of the game is missing local multiplayer and looks terrible in handheld mode. This is a middling port of an otherwise very good game.

Grade: B-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2019 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Funniest Game

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