Rock of Ages is a cross-platform computer game developed by ACE Team and published by Atlus. The release of Rock of Ages took place in late August 2011 on the Xbox 360 platform, shortly followed by the PC version (September 7), and in May 2012 the game made its way to PlayStation 3.
Rock of Ages tells the story of the famous ancient hero Sisyphus. It is well known that the gods cursed Sisyphus for his deeds, forever binding him to a huge boulder, which he must roll up a hill day after day. From a mythological standpoint, this is a terrifying punishment, but from the developers' perspective, it is quite the opposite. ACE Team transformed the boulder, which was meant to embody suffering, into a real weapon. With it, Sisyphus can destroy buildings, crush enemies and mythical creatures, jump, dodge traps, and engage in many other fun activities.
To be precise, the game is not played as Sisyphus himself, but as his boulder, and more accurately, there are several types of boulders in Rock of Ages, which can be upgraded and modified in various ways. By controlling the round stone, the player must roll it to the enemy's citadel and break down the gates while trying not to drop it into the abyss or smash it against a strong obstacle—boulders are not made of iron, and they break apart very easily, gradually losing mass and size. In turn, enemies have their own boulders that they roll towards the player's citadel. Whoever breaks the gates first wins. This is essentially the entire gameplay.
Nonetheless, it should be clarified that Rock of Ages is not just a boulder simulator; it's also a genuine 'tower defense' game. To hinder the enemy's stone from advancing, the player must place towers, mines, giant fans, as well as battle elephants and even cows along the path of its journey. Naturally, opponents are allowed to do the same. Construction of fortifications occurs when the camera sort of hovers over the battlefield (more precisely, over a long road with several branches), while the game itself takes place in a third-person view.
Rock of Ages is a strange yet immensely fun game, which is understandable—almost all of ACE Team's projects are like this. Although an unprepared player might initially feel as if they have plunged into the depths of absurdity. Just take the story, for example. It exists—Sisyphus smashes everything in his path with his boulder—but here Rock of Ages throws everyone a surprise. The thing is that the action in Rock of Ages takes place not only during the height of Ancient Greece but also in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and so on. And as enemies, it features not only the king of Sparta, Leonidas but also King Charles III of Spain, Napoleon Bonaparte, and many other historical figures.