One of the games we were treated to during our behind-closed-doors session with Atlus was Rock of Ages, a new downloadable title. PR and Sales Manager Aram Jabbari described it as a ‘tower defense’ type of game, but you really can’t compare it to the likes of Crystal Defenders or Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord.
In Rock of Ages, the player and their opponent each have a castle somewhere in a large, open-ended level. What makes this game unique among tower defense titles is that in-between the two castles rests a giant boulder, the titular Rock of Ages. Players take turns controlling the boulder and attempt to smash their enemy’s castle with it. While attempting this, they must contend with environmental obstacles, such as hills and rivers, as well as defences set up by the other player, which include the (totally genre-standard) elephant and hot-air balloon. The player on defense must attempt to lay these obstacles in such a way as to stop the boulder from reaching their castle.
With regard to multiplayer options, Mr. Jabbari told us that the game is being designed to be played online, though they are still considering how to add local multiplayer. He said that, since this is a third-person title (third-boulder?), they cannot just slap another player on the screen and call it a day. As the levels are so large, and the players must perform their tasks at the same time, it is probably no small feat to add split-screen multiplayer, but they are investigating this option at the time of writing.
Rock of Ages will be smashing its way onto XBLA, PSN, and PC in 2011.
