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Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break review

July 30, 2020

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Rock of Ages 3

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is the latest entry in the competitive tower defense arcade action racing series from ACE Team and Giant Monkey Robot. With its Monty Python-esque humour, the series is well known for its laughs and creativity for all ages.

You’ll encounter everyone from Caesar and Moctezuma to Krampus and the Flying Spaghetti Monster as you make your way through the game’s campaign. In addition to designing and building your own levels, there is competitive tower defense action with up to 4 players online or 2 play local split screen fun. And there are plenty of other game modes with hundreds of hours of fun.

Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break Details

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch, Stadia and PC
Reviewed on: Stadia
Developer: ACE Team and Giant Monkey Robot
Publisher: Modus Games
Genre: Action, Tower Defense, Arcade, Racing
Modes: Single-player and multiplayer
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

An over-the-top wacky adventure

Rock of Ages 3 is another crazy and bizarre journey through history. The story picks up in the middle of one of Odysseus’s adventures, as he is in the middle of raiding the cave of a Polyphemus, a giant cyclops. When the cyclops returns to the cave, Odysseus tricks him and leaves Polyphemus blind.

The next morning, as Odysseus and his men sail away, Polyphemus throws boulders at the ship hoping to sink it. In a last ditch effort, the giant cyclops hurls the Rock of Ages towards the ship and sinks it. With Odysseus out of the picture, you take on the role of Elpenor—Odysseus’s lesser known sidekick.

Elpenor and his crew sail the seven seas and encounter a whole slew of famous characters from all over the world along the way. You can bet, wherever Elpenor goes, trouble follows. The game takes famous historical moments and spoofs them in a delightful Monty Python-esque style. If thing you can count on with the Rock of Ages series is that its humour is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face on multiple occasions. And, Rock of Ages 3 doesn’t disappoint!

Boulder-Smashing arcade fun

If you have never played a Rock of Ages game, you probably aren’t quite sure what to expect in terms of gameplay. The gameplay is very similar in aspects to that of Sega’s Super Monkey Ball games with a twist. With that being said, Rock of Ages 3 features six game modes including Boulder Avalanche, Humpty-Dumpty Mode, and Time Trials.

Though, each of the game’s modes boil down to doing one of three things: setting up defenses to stop boulders from hitting your base, rolling a boulder through to a goal, or smashing your way through anything that gets in your way. I only really started to feel the repetitiveness in gameplay during extended 2-3 hour gameplay sessions.

Each of the games modes offer different strategies and difficulties that you’ll have to overcome. For example, when trying to stop your enemies’ ball from breaking through your defenses you’ll have to strategically place traps that work in tandem with others on the small strip of land that you are given to be effective. On the other hand, while rolling your boulder you have to watch out for tricky turns, traps that send you flying and giant gaps that can send you hurling to your death.

Rock of Ages 3

Charming visuals with an absurdly funny story

While Rock of Ages 3‘s visuals are nothing to write home about, they do carry a unique charm to them. Along with the game’s Monty Python-esque humour, it’s visuals share the same aesthetic.

The game’s camera can at times be a little wonky. What I mean by this is that the game’s camera doesn’t always give you the best view of the course. Even with a limited ability to adjust the camera, I found it hard to see and distinguish gaps between ledges. As a result, there were more than a few times that I fell off the course because of this.

Rock of Ages 3

Multiplayer and level design modes

Rock of Ages 3 features both online and local multiplayer modes. The online mode features up to 4 players and local multiplayer is done via 2 player split screen. I did find with the 2 player split screen that your view of the action is limited. Ultimately it doesn’t take away from the fun, it’s something that you have to get used to.

Finding games online is easy, it’s as simple as finding a public lobby and joining. Additionally, you can send invites to friends online to join up. It’s important to note that in the multiplayer modes, you are restricted to only the boulders and traps you’ve unlocked through the story. So this gives incentive to go back to the story mode and unlock everything that you can.

Perhaps the best new feature of Rock of Ages 3 comes with the game’s level design mode. The tools given allow you to easily create your own course filled with tilts, obstacles, and whatever else you can think of. With the ability to share your own level designs with the community, it makes for an almost endless amount of content.

Rock of Ages 3

Rock of Ages 3’s Monty Python-esque humour and campaign mode will keep you entertained for hours on end

While Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break isn’t a huge departure for the series, its Monty Python-esque humour and story will certainly keep you entertained for hours on end. My favourite new addition is the game’s level designer. Accompanied by a mini tutorial, the tools given are easy to use and the user interface is clean and concise.

Online multiplayer is fun and even though your field of view is limited in the 2 player split-screen mode, you’ll have loads of fun with family and friends. The game’s camera at times can cause some issues but in the long run it really doesn’t put a damper on your overall experience. Overall, Rock of Ages 3 is a fun game to play alone or with others. If you are a fan of Super Monkey Ball and Marble Madness games, you’ll surely enjoy Rock of Ages 3.

+ Charming visuals
+ Simple and intuitive level creator
+ Monty Python-esque humour
+ Fun to play with friends online and locally
+ Self contained story that does not require any knowledge of previous games
+ Value priced

– In game camera sometimes can make it hard to distinguish gaps
– Not a lot of variation in gameplay