Review for Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 21/07/2020
It was the not too distant 2011, first on Xbox 360 and later on PC and PlayStation 3 a title called Rock of Ages appeared. A game that mixed the classic Marble Madness gameplay (for those who remember it! - ed) with that of the decidedly more famous Tower Defense. A choice that, combined with an extremely goliardic, irreverent and very close to the comedy of Monty Python context, decreed the unexpected success of this game.
Years later we have seen the birth of two sequels. Rock of Ages 3 Make & Break is the newest, recently available on current generation platforms including Nintendo Switch, version we tested for this review.
The strong point of the saga has always been a story mode able to tell the past in an extremely humorous way, putting the player in situations where the rolling ball becomes just the pretext to explore pleasant and unexpected gameplay dynamics.
In this Rock of Ages 3 Make & Break the incipit is basically the same as the previous two chapters: Odyssey of Ulysses and his travel companions adapted in a parody key. We start from Polyphemus' lair to make a real journey through history, meeting high-caliber figures such as Caesar or Queen Elizabeth I. A journey that, it is worth underlining since now, has not fully thrilled us.
Rock of Ages 3 Make & Break begins to feel the weight of a gameplay that fails to fully evolve. The alternative and unsettling findings of the previous chapters here are really too sporadic, both in the tower defense phase and in that of rolling the boulder (which sometimes becomes a cluster of sheep, or other nice shapes that we do not reveal). The feeling we got while venturing into story mode is that of a team that seems to have run out of brilliant ideas. The game in the long run bored us a bit in terms of gameplay, with the cutscenes that served as a lifesaver to avoid falling into unexpected yawns.
In short, the comic style has been preserved, we can assure you that even this chapter will be able to get you more than a laugh, something that neither the gameplay nor the various levels that you will face within the story will be able to do. A real shame, but also a point of reflection for the team which, in all probability, must begin to rethink its series.
Obviously the title is not completely to be thrown away, with some elements that are worth using as a reference point for a possible (and all in all desirable) fourth chapter. In addition to the story, the game is composed of an editor that allows you to create tracks and scenarios to be shared online with the community; obviously you can also download those created by other players for competitive challenges or in a jolly friendship. Although simply sketchy, this is the element that most convinced us of the whole ACE Team package; an element which, according to our point of view, should become the basis of development in the future.
We close with a happy and pleasant note: the sound side. Once again, we were fully satisfied in this respect. As per tradition, pieces of classical music adapted in a rock key give the ears a truly sublime spectacle that can stand out within the context.
Rock of Ages III: Make & Break is just enough title. A saga that begins to make you feel the lack of innovation, with a gameplay that unlike the two previous episodes almost never manages to give moments "wow!", Amazing the player. If you are a fan of the saga you will probably find the strength to get to the end of the story, even managing to amaze you in some points, but for all the others it is a game that can be safely ignored, perhaps recovering the first two episodes if you are curious. from the gameplay. To consider the creation mode for any future chapters.
► Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break is a racing-Strategy-indie game published by Modus Games for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 21/07/2020
