"Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder" Review

Six years and a console generation ago, "Rock of Ages" rolled onto the scene and gave indie game lovers a laugh before disappearing over the horizon. Few thought they'd ever see a sequel, but the development team ACE Team is back with a follow-up that matches the absurd humor and addictive gameplay of the original.

Once again, you engage in anachronistic "Civilization"-style battles pitting various empires from various eras against one another in the form of real-time strategy battles involving rolling giant boulders down hills.

You and your opponent -- the game offers multiplayer as well as a solo campaign -- take turns breaking down and setting up your defenses, then steering your angry, tumbling rock along the way toward oblivion. The goal is to keep your rock as intact as possible as you pick up a head of steam to charge into the enemy's gate.

You navigate a balancing act between defense and attack as you trudge through battles of attrition, hoping to strike the enemy's gate with just enough juice to end the round before your opponent puts you under.

Between-rounds cut scenes are as entertaining as the boulder-rolling and defense-setting. There's something inherently funny about watching pompous historical figures talk smack to one another. Will the gaming world demand a "Rock of Ages 3?" Not likely. But nor was this sequel invited, and it is all the more welcome for the rock-ous way it manages to charge through the gates.

Publisher provided review code.