Rock of Ages (2011) (PC) (ACE Team)
9For all its hysterical humor and strange mechanics, to me Rock of Ages is first and foremost the rare game which recognizes (in its own weird way) that there is a real world out there, beyond the confines of the video gaming industry and its limited arsenal of tropes and cliches. More specifically, ACE Team's puzzle/strategy game is inspired by nothing less than the history of Western civilization in general and its art traditions in particular, and the busy visual framework of the game consists of a frenetic sampling of famous artworks and distinctive styles from many different centuries. ACE Team then applies a generous filter of Monty Python's anarchic sensibilities (most evident in the supremely silly cutscenes), throws in a few easy pop references for good measure and finally slams a weird variant of tower defense on top of it all.
As expected, the result is more than a little bit bewildering at first, but to the game's credit these disparate elements start to come together sooner than you might think. While the strategy aspects have been accused of suffering from some notable structural imbalances, Rock of Ages is one of the few titles even a relentlessly gameplay-oriented chap like myself can appreciate for being more than the sum of its constitutent parts.