Ace Team's manic Rock of Ages isn't dead. Last year, Atlus marketed this Katamari-meets-tower-defense project through inserts in E3 badge holders. The only thing anyone knew for sure at the end of the week was that the aforementioned rock crashes through various ages in art history. After E3, it slipped quietly into the background and remained a lingering memory to anyone who spent two seconds looking at the offending and bulky advertisement jammed into their badges.

All I wanted to do last year was play it. Unfortunately, it existed solely in trailer form with a vague spring 2011 release date. When spring rolled around and I didn't hear anything else about Rock of Ages I feared it suffered the quiet death many quirky downloadable games tend to when they drift into obscurity.

Getting hands-on time with the game finally gave a little more insight into just what it is. At its core, Rock of Ages melds tower defense tactics with a demented form of bowling. Each side constructs a gigantic boulder designed to plow through the opponent's territory and eventually destroy their castle. Besides navigating the rock through the level, the player also places defenses around their base. Each round in a single-player match starts with a brief unit placing turn before you can start rolling. You have to manage this time wisely, or the enemy will start barreling down the course.

Controlling the boulder is surprisingly fluid, but the learning curve is very steep if you're familiar with the Katamari Damacy series. The left stick controls the rock entirely while the right stick adjusts camera position. Anyone who's ever rolled a Katamari will instantly start using both sticks to steer which causes the camera to fly all over. Rock of Ages is all about gauging momentum and using precise motions as opposed to the broad strokes in Katamari Damacy. 

Your boulder takes damage as you crash into buildings, people, and defenses along the way. Crushing everything in your path nets you a lot of money but also wears down the rock before you can smash into the opponent's base. Single-use power-ups help push you ahead but can be a detriment if you lose control.

Right now, Rock of Ages feels pretty great, apart from the grueling momentum I'm told will be balanced out in the final version. It's slated for a summer 2011 release, and I hope we'll see it by the end of August. The art style is simply astounding and melds so well with the gameplay's chaotic nature. Someone once told me that the only reason to have beautiful things in movies and games is so you can destroy them, and Rock of Ages definitely satisfies that desire.