There's something adorably goofy about Age of Monsters. So much effort was put into making an absolutely beautiful game, with lots of well-animated characters rendered in lovely, hand-drawn 2D art by Jeff Matsuda, character designer on The Batman. Those characters face off in a side-view, fighting-game like presentation, with dramatic sound effects.
And then it's rock, paper, scissors.
Yes, Age of Monsters is a game that presents best-of-three rock, paper, scissors matches using brilliant fighting-game-esque animated sequences between a bunch of ghost/monster type characters. It's overkill. It's like building a checkerboard in which each piece is a tiny remote-controlled car.
But if you have any interest whatsoever in playing rock, paper, scissors with your Game Center buddies, this is totally the way to do it. It's a pleasure to behold and -- oh yeah -- it's free. Technically, it's freemium, with extra characters available as in-app purchases. But for all intents and purposes, it's just free.
That's the right price for a digital rock, paper, scissors simulation, even one in which said objects are psychically projected by a pair of spooky children.
Age of Monsters - Rock Paper Scissors is available on iTunes free for iPhone. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.
