The Left Behind Video Game

When I first read of it, I thought about mentioning it but was so digusted, I couldn’t quite bring myself to comment on it. Now, everyone else seems to be commenting on this story, so I’ll point you to it in case you haven’t heard of this yet.

One game, “Left Behind: Eternal Forces,” which debuts today at the expo, features plenty of biblical smiting, albeit with high-tech weaponry as players battle the forces of the Antichrist in a smoldering world approaching Armageddon.

Eh, my stomach doesn’t feel quite right.

“Eternal Forces” is part of a new wave of religious games coming out at a time when the mainstream industry faces increasing criticism that its products celebrate misogynistic mayhem. Another publisher is marketing games based on the “Veggie Tales” series of Christian videos for children. Another is pitching “Bibleman: A Fight for Faith,” about a superhero who stands up for the word of God with his sidekicks Cypher and Biblegirl.

Cypher and Biblegirl? I’m really starting to feel bad…

Christian-themed games historically have had limited appeal. Developer Digital Praise has sold a reported 30,000 copies of its most popular product, a Christian title called “Dance Praise.” By contrast, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” has sold 5.1 million copies worldwide.

Dance Praise wasn’t popular? There’s a shocker. Even the original Nintendo foot pad games were more popular than that.

” ‘Left Behind’ has the Antichrist, the end of the world, the apocalypse,” said co-creator Jeffrey S. Frichner. “It’s got all the Christian stuff, and it’s still got all the cool stuff.”

Is it just me, or is the room starting to spin? My stomach feels awful.

The game is set in New York City, where the Tribulation Force clashes with the Antichrist’s Global Community Peacekeepers in a tale that makes the United Nations a tool for Satan. Each side attempts to recruit lost souls in the battle for the city.

In the game, Tribulation squads unleash the usual arsenal against the Antichrist: guns, tanks, helicopters. But soldiers lose some of their spirituality every time they kill an opponent and must be bolstered through prayer. The failure to nurture good guys causes their spirit points to drop, leaving them vulnerable to recruitment by the other side.

I’ll be right back for more blogging… Right after I’ve stopped throwing up.