Left Behind: the video game
Howie
is pacifist because players lose "spirit points" every time they gun
down nonbelievers rather than convert them. They can earn spirit points
again by having their character pray.
"You are fighting a defensive battle in the game," Frichner, whose
previous company produced Bible software, said of combatting the
Antichrist. "You are a sort of a freedom fighter."
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the retailer has no plans to pull Left
Behind: Eternal Forces from any of the 200 of Wal-Mart's 3,800 stores
that offer the game, including just seven in California. The nearest
are in Chico and Redding.
"We look at the community to see where it will sell," said Tara
Raddohl. "We have customers who are buying it and really haven't
received a lot of complaints about it from our customers at this time."
Clark Stevens, co-director of the Campaign to Defend the Constitution,
said the game is not peaceful or diplomatic.
"It's an incredibly violent video game," said Stevens. "Sure, there is
no blood. (The dead just fade off the screen.) But you are mowing down
your enemy with a gun. It pushes a message of religious intolerance.
You can either play for the 'good side' by trying to convert
nonbelievers to your side or join the Antichrist."
The Rev. Tim Simpson, a Jacksonville, Fla., Presbyterian minister and
president of the Christian Alliance for Progress, added: "So, under the
Christmas tree this year for little Johnny is this allegedly Christian
video game teaching Johnny to hate and kill?"
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In Left Behind, set in perfectly apocalyptic New York City, the
Antichrist is personified by fictional Romanian Nicolae Carpathia,
secretary-general of the United Nations and a People magazine "Sexiest
Man Alive."
Players can choose to join the Antichrist's team, but of course they
can never win on Carpathia's side. The enemy team includes fictional
rock stars and folks with Muslim-sounding names, while the righteous
include gospel singers, missionaries, healers and medics. Every
character comes with a life story.
When asked about the Arab and Muslim-sounding names, Frichner said the
game does not endorse prejudice. But "Muslims are not believers in
Jesus Christ" -- and thus can't be on Christ's side in the game.
"That is so obvious," he said.
...................
Jeff Gerstmann, senior editor at the online publication Gamespot.com,
said the game isn't popular. The game itself, which Gamespot rated 3.4
out of a possible 10, has lots of glitches.
"And it's kind of crazy," Gerstmann said. "One of the evil characters
is a rock musician. ... If you get too close to him your spirit is
lowered."
But Plugged In, a publication of the conservative Christian group Focus
on the Family, gave the game a "thumbs-up." The reviewer called it "the
kind of game that Mom and Dad can actually play with Junior -- and use
to raise some interesting questions along the way."
Frichner said that is precisely his company's ultimate goal in offering
the game: to bring parents and kids together to talk about the Bible.
He said most teens are playing video games, so it was natural to turn
the books into one.
TiradeFaction
review here. If it's the same quality (bad if you haven't watched them)
as the movies......well, then it sure won't be a positive review.
LoreAlmighty2
zew...@gmail.com
Most salad-bar Christians are fairly nice people but this game is
scary. Usually violent games don't phase me because it's not to be
taken seriously. This game however, seems to be catering to the
"subtle" bubbling insane fantasies of people who actually want to live
out the deeper implications of the violence in this game, instead of
the usual ultra violence in games that can be taken at face value.
-Alt13