Have yourself a merry pre-trib Christmas
Want to join the ultimate fight of Good against Evil, but you don't like the idea of having to leave the comfort of your computer chair? LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces will let you do just that. Left Behind Games is charting new waters as it launches a high-quality production that will be a catalyst in the genre it refers to as "God games." This title, which is available for $39.95 in their online store, allows gamers to "join the ultimate fight of Good against Evil, commanding Tribulation Forces or the Global Community Peacekeepers, and uncover the truth about the worldwide disappearances!"
According to the website, you can "conduct physical and spiritual warfare using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry throughout the game world." What better way to teach youngsters about prayer than to show them that left-clicking the mouse at the appropriate time will allow a soldier-of-the-Lord to rack up one shot kills in the streets of New York?
The player can control more than 30 types of units/characters, ranging from Prayer Warriors to Hellraisers to Battle Tanks! He or she can also decide which side they want to fight for, playing as either the Tribulation Force or the AntiChrist's Global Community Peacekeepers.1
Not to be out-done by *secular* games, LBEF comes with a kickin' soundtrack featuring songs just like the ones on games played by pagan kids:
Parents should be warned, however, that there may be some unforeseen consequences if they buy this game for their kids. How can you argue with Billy when he says the reason he didn't get his homework done was because he was learning how to slay the AntiChrist? If he's a pre-tribber too, he may even argue that a little practice toppling the AntiChrist's dominion is more important than mere school work, because you never know when the Rapture's coming. In fact, it could even be tomorrow, in which case Billy would have made a wise decision to shut the chemistry book and flip on the computer. Of course, his argument fails when you consider that he, at least if he is a *true* believer, will be "caught up in the clouds" when the Rapture comes, meaning that all of his practice would have been in vain.
Indeed.
- This seems to present a bit of a dilemma for the programmers. You want to produce a game that is fun and presents a high level of replayability, so you allow the gamer to play as Good or as Evil. If you make the Evil squad boring or give them less powerful weapons, the gamer might not be satisfied. But, if you make it a fair fight, gamers might actually prefer to fight as Evil instead of Good. Next thing you know, millions of kids all over the world have turned over to the dark side and become zealous Satan worshippers. Do you really want that on your conscience? Of course not, but you don't want to get fired for making a crappy game, either. So, you see the dilema… [back]
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The Daily Show had some hilarious coverage of this game as part of their "This Week In God" series. You can watch it here.
The best line in that clip is from the guy who looks like he is demo-ing the game at a trade show:
"If you kill a player, you get minus one point. If you save a soul, you get two points."
Unbelievable.