Praise the Lord and Pass the Joystick

The game’s characters are confusing. The most evil characters are the faithless. They look exactly like the folk that flock to fundamentalist religions by the drove. This will befuddle most secular humanists whom the fundies have aimed the game toward as a means of conversion. The fact that the secular characters are depicted as an anonymous monolithic bunch speaks volumes as well. 

Another vexing point of the game’s characters is the fine distinction made between “believers who don’t seek after God” and “those who chose to ignore God.” It may just be semantics, but both groups sound like they have better things to do than sit around waiting for the Rapture just so they can leave their wardrobe behind. Using the term “Global Community Peacekeepers” is also odd when these are the evil folk the Tribulation Force is bent on defeating. Even on the surface it is apparent that the folks behind the game have little interest in compassion, charity, love, or peace—all basic tenants of the Christianity that the man from Galilee preached. 

The hypocrisy of the self-appointed righteous continues to escalate. The fundies consistently assail the entertainment industry as hedonistic and godless, yet it is that arena where they are currently waging the battle to convert all those “other” folks to their side. When it comes to all things holy and sacred nothing says it better than Nintendo. 

Even without all the pseudo proselytizing, Left Behind is thankfully an abject failure as it eschews many of the things that attract gamers in the first place. Grand Theft Auto is a major seller not because of its storyline, but because it has plenty of graphic violence, celebrates the criminal, and also tosses in animated sex for good measure. 

While the first image in the game’s promo is a direct rip off of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, obviously the game’s designers lacked the courage of their convictions to really allow the secular humanists a good look at what is in store for them come the apocalypse. 

The fundies are probably the only group on the entire planet who actually look forward to a worldwide apocalypse. Unfortunately, as with any war, there are all those millions affected who didn’t sign on for the Rapture. By using a simple video game to set the stage for the real Armageddon, the fundies are once again lying. In a real war prayer does not miraculously restore powers to a wounded soldier whose leg has been blown off and allow him to reenter the battlefield. This is brainwashing on the most simplistic level. If operating a joy stick was all it took, there would be far fewer soldiers left behind on the battlefield and returning home unscathed. 

All that a game like Left Behind does is further point out the hypocrisies of a group that breeds hate and intolerance and wraps itself in the flag. In this case it is best to take the fundies at their word and leave this game behind on the store shelf.