New York – Targeted largely at conservative Christians, it’s a violent video game with a difference: Combatants on one side pause for prayer, and their favored interjection is “Praise the Lord.”
Critics say “Left Behind: Eternal Forces” glorifies religious violence against non- Christians. Some liberal groups have been urging a boycott, and on Tuesday they urged Wal-Mart to withdraw the game from its shelves.
However, Troy Lyndon, chief executive of Left Behind Games Inc., defended the game as “inspirational entertainment” and said its critics were exaggerating. He expressed greater concern about poor reviews from some video-game aficionados, saying the company would offer a free technical upgrade by Dec. 24.
Lyndon’s company, based in Murrieta, Calif., has a license to develop games based on the popular “Left Behind” novels, a Bible- based, end-of-the-world-saga that has sold more than 63 million copies.
Lyndon, in a telephone interview, said “Eternal Forces” has been distributed to more than 10,000 retail locations over the past four weeks. He said sales were going well but declined to give specifics.
The real-time strategy game has received a T (for teen) rating, as its makers had hoped. It offers more violence than an E-rated children’s game, but less graphically than M- (for mature) rated games that have often been criticized by conservative Christian groups.
“Our game includes violence, but excludes blood, decapitation, killing of police officers,” the company says on its website, noting that a player can lose points for “unnecessary killing” and regain them through prayer.
The game’s story line game begins after the rapture, when most Christians are transported to heaven. Earth’s remaining population is faced with a choice of joining or combatting the Antichrist.
The game’s critics depict the ensuing struggle, set in New York City, as one fostering religious intolerance.
“Part of the object is to kill or convert the opposing forces,” said the Rev. Tim Simpson of Jacksonville, Fla., who heads the Christian Alliance for Progress. “It is antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Wal-Mart indicated it would continue selling the game online and in selected stores where it felt there was demand.
