Gameology: Commentary and Resources for the Game Studies Community

All too easy:

http://www.gameology.org/blog/local_news_coverage_of_left_behind_eternal_forces

"the game has more problems than the representation of faith-based violence."

The game doesn't represent "faith-based violence."

"It perpetuates stereotypes by preventing female characters from taking on leadership roles"

Hardly. Look here:

http://eternalforces.com/characterProfiles.aspx?profileID=charProfilePrayerWarrior

That is the strongest character in the game.

"homogenizing all converts to Christianity by depicting them as dorky Caucasians"

A minor quirk due to limited character design. There was no intention by the game's creators to portray all Christians as "dorky Caucasians."

"a game that uses depictions of violence to actively promote a violent world-view"

Which the game doesn't do.

"God of War may be incredibly violent, but it's context is purely fantasy."

So is Eternal Forces. At no point do the game's creators treat the story as anything other than fiction. As to the theology behind the fiction, they readily admit that it's not absolute and only a possible interpretation of the Bible. They encourage people to find their own answers regarding the issue.

"the selling point of the entire Left Behind series is that it's real."

No, it's not on both counts. If you think LB is real, you need to have your head examined.

"it's presented as something like historical fiction from the future"

I consulted one of those cavemen from those Geico ads about that statement and he said, "Uh... What?"

"the basic facts of rapture and violent conflict are presumed to be true."

No, they're actually not. Had you bothered to actually research the issue, you'd know that.

http://www.gameology.org/blog/kill_the_non_believers_the_christian_edition

"Kill the Non-Believers"

Nope. No killing non-believers to win the game. In fact, killing is clearly condemned in the game, the game manual, and the game's website. There is no reward for killing non-believers. The soldier characters in the game are there only for self-defense purposes if need be. They will not target noncombatants (i.e. neutral non-believers and non-soldier Antichrist forces) even if you try to make them do so.