A demo is available for the End Times RTS Left Behind: Eternal Forces. Once I get the office organized and my upgrades installed, I’ll be giving it a whirl.

I’m not the only person looking forward to this game. And, like many of them, I am probably looking forward to it in a most uncharitable and un-Christian manner. The books on which the game is based are terrible (as both literature and theology) and there is a sense of great expectation that Left Behind: Eternal Forces will be the guilty pleasure game of the year.

Like many games that are clearly “about” something, it will certainly be a challenge for us pseudo-journalists. If a game has a positive message, should that count in its favor? If a game has no redeeming social value and is only there to shock, should it be penalized? What if a game has a message that some find uplifting but others find a grotesque parody of a sacred message?

The LB:EF developers have been very vocal in saying that they primarily wanted to make a good game, and, for the sake of gamers everywhere, I hope they do. We can always use more good games. There has been a lot of speculation about how much unbeliever slaying will be involved in the game, though, so I wonder if a good game is possible when it is based around a modern Crusade? (Curiously, gaming pundits have less problem with games made about the actual Crusades or other historic religious conflicts).

The final game won’t be revealed until early November.