LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY bloodfyr)

So yes. I downloaded the demo of Left Behind: Eternal Forces. I happened to be feeling masochistic, I guess. I've played through parts of the game...basically until I couldn't stomach anymore.

I was born with a controller in my hand, and I haven't put it down since. I also like to consider myself a professional video game journalist, so I tried to be objective. But, because of my disdain for evanglical Christianity of this nature, I found it impossible to maintain my impartial view. I kept wanting to find things that were bad about this game, but to be honest with you? It's a decent game. However, the word "decent" in the video game world means a lot more than what it does everywhere else.

First things first, I must admit...there are some aspects of this game that I like. Two of the key mechanics, namely base construction and unit recruitment, are very unique in the crowded real-time strategy (RTS) genre.

The game takes place in New York, right on the streets. No mountans, no forests; just block after city block. Gone are the construction yards and SCVs of other games. Instead, preexisting buildings form your base. You gain control of these through the use of one of the game's resources: money. Then, using your "builder" units, you convert these buildings into something that will suit your purpose. A cafe produces food for your forces. A bank provides money.

In every other RTS, in order to recruit a unit, you first have to construct a specific building, then you must have that building build or train the unit you want. In Left Behind, your units are already on the map! They're the civilians wandering the busy streets of New York. You just need to convert them, by using your "disciple" unit. Once they're converted into a "friend", you can then send them into one of several buildings to be trained in an occupation to help your cause.

But, frankly, that's all I found appealing about this game, and even these two elements were poorly implemented. Graphically, the game is as bland as you can get. Textures aren't detailed at all. Character models are too similar. There's nothing to the game aurally either. There's ONE song in the whole demo that repeats. Units have only two acknowledgements (what they say when you click on them, or give them an order), and more often than not...they don't fit the situation. (Order one into a building and he says, "HELLO!" o_O)

The pictures explain more.

Though, there are two things that concern me, even before I started taking screenshots. When you run the demo for the first time, a window pops up asking for your first name, last name, and email address. I'm a little antsy about giving even my junk email to a website or group without a Privacy Statement, so I tried to put in an obviously fake email address ("imgay@ilikedick.com"), but the program wouldn't take that one. I only got in after putting in my junk address.

Then, later, when you're loading the SINGLE PLAYER portions of the game, it seems to make some contact with the server, and does something called "Setting Up Client". Why does it do all of this for a single player game? Is this game sending information back home?



The loading screen. Michelangelo is going to want blood.


The city is large, which is good I suppose. Problem is...some of the buildings are so big that in order to really navigate around, you have to zoom ALL the way out. This is a picture zoomed all the way out. Problem with that? See if you can find my "Disciple" unit.


THERE HE IS! How could I miss that little SPECK on the screen when it's so clearly TINY AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE?


EVERY building in this game has at least two or three of these billboards. All of them are advertisements for various groups, or social ideals. Not all of them are dominionist, but most of them seem to propagate the idea of "family values". And no, these aren't fake. That is really Scruff McGruff and the NHTSA on there.


This one seems to be trying to get across some idea...but I can't quite put my finger on it...Hmmm....


This is a real place, a real website, and a real comedy club that has acts such as Carlos Mencia and Dave Chappelle. Even the names listed there are secular comics. In a Christian game? Strange.


I wonder if CBS authorized this.


Any ideas on what that's SUPPOSED to be? Cause I sure as hell know what it LOOKS like...


To be brutally honest? A freshman graphics arts student could make a more convincing bombed out building. You can even see the white line where the "rubble" meets the sidewalk.


Cause nothing confirms Jesus' love for you like barbed wire.


Mmm...warm Christian brotherhood in M-16 form...


These are what the "friends" look like. "Friends" are units you've converted that haven't been trained in a specific occupation yet. Male friends all wear khakis and sweater vests, and women friends all wear long skirts and plain looking jackets. Unconverted people wear average suits or dresses, and "evil" people wear tshirts, jeans, and miniskirts. Sounds like they're hinting at something, hmmm?


This is one of the buildings you can purchase. The only reason it's green is because I have it selected in the game. The reason I consider the game's idea of base construction rather poorly implemented is due to the fact that you cannot purchase ANY building and make it into anything you want. Only "office buildings" can be turned into banks. Only "retail buildings" can be turned into cafes, so you can see how this would limit your options. What's more is...


...the graphics team is obviously lazy. I understand that Left Behind Games is a small studio and cannot compete with a company like EA Games, but there's no excuse for this. I've seen games that were put together (code, audio and video) by ONE person, and they were better looking than this. See this building? It's the same as the previous picture, right? Except this picture shows a building that is upgraded. Notice anything? It looks EXACTLY the same as it's un-upgraded form! They didn't create a new model...or at the very least, alter the old one! Even the next "tier" of bank looks the same. There's frankly NO excuse for laziness like this in a modern video game, with all the resources amatuer gamers are given.


This one confuses me. They put the Laugh Factory signs in there correctly, complete with real comics who've performed there, as well as the real address...but can't get the sign for this one correct? Duane READE is a pharmacy in New York. Oh. And that may LOOK like a pharmacy, but that's really the Tier 2 Food Production building. Laaaaaaazy.


...but it already IS a chapel. Damn...I'm not this lazy, and I make slacking an artform!


See the arrow. Be disturbed. Remember. Christian game. Makes violence all okay.


*keeps chanting* Christian game. Makes violence all okay. Christian game. Makes violence all okay.


Just a little sexist tidbit I noticed.


To be honest...a lot of what kills this game is how SLOW everything works. Units move very slowly, even when running, so in order to create a soldier, your disciple has to run for about thirty seconds to spend a minute converting someone only to have the two of them spend thirty seconds running back to the combat training building, and then spending a minute while he trains. That's to get a SINGLE soldier. I was following the orders in the textbox, and the "evil musician" that I was trying to convert was actually CHASED by my musician to that point (see the minimap). That trip took a minute and a half.


There's no rules written in stone about it, but a playable demo is supposed to be a cohesive package that portrays the best that a game has to offer. It's intended to offer the gamer a small taste of what's to come...to make them anticipate it, and thus increase sales.

Instead, this demo's single player barely works. Notice how most of those screenshots were taken from the training tutorials? I couldn't even finish either of the missions I attempted. Each character, aside from their health, has something called "spirit points", which represent their "faith". When your spirit points are between 1-35, you're "evil", with the lower number being the more dark. 36-59 represents a "neutral character". 60 and above represents a "good" character. If your "good" character is near a (literally) evil musician with an electric guitar, their spirit points will drop until you lose them. Twice in the FIRST mission, I had my character avoid the muscians in the street as best as I could (but couldn't as all the side streets were blocked off). Apparently, the second I came ANYWHERE near those "screeching guitars", I lost all my faith and joined the "neutrals". Game over.

The mission goals seem rather poorly constructed as well. In the fourth mission, you have to go around and convert five gang members. I converted the first just fine...but the second I got anywhere near the next, he shot me dead without warning. Game over.

I must be honest and tell you that I went into this game with a biased mind. But even with that, I found so many basic problems with the game that are simply the result of bad programming, poor design implementation, or just lazy artists. You could chalk this up to the fact that it's a demo, but the game's website states it's due out in a month. That's not a lot of time to fix all these issues, as well as send the game to "gold" and produce and ship it.

Ladies and gentlemen of this community, I'd like to remind you of the stated goals of Left Behind Games. "The mission of Left Behind Games is to become the world’s leading independent developer and publisher of quality interactive entertainment products that perpetuate positive values and appeal to mainstream..." That mission statement is why I bring this all up, because...what we have here is a failed attempt at prosetlyizing. This game WILL NOT appeal to the mainstream. It's not because of its content. It's not because of its controversy.

The reason this game will not succeed in the stated goals is because, quite frankly, the game is BORING. It is clunky. It is slow. It is ugly. And it is very BORING. Were it not for the fact that it is a Christian game, it'll be published quickly and forgotten just as quickly, like every other "decent" game in the video game world.




...
Oh. And PS: From their website: "LEFT BEHIND will be a catalyst for a new genre of video game entertainment; known, as stated by the Wall Street Journal, as "God Games"."

"God games" already exist. Check out Black and White, jackass.