Christian Computer Games

By Chris Taylor

The aim of The War In Heaven (Valusoft; $19.99), a "Christian action game," is to attain enlightenment by playing either a divine or a fallen angel. As a good angel, you wave a sword of the spirit at demons who seem to be wearing little green bikinis. As a fallen angel, you get to stick your claws into those insufferably righteous angels. Guess which one kids are going to pick. So why give the option to be evil? The designers use the free-will argument and note that choosing the fallen angel leads to murder and self-destruction. In the post-Columbine era, that may bear too close a resemblance to real-life nihilism. Still, Christian parents shouldn't fret. The War in Heaven moves slowly, and action is sparse. Kids may actually prefer Bible study.

--By Chris Taylor