Heading east, you step onto a street you have not yet encountered. Standing in front of you are several of your enemies, rock musicians who are not happy that you’ve walked into their territory. They attack, and though you try your best to fight them, off you cannot.

Your spirit meter fell too low. You needed to pray more.

Prayer is a key component of Left Behind: Eternal Forces (LB:EF), the brand new video game based on the bestselling Left Behind series of novels, a series immensely popular with Christians across the United States written by Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. At the Rapture, the faithful have been taken bodily to heaven while the Anti-Christ has begun to amass the power of the world’s nations to follow his cause. Of those left behind on Earth, a small group of resisters, known as the Tribulation Force, has formed to battle Satan and bring the light of God back to planet Earth.

In LB:EF, you are a part of that Tribulation Force. The Anti-Christ, an ominously named Nicolae Carpathia of Romania, is more or less the secretary general of the United Nations. The playing field is a tremendously detailed version of Manhattan. The main henchmen in Carpathia’s armies are rock musicians. And the only way to increase the size of the Tribulation Force is to convert others to Christianity.

In the past, video games with religious themes have typically been designed for young children, and those few games in the genre that could have appealed to teenagers and adults were usually boring Bible trivia games. A perusal of an online Christian bookstore’s software offerings illustrates this, with game after game featuring the word “Bible” prominently in its title. Combat in such games is simulated through a playing card system similar to Dungeons & Dragons. Bible trivia games, even handheld versions, are everywhere. The Bible is forcibly thrust into games like baseball and football. The action that these older games promise is not much action at all. There are no guns, there is no violence. No serious gamer, no matter how much he or she cared about God and religion, would ever pick these games. When compared to the more violent games like Grand Theft Auto, or even to less violent classics like the Super Mario Bros. series, Captain Bible in Dome of Darkness simply cannot compete for the minds of America’s teens.

LB:EF will represent the first Christian video game that was developed as a video game first, not simply a vehicle for ham-fisted preachiness. Left Behind Games, the production company that has brought LB:EF to the market, was co-founded by Troy Lyndon and his wife Robilyn. Troy Lyndon was a driving force behind the development of the Madden Football series, the most popular sports video game franchise of all time, and understands exactly what it takes to make a video game compelling to the average player.

“The Anti-Christ has got to be one of the best bad guys you could imagine,” said Troy Lyndon.

The message of the game is simple. Players learn to repent, to give their lives to Jesus Christ, and in return they are saved. Along the way, they do battle with the minions of Satan. And if the media narrative states that violent video games like the Grand Theft Auto series can influence children to behave badly, then can video games with clear Christian overtones increase the size of the flock? The Lyndons have spent the past five years developing the game and are now hopeful that the marketplace will prove them right.

“It has been a life pursuit, a passion, to create an inspirational, quality product in a marketplace that is so dark,” said Troy Lyndon.

If the success of the books are any indication, the game should do very well. Since the first book was released in 1995, more than 63 million copies of the series have been picked up by rapture-hungry readers. A survey taken by Tyndale, the publishing company that produces the Left Behind series, indicates that 92 percent of the books’ readers have plans to go out and pick up the game. And not only will LB:EF share space with other games on the shelves at Circuit City and Best Buy, but the company will also push the game at inspirational bookstores and market the game in churches across the nation.

There is money in the Christian entertainment market, especially when it is done right. In 2004, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ raked in over $300 million at the box office. A preacher writing a movie about the life of Jesus Christ would certainly mean well, but would likely put together an unwatchable, schmaltzy movie that would hardly capture the imagination of a kindergarten class, let alone a theater full of adults. But Gibson is a successful entertainer and knew what it would take to make the story of Christ’s crucifixion interesting on the big screen. With their background in extraordinary game development, the Lyndons have followed Gibson’s template for creating interesting Christian content with the potential for significant profit.

But it is clear that the Lyndons have sunk their efforts into LB:EF not just to make money, but to change the way gamers look at their decision-making process. In LB:EF’s multi-player mode, up to eight players can choose to either fight on the side of good or for Carpathia’s anti-Christ forces. To stay good, a player must continually use the “pray” command and keep his or her spirit meter high. Likewise, for a player to stay evil enough to fight for the Anti-Christ requires the repeated use of the “curse” command, which drives the spirit meter down. More than a simple gaming command, the Lyndons make it clear that in LB:EF, players have to actively choose whether or not they will be a decent human being.

“It shows the context of how, in order to stay evil or be evil, you have to see the consequences of your choices,” said Troy Lyndon. In a game like Grand Theft Auto, players start as a villain by default and can ravage the entire city at a whim. When the cops finally catch up with them, the player can simply start over from the hospital or the jail. In LB:EF, players have to actively choose to be evil or good. “Essentially, the game allows a gamer to feel the consequences of their choices.”

Robilyn Lyndon agrees. “[The game] really makes kids deal with the consequences of war. Instead of strictly encouraging them to be violent, we force them to think about the consequences of their actions.”

“Their spiritual well-being,” adds Troy Lyndon.

In other games, the player simply shoots the bad guys. In LB:EF, players have the option of using the weapon of influence to recruit the enemy to instead fight for the armies of Jesus Christ. The game also features “clues” left on Earth by those who went ahead to heaven in the Rapture, moments after each mission where gamers are offered insight into various topics surrounding religion and the world in general. All of this is bracketed by a soundtrack featuring top artists in the inspirational music genre. Robilyn Lyndon said that her company has, in LB:EF, created a “fun adventure game with moral fiber.

“We just really believe that there are so many popular video games that are terribly dark, bloody and violent, and we wanted to create a positive video game that kids would want to play. But a game that would also confront them with questions of eternal importance. Things that will get them thinking,” said Robilyn Lyndon.

The stated 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 and Christian audiences, while remaining committed to increasing shareholder value and pursuing the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in all business affairs.” The Lyndons plan to release three expansion packs for LB:EF within the next year and hope to release a sequel in two years. Since Left Behind Games is a publicly traded company, the two could not go into more specifics, but Robilyn Lyndon insisted that the gaming world would be pleased with the company’s future offerings.

Controversy has surrounded the game in the build-up to its release last week. Some have criticized the use of weapons in the game, wondering if it is appropriate to spread the message of God through such violent means. Others have worried that the heavy Christian overtones in the game might send the wrong message to gamers about the validity of other religions. Not to worry, says Troy Lyndon. The message of the game is not to criticize any other religion, but simply to promote morality in general.

“The truth is that people who play our game, of any religious persuasion, are going to be just excited about the fact that there is a pray and worship button,” said Troy Lyndon. “People who criticize the game have not seen the game. There’s been a lot of controversy, but the truth is, a lot of people have not seen the game.”

The controversy ramped up so much that several months ago Left Behind Games was forced to issue a statement addressing the concerns of both the gaming and the religious community. That statement repeated lack of firsthand knowledge of the game by its critics, and even did what it could to quell the concerns of the faithful who are worried that what passes for theology in the Left Behind book series will be accepted as fact by those who play the game. “Left Behind is not the Bible, it is a fictional story,” the statement read in part.

The original authors have seen the game, and they are thrilled with it. LaHaye and Jenkins released a joint statement praising LB:EF as the next step in spreading the message of Jesus Christ that has already been delivered in the book series after they saw the game for the first time in late October. “When we saw the finished product, we were blown away,” they said. “They [Left Behind Games] are using cutting edge technology to reach a whole new generation that desperately needs the truth about Jesus and His plans for the future. The quality of work is far superior than we had ever dreamed. It is superb! We’re glad to have our names as a part of it. Through this game, a seeker has the opportunity to receive Christ.”

They added, “Can you imagine the outreach possibilities?”