Left Behind game links to iTunes

The Left Behind books were the religious equivalent of the DaVinci Code... bad bad literature thinly veiled by the pseudo-intellectual style and designed to cash in on controversy/hype. I don't expect much from the game, to say the least.

I agree. Any religious debate on a messageboard is pointless. You're not going to "win souls" or make someone doubt their faith here, because people come here charged with their own personal opinions, where EVERYONE is proud of their opinions. SCOTTERIC: "On the other hand, "Jah_Glow", please understand that when we (Christians) criticize 'crappy pop culture' we aren't doing so becuase it lacks quality, but rather promotes immoral things. So buying things that aren't as high quality but have a good moral message and complaining about the moral messages in the higher quality things, is in fact, not hypocritical. So before you cast accusations of hypocricy, try to understand what you are talking about." No, it's hypocritical to buy into "Bible Man" or crap like that for kids and then criticize stuff like Superman or Spiderman because they don't tout bible verses or specific pious morals. As a Christian, I've seen how deeply hypocritical Christian culture can be. When your sister gets kicked out of a church for wearing black or being hispanic, come to me and I will sympathize. When your friends get shunned or lied about by fellow Christians, come to me and I will sympathize. Not to mention the endless crap (seriously, would you buy "Bible Man" VHS for your kids? I wouldn't force them to endure the torture) that's being effortlessly chugged out for the sake of money. This is why I individualize people and not group them, in my mind. It's all about the money. Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins don't even need to believe the crap the put out to make as much money as they have. I read the books. They were badly written and poorly put together, with frequent typos, and the paragraphs were all not justified -- instead they were aligned to the left side of the page. I could only read a few books before I realized the truth -- that, in fact, they put these books out in such a fashion (incredible brevity in length, put out in more than the average number of books in a series) to make money. Ugh, I'm done thinking on this subject, I can barely concentrate.

Sounds like they aren't too sure how well the game is going to do with enthusiast gamers. A little advertising to pad expenses goes a long way, but it will not guarantee redemption. Make a good RTS, show it off fearlessly in a quality demo release, then we may have a deal.

Scotteric "true Christians who actually follow what their religion says shows that common respect for human dignity to everyone" I have to concur with Scotteric. These people are not the ones you find in the media or historical textbooks, but they live their lives for God. Please do not refer to the Crusaders or rowdy hate-ranting people you see in the media. That's not what most Christians are like. Most Christians lead quiet, peaceful lives without the need for worldwide attention.

"Irongrinder1 Scotteric, no offense but you can't exactly say that Christianity (any religion for that matter) stands for any kind of progress." Yes, and no. (morally) it stands for an established standard, one which we have not reached and therefore must progress to reach. "serotonin0 I really don't want to get into religion on a gaming site... but Scotteric, did you just say Christianity "preaches love and respect for [everyone]"? No offense, I definitely see the good that it may bring, but part of the problem with Christianity (as well as almost all organized religions) is the fact that discriminates against people who don't follow its rules. Christianity has a large list of fine print at the end of the "love and respect for everyone" line" Again, that is an assumption by many people.... ever heard love the sinner, hate the sin? Everyone, regardless of how well they follow the 'rules' is a sinner- every Christian and non-Christian. The bible teaches then that it is wrong to show less respect to someone because their sins seem bigger- while still gently pointing to the bible as the standard or 'rules' we should try to live by, There is no fine print. Just many people who use Christianity as an excuse for discrimination, just as some use science or social status etc as an excuse for things. -but true Christians who actually follow what their religion says shows that common respect for human dignity to everyone.

as a christian, i hope this game does well. as a gamer, i know the trend in christian gaming has been less than stellar. and as a person... i think people are too sensitive. all of you anti-war types didn't get upset when Terrorist Hunter came out, did you? and all of you pro-war types didn't get upset when everyone reveled in its suckiness, right? ugh. if you're not a christian, judge the game as a game. and if you are, then judge the game as a witnessing tool.

I don't see what everyone is worked up about, I mean isn't just about every game about good vs evil. Who cares if its a real world religion or a made up fantasy world er whatever... another point, if this were like Buddhist monks fighting ancient demons in an effort to save humanity or some other cheese like that, would everyone has such strong opinions about it?

in game advertising and now this?! omg

"Burn in the hell you believe you will avert through your holy lives," Actually, Sagacious_Tien, Christians don't belive they will avert going to hell by living holy lives. That's the backwards spin put on Christianity by the rest of the world. Christians believe in salvation by grace. A gift freely given by God. It's this one pivotal facet which differentiates Christianity from absolutely every other religion in the world. Trying to live holy lives is a response to that gift - it comes out of gratitude, but has nothing whatsoever to do with trying to avoid hell.

itunes sucks. completely.

Christian or not, base your ideas of the game on its quality and execution (both of which are unknown since the game hasn't been released yet). Getting into a religious discusion on a message board is pointless. You aren't going to convince anyone of anything that way. I am a firm believer of the saying that actions speak louder than words. This is a good measurement of almost all things, but games and real life. If someone doesn't want to hear about a belief, then spouting it from the roof tops will only make them angry. If the game is good, then i don't think anyone will care that there is advertising in it, unless it detracts from the gameplay.

I dunno if the links let you get free songs from iTunes then it would be much better. But by the sound of things it looks like they are trying to do what SWAT 4 did.

hmmm... sure hope u can choose sides in this one!

"We believe consumers want choices and prefer interactive advertising, rather than interruptive ads" No We want ZERO advertising, especially if i pay £39.99 ($75ish) for a game!

Before everyone sounds off about how ridiculous it would be to buy something simply because it's a Christian-based product, let's think about how many "ridiculous people" recently voted for Bush simply because they believed he is in line with God and couldn't see beyond that.

Suprisingly forward thinking! I can't speak for the game itself...but buying in-game tunes could definitely become a trend. I wouldn't be suprised if GTA4 did something like this.

Cool idea but the game is... I dont know we must wait and see.

I'm really eager to try this game as a Christian. I've had several Christian game ideas before as well. And the fact that people are saying Christians can't differentiate between quality and crap is just plain ignorant. As if being a Christian somehow makes us unable to tell the difference. Give me a break. Even most Christians I know have studied or looked into other religions. Very few people blindly follow something. Seeking the Truth is actually crucial to finding Christ. You have to seek or you won't find. That's even true for those people who grow up within the church. Being a Christian is more than just reading the Bible and hearing a sermon . . . . . I think it's a shame that Christians don't yet have choices within the game or movie industries (very few). Hopefully this will start a trend of more Christian-focused products. Outside of morals there's a wealth of material for companies or designers to draw on and tons of untapped potential.

Scotteric, no offense but you can't exactly say that Christianity (any religion for that matter) stands for any kind of progress.

I really don't want to get into religion on a gaming site... but Scotteric, did you just say Christianity "preaches love and respect for [everyone]"? No offense, I definitely see the good that it may bring, but part of the problem with Christianity (as well as almost all organized religions) is the fact that discriminates against people who don't follow its rules. Christianity has a large list of fine print at the end of the "love and respect for everyone" line.

and they say churches dont want to make money

It's a stupid idea....and it depends on how they do it. They should make it so players won't click the ads by mistake and have the game interrupted. I don't want to see interactive advertising when I buy a game because I don't buy games for that...simple as that. I hope they do it right or it fails because I don't want to see it in games I am interested in. I'll have to wait and see how they implement it. Why do they need to advertise for a game people are going to pay for? Wouldn't it just be easier to put the links on the auto-play menu or game menu?

Whoa, the Left Behind series did something that wasn't arrogant!

hope the game does well

That's actually pretty cool. I always have the urge to download a song that I heard from a game after I play it.

what a f%#&in' coincidence. my name's Chance, too.

I am a Christian, and a gamer. I hope this game can buck the trend of Christian games being very lousy. On the other hand, "Jah_Glow", please understand that when we (Christians) criticize 'crappy pop culture' we aren't doing so becuase it lacks quality, but rather promotes immoral things. So buying things that aren't as high quality but have a good moral message and complaining about the moral messages in the higher quality things, is in fact, not hypocritical. So before you cast accusations of hypocricy, try to understand what you are talking about. "halo_force_101" I, for one, am interested then in what you call moral 'progress'. If you consider a religion that preaches love and respect for eveyrone, and a need to be good to others and sacrifice personal pleasure for the benefit of others, to serve God and one's neighbour and even love one's enemy to be moral regression, i don't particularly want to know what your idea of progress is.

As long as it doesn't interrupt the game, I think that's a chill idea. Now if only the next FF game would do that, I'm sure I wouldn't be spending $45+ for an entire album of the game music...

Everyone seems to be looking at the religion the game is based on and not the fact that the article is about purchasing music while playing a game. I actually don't think that's a bad idea either. It has potential to become an actual advertising trend....

I have to say a game based on the Left Behind series strikes me as a bit odd. But the books are great and are not deserving to be the subject of bashing just because they deal with God. "The Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world." That statement is WRONG. It is not the principal enemy of moral progress int he world. In fact, the moral progress of the world today is a regression to no morals, just tolerance of everything, which is to say there are no more distinctions between beliefs anymore.

If a game is good then you should consider buying it too. But further than that, personal taste, genre and theme are the crucial elements someone will decide buying a game, unless its a groundbreaking game. I´ve never played any christian game before, only occult ones...and RTS is not my favorite genre too.It´s kinda sad that generally products are bought first for taste and only secondly for quality. This idea with linking the song to iTunes is rather good.Let´s hope that publishers find good ads ideas in the future, ones that don´t deter fun and gameplay, and game prices drop worldide.

"The Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world."

1. Fair idea, I can see it being used in future games. 2. The game doesn't sound too good, especially considering the source material. 3. I can't imagine this game being popular outside the cult of Christians who would delude themselves into thinking it's good because it has the label of "Christian" on it. Though, I would be interested to try it out to see if there is any viable gaming in it to be found. "If u have ever read the books, then u know that this game has more potential than most RTS's." No. It has as much potential as any low-end RTS, period. It's still just a game, I don't care what crappy back-story it has. "Consumerism is a religion." OMGWTFBBQTRUTH I think the Christian market is probably the biggest sign of how blindly people will follow something; they'll buy into anything with the label of the big "J.C." on it. They're willing to ignore how naïve their actions are in favor of buying into something. They can criticize society to buying into the crappy pop culture it buys into, as long as they look in the mirror every so often and realize how incredibly hypocritical it is of them. I recall certain words like, "Take the plank out of your eye first, before you try to remove the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye."

Though I may not buy this one, I have this to say: Check out the Left Behind books! They are absolutely awesome--even if you already are a servant of Christ you will find your faith encouraged. Tim Lahaye, Jerry Jenkins are excellent writers!!!

I'm a Christian and i may or may not try this game, but I hope this game does well... Just 4 their sake. If u have ever read the books, then u know that this game has more potential than most RTS's.

christian games are bought by christian gamers.

This is a really neat idea... I've often wanted to download some songs that played during the games I was playing, and this will enable me to do so... let's just hope they put it in more games, cause I won't be getting this one.

*sigh* theres too much stupidity surrounding this game to even know where to start, and then they throw itunes links in? wow. this game is just a giant ball of stupid.

Neat. This could be used more in upcoming games.

Consumerism is a religion.

Well seeing how many the books have sold and lots of them.I really do not see the same going the way of the game.But it could sell.Well wonder how playing the game and listening to the music you want to will sound or if really matters.Plus The Lord of the Rings music was great so I hope that the music on the game will sound some thing like there's.