The Bible Game

Wednesday 7 June 2006
If ever there was a game that The Simpsons' Ned Flanders would buy for his children, it's this. No need for an 'Imagination Christmas' this year, eh? Diddly.

The Bible Game is actually surprisingly charming and inoffensive. As the name suggests, this is a game which tests your knowledge of the holy text. It doesn't stuff God down your throat (fortunately) and as it deals only with the Old Testament, targets the broadest audience possible. It's well-natured and quite amusing at times, although it's unlikely to win any awards for gameplay.

The game has two modes. The first is a quiz show format for up to four players and is broken up by real-time action minigames. The second does away with the quiz elements and lets you tackle any of the 12 minigames at your leisure.

Although the games are somewhat simplistic, that doesn't mean they're easy.

Above: Slay Goliath with your slingshot - unless another player gets there first

It's hard not to smile as you race three other players along the bottom of the Red Sea, trying not to touch the walls of water on either side - although being asked to throw stones at cut-outs of Philistines raises a moral eyebrow or two.

Although the competitive element is strong enough to make the subject almost secondary, it's unlikely to beat Buzz in the entertainment stakes. The 'Wrath of God' punishment, which sees your points for the round randomly wiped out by a downpour of amphibians, seems rather harsh and unavoidable. And if you're not of the Christian or Jewish persuasion, you probably won't stay on the strength of the minigames alone.

An intriguing release, certainly, and one we'll be watching to see if it walks, Jesus-like, over the sea of chart competition.