May 16, 2012 at 1:53 PM ET
It's been a big week in video game land. Not only did the decade-long wait for the launch of "Diablo 3" finally come to a (rather bumpy) end, but the world also saw its first Jesus video game.
Or at least that's how a Christian company called Lightside Games is pitching its new Facebook game. Lightside says "Journey of Jesus: The Calling" — which launched on Facebook Tuesday — is "the first-ever video game based on Jesus."
The game asks players to click, click, click their way through an adventure which sends you on various missions that play through the story of Christ. You start by chopping down trees, repairing an overturned cart and calming a dispute to reach the Messiah and John the Baptist in the Jordan River. As the story progresses, you'll have the chance to speak to various ancient peoples, hunt for artifacts, obtain coins and, of course, send Bible quotes to all your Facebook friends.
Here, check out the trailer:
"Journey of Jesus"
It's all relatively standard Facebook gaming fare. However, is it me, or is it a wee bit strange seeing a bobble-headed Jesus looking like he was plucked straight out of "FarmVille"?
Of course, the big question is, will gamers click and then click some more to hear the word of the Lord on ... Facebook? (And here I thought Facebook was the Devil's work.)
So far "Journey of Jesus" has drawn several thousand followers to the flock. Meanwhile there are, uh, some bigger distractions vying for gamers' souls this week. The devilish hack-n-slash fantasy "Diablo 3" is busy pulling players into its hellish clutches surely by the hundreds of thousands as we speak ... well, when it's not busy turning them away with its ongoing launch issues.
No matter, the "Journey of Jesus" Facebook page is currently declaring victory over "Diablo" in round one of the Spiritual Video Game World Championship. No really.
(Via Kotaku)
WindaBenedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets aboutgames and other things here on Twitter or join her in the stream here on Google+. And for more video game news and reviewsbe sure to check out the In-Game Facebook page right here.
