Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition: Christians are finally getting a high-caliber shoot-'em-up videogame of their own. Due out on PCs in the second half of 2006, Left Behind: Eternal Forces is the first game adapted from the blockbuster books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Gamers familiar with the largely uninspiring and unprofitable history of Christian videogames will quickly notice two differences in Forces: the top-shelf design, which offers an eerily authentic reproduction of the game's Manhattan setting, and a level of violence reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. The game revolves around New Yorkers who are "left behind" after the rapture. Players scour the streets for converts, training them into a work force to feed, shelter and join a paramilitary resistance against the growing forces of the Antichrist.

Call it a case of raise-'em-up rather than shoot-'em-up. When the hero with a in the video game "Catechumen" uses a "sword of the spirit" to vanquish a Roman soldier possessed by demons, a bright light appears and a "Hallelujah" chorus sounds. The soldier falls to his knees and prays.

"He's been delivered," says Ralph Bagley, CEO and founder of N'Lightning Software Development, which created and distributes the game.

With its lack of violence and gore, "Catechumen" is a far cry from "Doom," "Grand Theft Auto," and other popular video games. It's one of a handful of Christian videogames created as clean, Bible-based alternatives to other games. Some of the Christian entries don't have villains at all, and focus on instilling values.

LBG intends to develop games so as to include the same types of elements that have made interactive games popular for years and yet offer a less graphic experience to the sexual themes and gratuitous violence currently found in many games. We plan to make all games visually and kinetically appealing. We anticipate that the games will be classified as both action and adventure and will receive either an "E" rating (appropriate for ages 6 and up) or a "T" rating (appropriate for ages 13 and up).

Earlier this year, the father of two founded the Christian Game Developers Foundation, aiming to drag Christian games from obscurity to the mainstream.

"Simply forbidding our children from playing video games is not the answer," says Rev Bagley.

"We have to give them quality alternatives that match the excitement of secular games while promoting Christian values -- without the violent or sexually explicit content."