REVIEWS

THE BIBLE GAME, Crave Entertainment/Mass Media

Amid the Mature-rated, best-selling hits crowding store shelves this season -- such as Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories -- parents and churchgoers will find the first console game with God in mind. The Bible Game is the first Christian game to grace Xbox and PlayStation 2.

Having had moderate success in the PC space with an assortment of religious-themed games, Christian game developers have gone mass market. Value-priced at $20, The Bible Game delivers a family-friendly diversion for up to four players.

While the graphics and production level is squarely in the budget-range, the target audience for this title will find wholesome entertainment served up in two unique forms. The bulk of the game is an Old Testament trivia challenge called "Do Unto Others" set in a virtual game show format, complete with host Justin Warren. This portion of the game plays out like a typical board game, except the questions all center on Old Testament knowledge. These games span 20 to 45 minutes in length.

Thanks to a number of in-game challenges, such as the Blessing Game (a short single-player game for points) and Wrath of God (which triggers one of the plagues, like locusts, on a player), every player is still around and in the hunt by the final round, which is dubbed The Grace of God. While the questions do become repetitive with multiple plays, this mode makes for decent multiplayer gaming -- on par with that of a real board game.

The second half of The Bible Game consists of a dozen mini-game challenges based on Old Testament stories such as Noah's Ark, Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, and Jacob's Ladder and the Tower of Babel. These four-player games offer short arcade-twitch action and are best played with multiple players.

Fans of the Mario Party multiplayer games won't find much replay value here, but families will find safe haven from violence with these games. Rounding out the experience is six licensed songs from Christian Rock bands like Newsboys, Kutless and FM Static -- while the songs blend nicely with the subject matter, they're repeated too often. As a first effort on consoles, this Christian game offers just enough interactive entertainment to convert new players to the gaming space.

-- John Gaudiosi

PlayStation2, Xbox $20

TONY HAWK'S AMERICAN WASTELAND, Activision

Now before you roll your eyes at yet another Tony Hawk game, this one even surprised us.

Where previous Tony Hawk games focused mainly on creating havoc and mayhem with your buddies, American Wasteland goes back to its roots and concentrates on what made the series so fun -- skateboarding.