*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file-names.
“Video Games and the Bible Highlights“ is our way of balancing video game coverage on this website. We would like to not only examine video games from a biblical viewpoint, but show the liberty we have in Christ and the breadth of gaming options available-both Christian and secular. As written in our statement of purpose:
“We hope to encourage others, not to come under the bondage of the law, but to instead seek God in their liberty and gaming decisions.”
Our hope is that Video Games and the Bible Highlights will show you video games you might not have otherwise considered and review those you want, all from our unique, biblically-based perspective.
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Untold numbers of Christian games become vaporware, are stuck in “development hell,” are unfunded, or just never see the light of day.
Adam’s Venture* is one of the titles breaking that trend. Not only is it an excellent Christian game, but quite a good one in it’s own right.
In front of the gates of Solomon’s palace…
When played on a PC, the story of Adam’s Venture is broken into 3 “episodes:”
- Episode 1: The Search for the Lost Garden (a quest to open the Garden of Eden)
- Episode 2: Solomon’s Secret (escaping captivity and finding Solomon’s true riches)
- Episode 3: Revelations (a look into Adam’s past and the completion of the story)
Adam’s Venture: Chronicles for the PS3 combines all three episodes into a nearly-seamless package which (depending on your puzzle-solving skills and/or use of a walkthrough) takes around 6 hours.
While the mostly interesting, globe-trotting storyline takes us to many different locations, Adam Venture’s personality was initially grating. However, over the course of the game, Adam grew on me and began to mature as a character. I appreciated the absence of “corniness” found in many Christian titles.
Gameplay is completely non-violent and consists mainly of traversal (navigating various environments) and logical puzzle-solving.
Traversal.
One of the puzzles.
Although I was stumped a few times, I never felt the game’s difficulty was unfair until the last episode (Episode 3). A puzzle involving musical notation and a series of brainteasers based around tracing certain lines to defuse bombs (which I could never figure out) forced me to consult a walkthrough.
The visuals (created with Unreal Engine 3) are on par with the best-looking adventure titles including indie-darling Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The two weaknesses in this department are the character models and animations, which can be stiff. Though not bad enough to be distracting, the environments are clearly the high point here.
My greatest concern upon beginning Adam’s Venture was that this would simply be another traditional adventure game with Christian themes slapped onto it. The puzzle found in the following room proved that my fear was unfounded:
I won’t spoil it for you…
There are several stellar moments like this in Episode 1, and a few in Episode 2 as well. Even more if you seek out the bonus chests containing biblical messages and codes you can enter on the game’s website to unlock extra content.
Unfortunately, we find none of these moments, chests or puzzles in Episode 3.
That said, I consider Episode 1 my favorite. However, I feel this entire series rises above the competition and is an example of a Christian game matching the quality of a secular product.
Potential Concerns:
None to my knowledge.
*This title was received for review. See our statement of ethics here.
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Look out for more Video Games and the Bible Highlights, featuring both paid and free software!
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