So here it was, another Sunday morning, and once again I had awoken
too late to attend church services. My mind raced; what could I do to atone for
my slothfulness? Read the Bible? Nah. That small print hurts my eyes. Put Jesus
Christ Superstar on the stereo and sing along? Pop Monty Python’s The Life
of Brian into the DVD player? No, those are my Easter and Christmas traditions.
Hey, I know! The package that miraculously appeared on my front porch yesterday
contained some sort of religious game. Catty Combs, Kitten Men–oh, there it is–Catechumen
(pronounced kat’ i – kyoo’ men). What better way to show my faith than by
spending my “day of rest” blasting my way through an action/adventure
first-person-shooter while converting shameless hussies to Christianity and dispatching
soulless demons back to Hell?

The year is 171 A.D. Your mentor and his Christian
brethren have been captured by the Romans, and only you can rescue them from their
certain death in the bowels of the Catacombs. Standing in your way are possessed
Roman soldiers and diabolical demons. At your disposal are eight different Swords
of the Spirit, the Armor of God, and Scrolls to increase your faith. Angels from
on High will guide your way as demons from below attempt to send you heaven bound.

Catechumen
is in fact based on historical events. The Roman Empire had waged war against
Christianity. Scores of Christians were executed for refusing to renounce Christ
and bow before the Roman gods. Thousands more were captured and put to their deaths
in the Colosseum. In an attempt to protect their faith from infiltrators, new
converts had to study with a single mentor for a period of one year. Known as
“Catechumen,” these initiates were pivotal in the growth of Christianity.

First
impressions are often incorrect, and so it can easily be with a game like Catechumen.
For what seems to be at first glance a nonviolent, gore-free, first-person
shooter attempting to shove religion down one’s throat is actually a well thought-out,
addictive game that happens to have religion as its main theme. “But Randy,”
I hear you asking, “how can a first-person shooter be a nonviolent game?”

Spiritual
warfare is the answer, and spiritual weapons are provided to accomplish your goals.
At the beginning of certain levels, angels appear who will equip you with Swords
of the Spirit. Each of these swords has its own unique power, and they grow increasingly
stronger as the game progresses. (About these angels, though, they sport some
huge Popeye-like forearms. In fact, Big Poppa Pump and Hulk Hogan would be envious.
Steroids in Heaven? Arf. Arf. Arf.) Each sword emits a laser-like beam that has
a different effect depending upon the foe. The numerous types of demons are vanquished
back to the netherworld. Possessed Roman soldiers are converted to Christianity
and kneel down to pray and allow your passage. Yes, you read that right, they
kneel down and pray. Now the first time you see this occur, it is humorous, but
it soon becomes as much a part of the game as, say, guts and entrails bloodying
the corridors of Doom or Quake. Which begets the following question:
will the same people who claim that violence in gaming has no effect on children
also claim that religious aspects in a game also have no effect? Or will they
wring their hands, worried that their children may be converted?

As the
Catechumen travels through the eighteen levels of catacombs, the foes and
the puzzles become increasingly difficult. Anytime it seems as though boredom
with the similarity of a level is about to occur, something new always seems to
appear to rejuvenate interest in the game (I particularly enjoyed fighting lions
in the Colosseum). Besides the Romans, you must also face off against demons,
devils, lions, hounds, fallen angels, and leviathans. And what would a Christian
game be without big red himself, the foe of all foes–Satan. If there is a major
downside to Catechumen, it is the lack of originality in the puzzles. They
are for the most part the same old find-a-key, push-a-box garden variety, but
there are occasional bursts of inspiration, such as a puzzle involving a pipe
organ and Amazing Grace. Some sleuthing is required as it is not always wise to
confront a guard, and sneaking past open doorways that emit voices is often recommended.

Graphics
are the typical 3D, first-person viewpoint that is common for this genre. While
not on the order of Quake or Unreal, neither are they subpar. Dynamic
lighting, rendered fog, and other goodies to test your 3D card are present. Some
of the colors seem to be especially more vibrant than any I have seen in other
similar products. Voices were done in-house by the staff, and there are some humorous
one-liners (I’m getting too old for this job) that provide some mirth in an otherwise
gloomy scenario. The music is a notch above the usual pulsing rhythms heard in
shooters and is easy on the ears. (I can’t wait to read some of the reviews from
the hardcore gamers who will try to justify their hypocrisy for fear of offending
religious groups: “Dude, like I got nothing against religion or God, but
this game sucks. It’s bad enough there’s no gore, but there’s not even any cleavage!)

Adventure
gamers who have been searching for the perfect action game to baptize their trigger
fingers should look no further than Catechumen. Having encountered numerous
problems attempting to master the keyboard and mouse commands for other shooters,
I found the mouse control to be intuitive and only occasionally had to use the
keyboard to save a game or use the crouch command. There is never that frantic
pace that can be so jarring in the mainstream releases, and if you do feel overwhelmed,
there is always the option to be repentant and choose from an easier level of
play (I played through on the Normal setting).

So what do you say about
a game that sings a chorus of hallelujahs when your character is slain, that scatters
scrolls about that contain Biblical verses for spiritual reflection when the game
is paused, that bathes heathens in a heavenly light when they are converted to
Christianity? You say it is different, and different is not always bad. If nothing
else, the N’Lightning staff has proved that a game does not have to be violent
to be involving and tense. Now let’s put that talent to work on a Christian-themed
adventure game. A killer who leaves scripture as clues, a detective who is a defrocked
priest with a mysterious past. I think this may be the beginning of a wonderful
relationship.

Final Grade: B

If you liked Catechumen:
Watch: Ben-Hur
Read: The Bible
Play: War
in Heaven

System Requirements:
Windows 95/98
Pentium 300
64 MB RAM
3D accelerator card
2X CD-ROM
drive
Soundblaster-compatible soundcard
Mouse, keyboard
DirectX 7.0
(included)

Cheat Codes:

Cheat
1

1. Start a game.

2. Once you re in the game hit the ESC key
and it will bring you to the main menu.

3. Very slowly type the following:
franchiseme

4. When the code takes you will hear “Hallelujah.”

5.
Click on resume game.

At this point you can use these letters on the keyboard:

R
= life
Y = shield
I = weapon
u = super jump

Cheat 2

1.
Start a game.

2. Once you re in the game hit the ESC key and it will bring
you to the main menu.

3. Very slowly type the following: iaminahurry

4.
When the code takes you will hear “Hallelujah.”

5. Click on resume
game.

At this point you can be taken to the start of the next level up to
level 7. But if you do not obtain the weapons on the levels before skipping you
will not automatically get them, so be careful using this cheat!