Catechumen - PC

My son was crazy about this game

I was introduced to Catechumen when I was about two years old after my dad somehow received a demo disk from the developer. It was the first FPS I ever played and I was absolutely obsessed with it. Cut to ten years later and I ended up finally receiving the full game. Even in an age of Call of Duty and Halo, I for some reason decided to hold onto this game and play it for hours on end, beating the Impossible difficulty and feeling like I was the greatest gamer known to man.Now that I'm an actual adult, I figured I would do an actual review of it.This game is amazing, and I don't mean that it is a good game. On the contrary, this "Baby's first shooter" has got to be one of the most awkward games that I have ever played. The controls feel like a slip and slide, the weapons are just so ridiculous (you're telling me that the Sword of the Spirit has more in common with an AR-15 than an actual sword?) and I'm trying to figure out how the developers did not consider that the imagery of shooting Roman soldiers to convert them to Christianity could potentially be seen in a negative light. The game is also overly preachy, with NPCs giving some of the most cliche Christian speeches when you rescue them from their demonic captors.That aside, the completely bizarre nature of this game is just so funny it keeps me engaged as an adult. The Catechuman might as well be the ancestor of Doom Guy, seeing how he goes into Hell to stop Satan and his boys with a complete arsenal of swords that like I said before act more like guns than actual swords. Only in Catechumen can you say that you used the Scepter of Solomon to launch a grenade into a demon's ugly face before using your lighting sword to kill a hell dog going for your ankles. It's so goofy and stupid that it falls right into "so bad it's good" territory for me.If you're someone that's into retro games that are incredibly weird, then my friend, look no further. Christian DOOM is a game you're gonna want to play.

I reserve 5 stars for games like Myst and Riven. This game isn't in their category, however. It's a very well done battle adventure game with a Christian theme. As a young Christian in ancient Rome, your mission is to explore the catatcombs in search of fellow Christians imprisoned by the Romans and the powers of darkness that possess them. On the way you do battle with various nasty creatures with a growing choice of powerful weapons. These weapons are special. They slay evil creatures and hungry lions but only free Roman Soldiers from their oppression. Nice touch.To maintain your 'spiritual' energy you must collect scrolls with verses of Scripture written on them You may pause to read, or not, as you are so inclined. Shields of faith and breastplates of righteousness help too. There's plenty of strategy involved. The weapons have different effects on different enemies. You'll get through the game by trial and error. Save often. Your final battle will be with the Prince of Darkness himself.Technically this is a very well done game; a good piece of work using current technology and technique. It's not a watered down evangelistic tool or an overly sanitized substitute for the more hard-core games. I think it does provide a very enjoyable alterntive for fans of this type of game that are bothered by the implied moral framework (or lack thereof) of many other games of this type. I think most Christian parents will welcome this alternative for their teens (and might like to join in themselves). Non-christians should enjoy it too. It's not preachy. It's not tame. It's a lot of fun.

If you enjoy older games, or are looking for a Christian-themed game, then this "might" be for you. But the terribly outdated sound and graphics, combined with uninspired level design (with one exception), will leave most people wishing they'd spent their money and time doing something else.Strengths:The sound and soundtrack, though sometimes a bit generic, are good - even by today's standards they're not bad. Zapping Roman guards with a sword imbued with the power of God causes them to drop to their knees in prayer, accompanied by a pleasant and familiar chorus of "hallelujah!". Demons sound like demons, the guards make a few amusing comments, and the soundtrack does add some intensity to the few levels that make you work (I played the game on the hardest difficulty setting and it was sometimes very hard).The premise is daring, considering the lack of Christian-themed games on the market. N'Lightning Software attempted something unique: create a video game that adult Christian gamers can enjoy. Like the title of the review says: Good Initiative.Weaknesses:Level design is simply awful: find a locked door, hunt down key, unlock door, go to next level, repeat. Although there are a handful of puzzles scattered throughout the game, they are rendered meaningless by their lack of context and simplicity. While this may sound harsh, I am comparing Catechumen to games from its own era: Thief, Deus Ex, American McGee's Alice, Star Trek Voyager Elite Force. Catechumen simply cannot hold a candle to any of its peers.The one exception to the level design was the final boss. A series of portals takes you from one section to the next, trying to chase down the boss, and providing extra health and ammo. This level took the design from awful to mediocre. I actually enjoyed it, but don't know whether I enjoyed it for its own sake, or simply because it was better than the terrible levels I'd gone through before.Although I listed sound as a strength, the way it was used was sometimes poor: the voice acting was sometimes bad to the point of distracting, as though the developer was having a child pretending to be an adult; noise was often unable to travel from one room to the next; and the sounds were extremely repetitive.I couldn't decide whether to give this game one or two stars. Although I can't say it's it's a good game, and the novelty of the Christian-themed gameplay quickly wore off, I knew what I was getting when I purchased Catechumen and I'm glad I played it.