Over the past couple of days I've been sitting down with my copy of DragonRaid, with the intent of reviewing a game I've been talking about since I started Dungeonskull Mountain. I had every intention of giving the game a fair shake, but I'm afraid I can't.As I've mentioned before, DragonRaid does have some admirable qualities. It is presented in a very attractive, colorful box with excellent production values. It contains some interesting ideas, like having characters' combat statistics be based on the "Armor of God" passage in Ephesians, or a magic system that uses memorization of Scripture for its core mechanic.
Unfortunately, I simply can't make myself objectively review a game like DragonRaid. This is a game that puts a race that does good deeds "for the sake of helping people, rather than for the glory of the OverLord [Jesus]" in the monster section. A game where creatures on the heroic side are called "Victims". A game where the idea of recreation is portrayed as sinful in the introductory book.
I hope nobody thinks my own atheism is overly coloring my opinion, but this game... this is not my kind of game.
I will leave it at that.
Sounds very, Protestant (capital P), in the non-apostolic bent. That lot can be... humourless, grim even.
ReplyDeleteGood job trying to give it a fair shake, that's all anyone can ask. 'Tried it, didn't like it'.
well, i think that you can honestly bow out of giving this a review on the grounds that your blog reviews games for entertainment purposes, and that since this product is "a game where the idea of recreation is portrayed as sinful" it falls outside the bounds of your blog.
ReplyDeleteI've been fascinated by this game ever since I first heard about it- everything I hear about it is hilarious. Please consider reviewing it at least for the comedy potential.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that comes to mind is. . . wow; that's worse than I imagined. (btw, I love the layered irony in your subject title) It's got to be difficult delving into something that is so specifically biased. Still, can any review be really objective? My own atheism notwithstanding, but this is all very interesting to me from a sociocultural viewpoint--sort of the fundamentalist pressure of a specific Zeitgeist.
ReplyDeleteCall it my own perverse fascination, but at risk of forcing you to dwell on something you want to throw in the trash, I do have many questions, such as: Does the OverLord have stats? What skills and abilities do the "soldiers of god" have? You noted that "good deeds 'for the sake of helping people, rather than for the glory of the OverLord [Jesus]'" end up "in the monster section"--Could you elaborate on "deeds" in this game? Is it akin to some sort of alignment system?
At any rate, feel free to ignore my questions; they're simply what comes to mind from this intriguing glimpse into the volumes of a cult.
I want a Scientology RPG like Dragon raid or shall we say; 'Xenu' raid. with Character Classes like Auditor, Sea Org and Crazed Celebrity. Character levels would be called OT levels and your adventuring party could be engaging in Fair Game tactics against 'Suppressive Persons".
ReplyDeleteFrom a christian standpoint I find this game totally amazing! How can you even make such an odd thing?!
ReplyDeleteFrom a pure gamer perspective I must confess I will read a review made from a comedy perspective. This game is either more hilarious than Synnibarr, or just plain offensive. I can't decide which.
I'm a Christian (teaching biblical studies at the University level, in fact) gamer, and I've never even been, er, tempted to try this particular game. From the outside looking in, it just seems a bit hokey to me. Just my 2 mites' worth.
ReplyDeleteHokey is just the beginning...
ReplyDeleteLet's just say this isn't what any sensible person calls christianity anyway, so I think it would be totally cool to do a review where you say it had problems. It has.
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