The setting of the battle to end all battles, the End of Days, between the Tribulation Force and the Anti-Christ's legions is, of course, New York City. (Let's not even pretend that isn't the perfect place for such a battle. Only Vegas would might more sense, but it's a close call.) Left Behind is a real time strategy game, so the purpose is build and navigate your forces over a detailed map of New York to control the most precious commodity of all – people.

Left Behind presents a new twist on RTS games. It's not necessarily about wiping out all who oppose you. You must continually work to convert the undecided and the evil while protecting those already on your side.

The almighty power of the heavens in video game form? Check.

Heathens as far as the eye can see in an urban setting? Check.

Original take on what separates winning from losing? Check.

So far, so good. Too bad it's all downhill from there.

In almost every way, the interface presents trouble for the simplest of tasks. Units require several clicks to select. Buildings all look too much alike and present a constant navigation problem because they block your view. Rotating the camera, zooming out and doing whatever you can to find a unit feels like a job and takes forever.

Missions are almost all the same, requiring long travels through streets to find people to convert. Some streets are blocked off for no reason other than to make your path take a little longer, and even when you do convert people, you have to hold their hand constantly or risk losing them to the dark side. The units you select to work on their own – to 'auto convert' – usually just stand there or get stuck behind something, so you're on your own. It's utterly repetitive and requires constant management of tasks that offer no entertainment value.

On top of it all, the game crashes so often it seems like a sign. Every load and option change is a risk that results in equal occurrences of the following: a complete crash, stuck on locked screen or more playtime of a terribly boring and frustrating game. Even when you win and get through the loading of a new mission, you lose because converting/punishing the evil of New York is such a headache.

Of course, many games offer a chance to stand up for the good guys and punish the bad guys. But it's not every day that you get a chance to lay the smack down on the bad guys in a biblical sense. Eternal Forces isn't a political statement any more than Doom is about equal rights for monsters. Sometimes it's just about laying waste for the hell of it. Too bad the game turned out to be a such a disaster – it looked like fun.