Who would have thought a company could actually go through the trouble of creating several non-licensed NES games for the sole purpose of teaching theology?  Isn't going behind the backs of Nintendo a sin in itself, making the very creation of this game hipocrasy by nature?  But wait - there's a bit of a "miracle" here, as well.  None of the christian-based games by bible-conscious game designer Wisdom Tree is all that bad!  And of those I've played, Bible Adventures is the best of the bunch.

Unlike other titles Exodus and Joshua (both of which are very similar games, by the way), Bible Adventures steers away from all mental challenges to present the secular gamer with a pure reflex contest.  In its three mini-adventures, players are asked to call upon their eye-hand coordination instead of their knowledge of the good word to complete each game.  Not surprisingly, the actions in each mini-game are very similar to one another, saving the designers a little time for prayer on those late nights.  All sacrilege aside, though, the concept is cleverly altered for each quest:

In "Noah's Ark", you're Noah.  On a scrolling platform field, you have trees to either side of the ark, as well as a tiny cave on one side.  The width of the playfield is approximately 12 screens by my calculations, and the height is about 3.  You can pick up and hold as many as three objects at a time.  In most of this game's levels the challenge is figuring out how to catch some of the animals.  You might have to lure one with food or follow its movement pattern to grab it at an opportune moment.  Scattered around the playfield are tablets that either contain helpful controller hints or helpful moral hints.  In either case, a tablet increases your life bar to protect you from damaging blows from coconut-wielding monkeys, angry oxen, or charging bulls.

In "Baby Moses", you have to carry the infant from the left side of the playfield to the right.  You'll have more dangerous enemies here than in the Noah game.  If you drop Moses in the water you'll have to start the level over (a funny message states that you "forgot" him if you make it to the end empty handed).  Fall into the water yourself or be beaten into submission by the guards, spiders, or other nasties and you have to start over as well.

"David and Goliath" is the hardest of the contests, requiring you to carry sheep to a waypoint similar to the Noah game.  Only this time, there are really deadly enemies.  Scorpions and lions are at every turn, and at some points it seems impossible to be able to grab a sheep without taking some damage.

The graphics are pretty good, with all creatures great and small being animated.  Knock out an animal with a basket of food and it flips upside down with "Zzzzz"s floating from it.  Monkeys jump from tree to tree, climbing branches when the opportunity arises.  There are a few glitches, too.  I can't remember the last time I saw a koala bear climb into thin air, but it happens regularly in this game.  Maybe it's a "miracle" and I just missed the point again.  The sound is downright awful, with very little variety.  The background hymn drones on and on and on.  And it's the same for all three mini games.

Bible Adventures isn't going to part your Red Sea but it also isn't easy to find, so as a collectible consider it a toughie of sorts.