Thanks to video games, I have been many things, but never a Rabbi. Now, I can in The Shivah by first timer Dave Gilbert. And not just a regular old rabbi, but a bitter and disillusioned one! While comparisons are being drawn to Left Behind: Eternal Forces, they seem merely topical in that both games deal with religious settings and both are PC titles. That's pretty much where the comparisons end. This game is an old school "graphical adventure game" in which characters call each other "mensch" or get in fist fights. Dubbed The Shivah, the game is named after a Jewish mourning ritual. Rabbi Stone receives an inheritance from a sketchy member of his congregation and must do the detective legwork to see if the gift is cursed. Check out footage here and a nice write-up from game site Gamasutra here. The title is available for download at Manifesto Games for US $5. Best part of The Shivah: The in-game inventory includes a Yiddish dictionary. You know, for the goyim. Brian Ashcraft

Rabbi Game On PCs [Reuters]

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