A forty-year journey, no less.
PLAYERS: 1-2 alternating
PUBLISHER: Wisdom Tree
DEVELOPER: Wisdom Tree
GENRE: Puzzle
RELEASE DATE: 1990
I grew up going to Sunday School and the story of Moses and the Israelites was probably in the top 5 of every kid’s favorite Bible stories. There’s everything: political drama, murder, betrayal, miracles upon miracles. Exodus, by those noble purveyors of illegal Christian software Wisdom Tree, scraps all of the awesomeness in the actual book of Exodus and replaces it with hardened cow patties. Remember when Moses slew the Israelites with his staff that casts electrical Ws? Or how about when he had to dig through chunks of rock and trees to collect bags of manna and question marks, so he could proceed to the next patch of desert? YEAH THOSE WERE MY FAVORITE PARTS TOO! Instead of making a game out of events of Exodus, Wisdom Tree decided what gamers really wanted was a collect-a-thon, and a boring one at that. There are no real puzzles to speak of, no obstacles to overcome. All that matters is that you get your manna and your question marks and move on to the next stage. Between each stage, there are five-question quizzes about the book of Exodus. Answering them correctly will procure you extra lives and continues and the like. The music, however, is the worst offense in a game stuffed to the brim with abominable content. “Father Abraham” is the one and only piece of music and it is played repeatedly until you poke out your eardrums or turn down the TV (and why “Father Abraham” in a Moses-centric game?). Were I a sheltered young Christian boy, forced to read only the Bible, listen to Steven Curtis Chapman, and play the Wisdom Tree games, I would rejoice over Exodus as it is the best of the bunch so far. Sad day.
D
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8 replies on “#214 – Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land”
Sorry but honestly, I think it’s pathetic that they’d portray Moses striking the rock and choose that as a cover image. Just sayin’
And could all that interpretive/artistic license be seen as “adding to scripture”.
I think I’m being too literal. Good post.
Hmm… so I feel kinda stupid. The first time he struck the rock it was okay. Maybe that’s what it’s a picture of…
Ah, Steven Curtis Chapman. Good times.
I think it’s a picture of Wisdom Tree’s lawyer shattering the legal licenses established by Nintendo… but that’s just me.
It would have been awesome if they had used an 8-bit version of Exodus by Bob Marley and The Wailers. Illegal, yes, but they made an illegal game so…
Why doesn’t anyone mention the suicide button combo (select + start) that this game has? I always thought it strange you could kill yourself so easily and instantly in this game?
@Anonymous: I guess I just didn’t think it that strange. Lolo and a couple other puzzle games on the NES have that option as well.
Fun fact: this is actually just a more lame, boring, oddly Bible themed reskin of Crystal Mines.