Babel Rising

7 cert, Xbox Live (Also Playstation Network) Ubisoft/Mando Productions ****

Babel Rising is a real-time strategy game with shades of Lemmings, although with people dying instead of rodents.

“Babel has formed against you,” the opening text reads, “and its people want to invade the kingdom of heaven.” Not on my watch! In this instantly playable game, you use divine powers to kill heretical developers before they build their towers. Your punishments include stones, tremors and fireballs. This is similar to Ubisoft’s other god-simulator From Dust, although the deity of Babel Rising is far more vengeful. It’s all very tongue in cheek. The minions don’t look much like people from your heavenly perspective, and when they die it’s wacky, not horrific. The graphics are rudimentary but pleasant, and it’s accompanied by amusing, hypnotic percussion.

Yes, it swaps the majesty and pathos of From Dust for farce and bad taste, but ultimately, Babel Rising is fun, slapstick and cheekily blasphemous.