Having faith: company buying into Christian video games.

If you think all videogames are about bloodletting, misogyny and car accidents, think again.

Left Behind Games, a small video game publisher, hopes to find success where major companies such as Calabasas-based THQ Inc. don't date tread: in the realm of angels, the apocalypse and other Christian themes.

Carried on the wings of the Left Behind series, a Christian publishing phenomenon that has sold more than 60 million volumes, the Murrieta-based company was recently acquired by Bonanza Gold Inc., a former Washington state-based gold mining company.

Citing the commercial theatrical success of "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Passion of the Christ," the company is expecting big sales when it releases its first game: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" for PC platforms sometime mid year.

"We live in a time where there's a lot of fear and there isn't a lot of moral content in video games. I think we're the answer--or at least an answer," said President Jerry Frichner. "I think people have been voting with their wallets for some time."

Few details of the acquisition have been released, but Bonanza Gold will give additional financial reinforcement to the Left Behind launch at a time when video game budgets are sometimes soaring to feature film proportions.

The publicly traded, over-the-counter stock plans to change its name, though the merged company will be headquartered in Murietta.

Left Behind was founded in 1999 as a software shop called White Beacon Inc. by Troy Lyndon, who was on the original development team for ,Madden Football" in conjunction with Electronic Arts Inc. Two years later he was joined by Frichuer, a former-Marine and investment banker at Morgan Stanley who abandoned Wall Street in favor of the Christian-based business opportunity.

The pair transformed the company into a video game shop after discussing with churches how to better reach youths with a Christian message. The company, which has 40 employees, recently released "Ilumina," an interactive bible. It has also worked for the Rev. Billy Graham and Campus Crusade for Christ International. But that may be a prologue to what could likely be a far bigger future.

The Left Behind series has spawned a host of spinoffs, from graphic novels, to CDs to a special teen series, as well as three B-movies. Frichner and his partner were able to secure the license given their track record and Christian orientation despite competition from bigger companies. The company had worked with Carol Stream, IL-based Tyndale House Publishers Inc., the publishers of the Left Behind series, on "Ilumina."

Left Behind is far from the only video publisher in the Christian arena. The Christian Video Game Developer's Conference will be held for the fourth time this summer with the motto "Equipping game developers to glorify God." The 2005 gathering included 100 attendees from five continents. Lyndon is scheduled to speak at this year's gathering.

Though the games are gaining momentum, their sales are still puny compared to what THQ registers with its Disney, World Wrestling Entertainment and other titles. Toan Tran, a video game company analyst for Morningstar Inc. said he hadn't even heard of Christian videogames

The company isn't disclosing how many units of its "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" title it expects to sell but it is taking pre-orders from some 3,500 retail locations, according to Frichner.

The Left Behind series is an apocalyptic thriller that tells the story of "end rimes" in which an Anti-Christ ascends but a Tribulation Force rises to help save the lost and prepare for God's last judgment.

The goals of the game include increasing your "spirit power" by building hospitals and increasing your weapons stockpiles. So the game is not devoid of violence. Still, the most important object is for the Christians to battle the Anti-Christ.

"The game is a balance between good and evil," Frichner said, "If you chose to play evil, which you can do, you're going to win some battles. But I won't say you're going to win the war."