Black & White

Fanatical worshipers, the power to appear as a burning bush, unlimited spying privileges on Anna Kournikova’s locker room…ahhh, it’s good to be an omnipotent deity! Black & White lets aspiring Jehovah Juniors find religion the easy way (no, not televangelism). Via a comfortable 3-D interface, you ply your godly trade on puny mortal creatures who go about their lives in real time, à la The Sims. How your followers evolve depends on your temperament: Play nicely and they’ll build shrines in your honor; commence Judgment Day without warning and watch them cower in fear. Though the plodding pace and cutesy atmosphere border on blasphemy, the game’s open-ended design lets you indulge your most megalomaniacal fantasies with ease. Can we get a “hallelujah”?