Surreal and stunning

WE’VE finally found the answer to the age-old riddle: What happens when you mix the eye-popping world of graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher -- he of the stairways placed at impossible angles -- and the classic video game Doom, with its first-person mutant-shooting action and creepy, foreign environments?

The answer: The brilliant, surreal masterpiece Prey, the first must-have game exclusively on the Xbox 360.

Tommy, our reluctant hero, is forced to accept his Cherokee heritage (and the mystical powers that come with it) when he is abducted by human-eating aliens intent on preying off the people of Earth (including his kidnapped girlfriend).

As he explores the giant living spaceship inhabited by his abductors, Tommy is at times forced to walk along the walls and ceilings of the dark, musty craft. (The visuals are so spectacular, you can almost smell the rotting flesh.) Strange portals instantly transport him into a seemingly impossible location, sometimes in the same room.

As surreal as it is exciting, Prey will simply eat your mind.

Details: Xbox 360 platform; $59.99; rated Mature (blood and gore, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language).

*

Hut one, hut two, hike!

NCAA Football 07 is like a delicious cake slathered in an even more delicious frosting. The football gameplay is top-shelf, the graphics are lifelike and the controls are extremely fluid. But it’s the extras that really add sugary flavor. The mini-games -- such as a one-play-per-offensive-series Tug of War mode, and Bowling, in which the number of pins you knock down is dependent on how quickly your team scores -- offer creative new ways to play pigskin. All this and the ability to run the option, a staple of the college game, help this version score.

Details: Xbox 360, Xbox and PlayStation 2 platforms; $59.99 to $49.99; rated Everyone.

*

The ultimate kick

The visuals are absolutely stunning. The gameplay is perfectly executed. The replay value is off the charts. Tekken Dark Resurrection is the ultimate fighting game for the PSP: a great franchise made portable (complete with wireless mode for two-person brawling), cut screens and graphics that rival those on the PlayStation 2 (yeah, really) and even unlockable mini-games (such as bowling) that make an excellent change of pace. The only thing missing is some kind of carpal tunnel syndrome prevention device, a necessity for everyone who will play and instantly become addicted.

Details: PlayStation Portable platform; $39.99; rated Teen (crude humor, suggestive themes, violence).

*

Robots to trick out

Never has giant mechanized robot combat looked as good and played as well as it does in Chromehounds, an update of a classic video game subgenre. Gamers choose one of six role types (such as sniper, solider or scout) for their giant “Hound” robot and form squadrons to fight against their enemies. (A “garage” mode lets gamers create, build and fine-tune their own machine.)

Although the story mode is a little thin, the main point of this game is to use the multiplayer mode over Xbox Live, where packs of mechs can duke it out.

Details: Xbox 360 platform; $59.99; rated Teen (mild language, violence).

*

Win back their souls

Crusty Demons is like the Tony Hawk skateboard games, only without the fun. It goes like this: Satan has stolen the souls of some motorcycle daredevils called “the Crusty Demons.” Though they can’t die, they can do gnarly, bone-snapping stunts. The point here is to complete enough jumps, races and spills to please the devil and win back the demons’ souls. Because this game is so horribly repetitive, however, maybe they’d be better off without them.

Details: Xbox platform; $19.99; rated Mature (blood, sexual themes, strong language, violence).

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