Reviews are out of four stars.

"Prey"

When a game begins in the grungy men's room of a tired bar, it's a pretty safe bet that you're not in for a pretty experience.

Turns out that rest room, which we suspect was last cleaned in 1957, is one of the more benign places you'll fight to get out of in "Prey,'' a first-person shooter with a novel premise but a few flaws that hold it back from realizing its promise.

"Prey" (2K Games; PC, X360; $49.99 to $59.99; Rated M) runs on the same engine used in 2004's excellent "Doom 3," and the similarities are immediately apparent.

The games have much the same panic-inducing look and feel while you're exploring their terrifying environments and fighting off otherworldly creatures. If you enjoyed being scared out of your wits by the terrific but terrifying visuals of "Doom 3," you're likely to find "Prey" will push those same shudder-inducing buttons.

"Prey" tells a fresh story -- imagine that, in an industry that so often recycles the same tired ideas -- and uses it well to drive the game action. You play as Tommy, a frustrated Cherokee Indian who is desperate to flee the reservation that he sees as a dead-end world.

Tommy would be long gone but for his sweet girlfriend, Jen, who balks at the idea of turning her back on family and traditions. He tolerates but tunes out his wise grandfather, who tries to imbue him with wisdom and knowledge of the tribe's old ways.

Tommy scoffs at his grandfather until the night a mysterious light fills the sky above the bar. Cars parked outside begin hurtling toward the sky. Tommy, Jen and Grandfather are sucked upward behind them.

In a development that is a tad too derivative of "War of the Worlds," they awaken to find themselves inside an alien ship and strapped to machinery that, to their horror, is about to destroy them and drain their essence. But a creature slinking below them inexplicably frees Tommy to fight to save his loved ones.

Initially Tommy is armed only with a wrench he was clutching in the bar. Gradually he acquires other weapons and learns to use items and even living creatures he encounters -- the exploding possums are a hoot -- to fight.

Combat, as in "Doom 3," is unfortunately just ordinary. Killing the enemies you encounter is not particularly arduous and does not require much in the way of cunning or tactics. You shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. Load times also are surprisingly long.

But graphics are stunning, and you're likely to be impressed by the sights, sounds and capabilities of the organic environments as you explore. Gravity no longer is a problem, and you can walk on walls or ceilings and pull off deeds that, back on Earth, would have been impossible.

The ship also turns out to be a living thing that presents its own set of threats to Tommy's welfare. It's packed with portals that allow Tommy to slip in and out of new settings but also allow enemies to emerge abruptly.

Despite his earlier attempts to slough off his Indian heritage, Tommy learns to tap his ability to slip out of his body and become a spirit to evade enemies and perform other tasks. He also acquires a helpful hawk companion.

When he's overpowered in combat, Tommy doesn't die or get sent back to start anew. Instead, he passes into a death realm where he can restore his health and return to the place from which he was dispatched. This, to us, seemed odd and too easy, almost like cheating. It also made the game go by faster, which was not a good thing.

We beat it in about 10 hours, and then felt slightly let down. We'd have been happy to devote more time if the tradeoff had meant more opportunities to explore this curious world.

Beating the game allows you to unlock a more difficult single-player version, but you'll find few surprises there. Ditto for multi-player mode. Still, we weren't sorry to have blown a chunk of a weekend on a game that immersed us in a well-conceived story illustrated with rich visual treats.