After being crushed by his own set, Eddie Riggs awakens to a bizarre world of heavy metal that would be nightmarish for some but not for him. He feels right at home in a dimension of demons, hot rods and monoliths.

This is the world of "Brutal Legend" - part game, part tribute to all things metal.

"Don't you want to return to your own world?" he's asked early on. "Ehhhh" is his reply.

Upon his revival, Riggs finds two axes - one a giant bladed weapon, the other his beloved guitar, Clementine.

The former can hack through the enemies who attack him; the latter can produce bolts of lightning and blasts of pyrotechnics, a definite upgrade. And he can play riffs on Clementine to raise relics from the ground or melt the faces right off his foes.

It's that sort of turned-up-to-11 feeling that makes "Brutal Legend" so entertaining despite some flaws in the game play.

It doesn't hurt that the visuals, animation, heavy-metal soundtrack and vocal casting are all terrific. Jack Black is the basis for Eddie, and the Tenacious D band member and actor is spot-on in the role. Tim Curry brings his voice to the demonic Dovilicus, and Ozzy Osbourne comes sailing out of a lava pit to hawk upgrades for Eddie's roadster and weapons.

There are plenty of other recognizable voices as well, such as comedian and Sacramento native Brian Posehn in the role of a cranky hunter who looks just like ... Brian Posehn.

The main portion of the game is an open world. Eddie can tool around in his roadster, stopping to free imprisoned dragon statues, unearth relics and such. His dual axes can be used to attack enemies in a variety of ways.

As Eddie completes missions, he'll gather followers from among the human population, which has been enslaved by Dovilicus and his lackey Lionwhyte (a glam rocker with hair so fabulously feathered that he can fly with it). Once Eddie and his compatriots have a large enough army, the game starts throwing Stage Battles the player's way.

In these, Eddie directs and leads squads of his followers: close-combat Headbangers, stealthy Roadies, bruising Bouncers and more.

It's hard to keep track of Eddie's troops, and the controls for ordering attacks are a bit clunky and imprecise. But as Black himself sings in one Tenacious D song: "Rock is not the Devil's work, it's magical and rad."

And so is "Brutal Legend."

BRUTAL LEGEND

3 1/2 stars

PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts SYSTEM: Sony PlayStation 3, also for Microsoft Xbox 360

PRICE: $59.99

AGE RATING: Mature

Dead Space: Extraction

2 1/2 stars

This prequel to last year's creepy monsters-in-outer-space horror game "Dead Space" keeps the shooting action intact but takes the exploration away.

This is one of the best-looking games on the Wii. It's not as sharp as the original game, but the look of the "Dead Space" universe is fully intact. The sound design and voice acting are also excellent. But the game reduces the player's role to that of a cursor on the screen; the viewpoint character always moves on his own, choosing routes to take and directions to face.

It's the player's job to shoot at the various monsters and objects that litter the playing field; there's no going back for anything missed. Sometimes the player is free to look around an area for a limited time or to choose from multiple paths, but otherwise the game is on rails.

The lack of control is a little annoying, but "Dead Space: Extraction" makes a pretty fine shooting gallery. Players have to aim at the monsters' limbs to take them down effectively, and each weapon has two modes of fire to make it happen. A second player can join in, as well.

Nintendo Wii; $49.99

Age rating: Mature

Saw

2 stars

Based on the long-running series of horror movies (the most recent of which opened last week), "Saw" puts the player in control of a character from the first film as he tries to make his way through a derelict asylum filled with traps laid by the Jigsaw Killer.

The game is gory and atmospheric, but the game play isn't anything special. Combat is pretty basic, and the puzzles range from timed button presses to item hunts to more elaborate setups for major traps.

Jigsaw's MO is to teach hard lessons, and the player, as Detective Tapp, is his latest pupil. Jigsaw has captured several people involved in Tapp's investigation or otherwise close to him, and has installed them into elaborate and deadly contraptions. Tapp must rescue them if he can.

As Tapp searches for the clues and items he needs to progress, he must avoid and disarm numerous traps, such as shotgun-rigged doors, and avoid or defeat other prisoners of Jigsaw who have been told the key to their release is the one surgically embedded inside Tapp himself.

Sony PlayStation 3, also for Microsoft Xbox 360, PC (on Oct. 31); $59.99

Age rating: Mature

- Justin Hoeger