What to Play

The X-Files Game

(Fox Interactive, for PC and Mac, $50) The most rousing X-Files summer diversion may not be the movie: This 7-CD adventure lets players act out their own episode and rub elbows with video versions of stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. You are Craig Willmore, a fellow FBI agent assigned to collaborate with Scully and Mulder on a typically byzantine case. Lavish production values plus input from X-Files creator Chris Carter make for a first-rate effort, though the typical click-and-ye-shall-find approach results in an interactive experience as aloof as FBI boss Skinner. B+

Tekken 3

(Namco, for PlayStation, $49.95) Just when you thought man-to-man (and an occasional pugnacious babe-to-panda) slugfests couldn't look any grander -- or be any more fun -- Tekken 3 comes along. Building on its predecessors (both all-time PlayStation best-sellers), the latest version has crisper graphics and speedier martial-arts animation. Watch the characters sidestep, punch, and kick in their beautifully detailed costumes, and you'll think you're performing in a ballet choreographed by Jackie Chan. A

Mulan Animated StoryBook

(Disney Interactive, for PC and Mac, $35) With Disney's latest animated feature in theaters this month, you just knew the interactive storybook couldn't be far behind. Despite the movie's girls-can-be-warriors-too message, the CD-ROM sticks to such Barbie-esque offerings as ''The Dress Maker,'' which lets kids outfit and coif dainty Mulan in traditional Asian attire. Still, give it extra credit for trying to educate, notably with print-'n'-save trading cards featuring factoids about Chinese culture. B

Gran Turismo

(Sony, for PlayStation, $44.99) Whether you're zooming around the screen in a stripped-down Honda Civic or a souped-up Aston Martin DB7, you'll swear Gran Turismo is Spanish for wickedly comprehensive. More than 150 real-world cars are at your disposal in this racing simulator, each of which you first buy (with virtual cash) and then tweak (camberangle adjustment, anyone?). Talk about attention to detail: You even need to earn a driver's license in order to enter a racing circuit. Wisely, the game left out the speeding tickets. A-