EASTERN MIND: THE LOST SOULS OF TONG NOU

EASTERN MIND: THE LOST SOULS OF TONG NOU (Sony Interactive, CD-ROM for PC and Mac, $44.95) Some Eastern philosophies say we must die and be reincarnated before we can achieve enlightenment. Problem is, after you die and come back four or five times, the fun of working through your life must become a bit tedious, an eternal deja vu. Such is the quandary with director and musician Osamu Sato's Eastern Mind, a game in which your sole mission is to die -- and die and die. Your journey as different incarnations ends when you've collected nine tablets, which combine to open up a path to higher spirituality, thus freeing your soul. The faux philosophy may get a little hokey, but the techno-ambient music that accompanies each death and discovery is oddly catchy. B-