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Colonel Henti Dijon is at death's door. Which is why he's invited his entire family to his home on Misty Acres Plantation. Making out his last Will and Testament in front of them all, he announces that upon his death, each of them are to receive an exact share of his fortune and, in addition, should any of those mentioned in the Will die before the Colonel, that share will be split between the rest.

Which would be okay, were it not for the fact that Dijon's family is made up of some rather unscrupulous types, such as the actress daughter-in-law, the alcoholic sister and the untrustworthy lawyer son. And then there's you, Laura Bow, a lowly college student who has been invited along to Misty Acres by the Colonel's niece, Lillian Prune. All seemed fairly straightforward until a chilling message arrived, stating that everyone in the house would be dead by the end of the weekend. Could it be a hoax, a lunatic or one of the family, who will stop at nothing to get their grubby hands on the Colonel's entire fortune? As the only real outsider in the house, it's up to you to don the mantle of supersleuth and unmask the culprit before it's too late!

The latest from the Sierra stable, while sticking to the same basic style, turns out to be very different from the King's Quest series, and is a much more challenging and enjoyable game.

The programmers have opted for a Miss Marple-esque "who's-gonna-do-it" murder enquiry, and it works exceedingly well. The graphic style, which many a reviewer has moaned about over the years is, I think, extremely impressive, with animated rooms as well as characters and the display adapts itself to a colour or monochrome system to make the on-screen action easier to follow.

Jam-packed into four 3.5" disks, Colonel's Bequest is an immense game, but if you're playing on a sub-10MHz machine it can be irritatingly sluggish. But the game is loaded with so many features and surprises that a slow update is something which you'll be prepared to put up with.

Black humour plays a considerable part in Colonel's Bequest, and you'll find yourself chuckling heartily when the loose chandelier falls on top of you, or if you're caught in the shower by the Norman Bates-type knife maniac!

All in all, if you aren't put off by the slow pace of the game then this superb murder mystery is a must.