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The Ghost Pirate LeChuck is dead - blown to bits by young adventurer Guybrush Threepwoord. Now it's not every day you destroy a scourge of the seas, so naturally Guybrush is rather pleased with himself. The trouble is, nobody actually believes these wild claims of pirate extermination from Threepwood - how could a young 'un rid the world of one of its worst devils? Actually, the folks aren't that bothered. They've got other problems, the biggest being the inability to earn a dishonest living thanks to the late LeChuck's right-hand man, Largo LaGrande, who has taken control of Scabb Island and is charging an impossible pirate levy.

But, hey, getting rid of Largo should be no problem for a ghost pirate killer like Guybrush. However, that's just the start of this quest, a journey which will take him to many islands, where he will be ignored, abused, imprisoned and eventually confronted by LeChuck himself, brought back to life with Voodoo magic. How did it happen? What will Guybrush have to do to destroy LeChuck once and for all? And just what is The Big Whoop which Threepwood (and almost everyone else he encounters) ultimately seeks?

In keeping with Lucasfilm's policy of making their games simpler to play, a number of cosmetic changes have been made to the sequel to the excellent Secret Of Monkey Island. Graphically, Monkey Island 2 is more detailed and amusing, and the mouse-driven selection system has been streamlined to use only a handful of verbs.

When the cursor is placed over an object, that object's name is shown on-screen and the possible actions to do with that object are highlighted.

On picking up objects in the game, a picture of, say, a pirate's hat (if that's what you have picked up) is shown, as opposed to just printing the text "A pirate hat" - all little things which mean a lot in terms of Monkey Island 2's ease of use.

As with the original game, there are a variety of characters in Monkey Island 2 whom Guybrush can meet and interact with. Old faces such as the voodoo lady MoJo and Stan (who's switched trades from boat salesman to used coffin vendor) mingle with new ones including Captain Dread (so called because of his cool dreadlocks) and Governor Phatt, the bloated dictator of Phatt Island - most of the characters either own something which you need or know information vital to Threepwood's eventual defeat of LeChuck and discovery of The Big Whoop!

Previous Lucasfilm adventures have been known for their stunning soundtracks. Now there's a new system in town to impress lovers of great game music even more! It's called iMUSE and it stands for Interactive MUsic and Sound Effects and what it basically means is that, instead of the normal process of a new musical score being played with a different location is visited, the soundtrack actually adjusts itself - without any breaks in between - to fit the mood of the players' action and position.

This new system adds an incredible amount of atmosphere to the game; for the first time the sound is an integral part of the action as opposed to just a nice extra.

Rid Scabb Island of Largo LaGrande and Captain Dread will let you charter the boat. Unfortunately, the Cap'n only knows the way to three islands - Scabb itself, Phatt Island, paradise home of Governor Marley. Wait a minute: didn't Guybrush have a girlfriend called Marley in the first Monkey Island game? And wasn't she a governor too? Worth checking out, if you ask us!

Because many people complain that Lucasfilm's graphic adventures are too difficult, the programmers have included two versions of the game!

An easy version contains less puzzles but also fewer locations, whilst the full game, for experienced players, has the lot! Whatever option you choose, here's a handy tip - seek out MoJo the voodoo lady as soon as possible, because she's got vital information which will help you in your quest (go down to the swamp)!

Fab! Ace! Topper! Cushty! Just a small selection of words which describe my view of Secret Of Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck's Revenge. The first Monkey Island game was great - maybe even better than Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade - but this, this soars way over its prequel in terms of quality and quantity.

It really is a massive adventure, but at the same time totally absorbing. I managed to finish the first section in which I thought was perhaps an hour, but imagine my surprise when I glanced at my watch to find that three hours had passed and I'd missed by bus and the pubs were shut - and imagine my disbelief when I told myself that I wasn't bothered because I'd enjoyed myself so much!

Lucasfilm's new iMUSE music system is incredible and simply has to be witnessed to appreciate just what a difference it makes to the overall package - no pausing between tracks, no massive and immediate differences in styles between one piece of music and the next; the tunes just flow into each other, and change with the mood of the game!

Everything about Secret Of Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck's Revenge says Quality, so buy it!

What the hell am I doing sat here writing this when I should be playing Monkey II? This game is so totally brill, it's got to be seen to be believed. Only then will you be gobsmacked by the superb graphics, bowled over by the incredible iMUSE sound system and rib-ticklingly totally by the hysterically funny humour of the game.

Like the rest of the world I thought Monkey I was the best game of last year. The sequel scoops its crown and adds a few diamonds for good measure, because it improves upon every single aspect of an original which nobody thought could be beaten.

Just like the original it's one tough mutha of an arcade adventure too, and you'll be scratching your head for quite a while before everything falls neatly into place and this weird and wonderful game is finally completed.

Already Monkey II has staked a claim to the best game of this year, and it's only just started! Hard to see anything similar topping this, so buy it now!