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Described as "the gal who put the boob back in boob tube," Elvira - she of the vampirical gait and bottomless cleavage - is back. Except she isn't - she's been abducted by Cerberus, a mythical, multi-headed canine who guards the hellish underworld. What Cerberus plans to do to her exactly is unclear, but they don't sell netherworld entity-sized doggy treats down at Sainsbury's and so it's up to you, her "clueless dodo-brain of a boyfriend" to brave an alarming variety of depraved and distinctly undead creatures in an effort to bring her back from the brink.

You start outside Elvira's very own Black Widow Film Studios where - apart from the place being curiously over-run with disembodied beings - something is drastically wrong. For a start, the security guard's been careless enough to batter himself to death and stash himself away in a store cupboard. Inside the studios, things begin to take an even more ominous turn with an abundance of posters which advertise films with titles like Return Of The Killer Gherkin 2 and Scream, Scream And Scream Again. Virtually anything which is not nailed down can be nabbed and scrutinised, although many of the objects are purely destined for the spell-book and have no real practical purpose.

The format is the familiar 3D perspective, with a point-and-click interface which enables you to poke around and achieve at least a terse description of all the objects in your immediate game area. The control method is natural and easy to use - to add objects to the inventory merely point and drag them towards the appropriate window. When you snoop around the studios - in Stunt Man, Private Eye, Computer Programmer or Knife Thrower guise - you slowly being to piece together an ordered plan of action as you realise certain areas are strictly out of bounds until you've built up your experience and magical ability level.

You also encounter plenty of vicious and beweaponed creatures. You can't simply dispatch them by hacking away with the potato-peeler on your penknife which is dumped into your inventory by default at the beginning of the game. In fact, you achieve very little until you begin to decipher some of the ingredient clues in your spellbook, mix some of the spells, get some decent protective clothing together and avail yourself of a reasonably formidable weapon. Elvira pops up occasionally to interject some innuendo-soaked comment. Do listen to her - beneath the double entendres and kooky, touch-me-not teasing, she does actually offer some decent cryptic advice.

The basic geography consists of the film studios - offices, lifts, corridors - and three horror movies sets which you can explore with the help of an extremely heavy suspension of disbelief. You can't cover yourself with bedclothes here - vampires really do suck your blood, zombies really do rip your throat out - but it's only a game, innit?

Elvira 2 is packed with puzzles and the game-area is huge - with seven disks to juggle, you'd expect it to be. A fabulously squalid, genuinely grotesque little number which plays like a deluxe, new-improved version of the original Elvira game. It's also a committed affair - you have to think about what you're doing. This game is incredibly easy to slag off because of all the disks, but when you strip away the rotting flesh and delve into the steaming innards of the game itself you find that Elvira 2 is intensely enjoyable indeed.

Criticisms amount to only a few minor niggles - it's not hard-drive installable and there are too many damned copy-protection checks - but the combat sequences are wonderful and every adversary demands a different approach. To solve the game you have to find the right ingredients for the spells and then use them in the correct situation - some spells are combat-specific, while others remove obstacles and aid progress. The whole thing is cleverly balanced and extremely satisfying to plough through. Elvira 2 is very gory in places and if you're at all faint-hearted - or go a funny colour at the sight of large amounts of blood and guts - you're advised to remain a good distance from the screen when exploring the more mysterious areas - there are plenty of mortal shocks lurking among the dark, webby niches. But if you feel at all bloodthirsty, then you are going to enjoy this - play late at night with the lights turned off, slap on the BBC death and horror sound-effects tape and indulge yourself.

1. Don't get too curious about the serving hatch in the dining room... unless you have the gas curling-iron. It does make sense, honestly!
2. Beware the costume room.
3. Don't eat the cheese - you need it for a spell.
4. Think geometrically about how to use the candelabras.
5. Get round the you-can't-carry-any-more problem by mixing your spells as soon as possible. Also, create a stash for yourself by dumping objects in the entrance hall of the haunted house.
6. Your dress-sense is important in combat. Choose your clothes well.