PC CD-ROM minimum system requirements: Pentium 90 mhz; 16 MB RAM; 20 MB hard disk space; Windows 95; Quad speed CD-ROM drive; PCI graphics card. £39.99
Guybrush Threepwood is back. The incompetent, wannabe pirate, fresh from his latest failure, finds himself in another spot of bother in this the third of the hugely popular Monkey Island adventure series.
Having failed to get his hands on the legendary treasure of Big Whoop, Guybrush finds himself cast afloat in the middle of the Caribbean. His only worry, however, is that he may never see his true love, Elaine Marley, again.
Moments later he is captured by Zombie Pirates - the ghost pirate Le Chuck's foot soldiers - and is sent down to the hold. This is where your adventure begins.
After your initial foray with the opening puzzles and escape from the ship, you (Guybrush) come across Elaine. Unwittingly you give her a cursed diamond ring and, horrifically, she turns to gold. Guybrush must now find a way to turn Elaine back and stop Le Chuck from carrying out his evil plan.
Just like in the first two episodes, The Curse Of Monkey Island is littered with humour, wise cracks and some very strange characters indeed - such as vegetarian cannibals.
The animation, however, has come along way and the quality is so good it could be mistaken for a big-budget cartoon. Another addition is the inclusion of two difficulty levels - The Curse Of Monkey Island and The Curse Of Monkey Island Mega Monkey - these are basically the same, but the latter does have some more sadistic conundrums.
The Curse Of Monkey Island is also the biggest of the trilogy and will take an appreciably long time to finish. While Lucas Arts hasn't broken any new ground, it has still managed to produce a gem of game. In fact, it's a game that will endear itself to almost anyone. Long live Guybrush.