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Andy Capp, the flat-capped Northerner of Daily Mirror comic-strip fame, is once more in financial trouble. His precious dole cheque has been stolen, and his ever tolerant wife Flo is demanding money again. Andy has a week in which to retrieve his cheque and raise some money to keep Flo off his back.

On leaving his house, our anti-hero finds himself in the familiar surroundings of his neighbourhood, where he walks along the many streets, and enters unlocked buildings such as the pub, police station and even the local Job Centre.

The Lancashire lad must find out who has stolen his cheque by gathering as much information as he can from the characters he meets. Poor old Andy needs a drop of Dutch courage before interrogating his friends though, so a visit to the local pub is the first order of the day. Andy's state of inebriation is constantly monitored by an 'alcometer ' shown below the main screen.

Actually getting into a pub can be difficult, since the rent man frequently waits at the door to collect Andy's money. There are others who also give Andy a hard time... especially the local bobby who knows that Andy is on his wanted list.

If Andy feels that any individual should be taught a lesson, he can use the boxing glove icon at the bottom of the screen to engage in some gentlemanly fisticuffs. Punch-ups quickly reduce his alcohol level, however, and a pub must be found fast! If he engages in too many rounds of boxing he can find himself up before the judge with a hefty fine to pay. He must also be careful that, in the scuffle, he doesn't lose his wallet.

Such things can only worsen Andy's sad plight, so to augment his scant financial resources, Andy can take a chance on picking the winner of the next horse race, and with a bit of luck scrounge some cash from the barman... or get away with Flo's handbag without her knowing. If all else fails, he can always get a job!

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: Cartoon-type characters and backgrounds, accurate to Reg Smythe's original
Sound: Simple title tune and very poor in-game effects

I found it great fun to control Andy's boisterous pursuits and I was soon going round clad in flat cap and braces, fighting with the local police and rent man, chasing after my girlfriend and then downing a few in the local pub.

The graphics are just like those in the comic strip and really capture the whole feel of Andy's lifestyle. There are some decent sound effects and also an Andy Capp anthem when you die. The game itself is rather hard: I found tasks such as keeping my alcometer up and paying the rent quite difficult. I also found it too easy to stray away from my quest to fight everyone in sight and chase numerous girlfriends which proved much more fun! Andy Capp stays in with the light-hearted newspaper cartoon and is sure to be a hit with fans of the comic strip.

The graphics in Andy Capp are clear and very well drawn with some great animation. If you're used to the "Tai-Pan-style" layout you won't get lost, but everyone else should indulge in a little cartography to ensure rapid progress. The adventure-type actions obviously help the game but are a little confusing at first; they do take a bit of exploration to discover their capabilities. A wider range of speech and actions would push the game to a higher playability rating, but this should entertain you for a while.

Andy Capp is quite a jolly little game. There isn't much to do but for the first half hour or so it's quite entertaining. The graphics are very good; I especially liked the fight sequence! Mirrorsoft's version of the famous cartoon character is extremely accurate (I'm a keen Daily Mirror fan) and it works well.

That's not to say it's addictive, however, since the action is slow and becomes tiresome after a while. I couldn't really recommend Andy Capp, but I'm sure some people will enjoy it. What I want to know is when someone's going to do Alex from The Independent.