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Stan and Ollie have fallen out again folks. Stan got in the way of a custard pie thrown by Ollie, and now he's out for revenge!

Before the chase commences, you have the option of altering the game settings for one or two players, specifying the controls for each character and also setting the number of flians that need to be successfully thrown to win the game.

The chase is displayed using three displays: one each for the two main characters (in glorious monochrome), and an information panel showing the state of the current game.

The two characters initially appear outside a map shop where a map of the city is purchased. Once bought, the map is shown in the central display panel and scrolls as the character moves.

The aim of the game is to guide your character around town to the pie shop, but flans and then find your opponent and chuck them in his face.

Thundering through the streets and alley is tiring, and this is shown by the colour of their faces in the display panel. Finding and entering a pub refreshes the whacky pair, and discovering a bicycle helps them to negotiate the town more speedily.

What has happened to my two favourite comedy film stars? They've been reduced to playing parts in an absolutely awful Spy Vs. Spy clone which is devoid of excitement, action and addiction.

The gameplay is hopelessly unbalanced, with hours of fruitless searching to be endured before a pie is found, and another age spent looking for the adversary. When you find him you have about half a second's enjoyment of slinging a pie, before going back to the search.

Where has all the spontaneous slapstick of the films gone?

I'm afraid that fans of the classic comedy duo (which includes me by the way) have very little to laugh about over this latest Advance release.

Comedy is a very difficult concept to portray in something as inflexible as a computer game and Laurel And Hardy fails miserably. Indeed, the game itself also fails on several counts, most notably the distinct lack of action.

As your character whizzes around screen after screen of uninteresting background, a general feeling of disorientation sets in and the large town layout means that it could be *ages* before the duo meet up again.

Take your ten quid, go into Woolies and but one of the videos of these classic comedies. That way, you'll get at least an hour's entertainment rather than none at all.

Presentation 81%
Superb range of options, brilliantly presented by flawed by the chronic game structure.

Graphics 56%
Poor characters populate an innovative (but bland) back and white landscape.

Sound 18%
Pathetic rendition of the Laurel and Hardy theme, which seems to have a mind of its own.

Hookability 31%
The disorientating method of viewing locations soon leads to confusion and disinterest.

Lastability 18%
There's a complete lack of action, which presents an enormous hurdle to even the most avid fan.

Overall 17%
Another fine mess that Advance have gotten themselves into.