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Right, before we start, I have to tell you that this game is only for sale to adults and very tall kids. So, if you're under eighteen (or a midget), you'd better not read this review. You can't buy the game anyway. Virgin's game of the comic (coded by Probe) stars those infamous characters, Johnny Fartpants, Buster Gonad and Biffa Bacon in a race through Fulchester. At the start of the game, you get to choose your representative for the race, who you're stuck with until you get bored and reload the game. This three-horse race takes place across five stages. Starting in the country, it moves into the town, through a building site, across the beach and ending up at the Disco.

Before the race starts and in between stages, your character indulges in some odd pastimes in order to earn tokens - more on these later. There are two bonus stages for each character, which alternate throughout the game. For instance, Johnny uses his prowess with bottom burps to inflate balloons (the more inflated, the more tokens); and to levitate himself as high as possible (the higher he goes, the greater the token reward). These tokens are stored up and swapped for special power during the race. By holding the fire button down for a second, the three characters can utilise a special power. Biffa thinks someone's spilled his pint and goes into a lager frenzy; Johnny uses guff power to propel himself along and Buster speeds up by bouncing along on his enormous... er... plums. Ahem.

Once Roger Mellie has introduced the contestants, Roger Irrelevant wanders on, and with a wave of his fish, they're off!

To move your character just push right on the joystick and he trundles along. Steer Biffa, Johnny or Buster around obstacles by pushing up or down, but be careful: moving out of lane incurs the wrath of Rodney Rix, who lobs bricks at your character.

Falling down holes, bumping into obstacles, getting pooed on by Bertie Blunt's parrot, being beaten up by The Parkie, tripping over Mrs Brady's shopping or getting run over by Aldridge Prior's motor scooter all prove harmful to your contestant. Every hit sends them flying, whereupon the dazed characters sit on the ground, wasting precious seconds before re-joining the race. Worse still, they gain a 'shame' token; three tokens and you're out of the race.

Viz's visuals are brilliant. The inhabitants of Fulchester are wonderfully drawn and animated, and the bonus sections are gorgeous.

All this is accompanied by a number of funny sound effects and some very jolly tunes. Gameplay is a bit dull, with the only variety coming in the different characters and the bonus rounds - and even these grow dull quickly. Worst of all, the game is utterly crippled by the worst multi-load I've seen in ages. You load in the character select screen and choose who you want to be. Then you load the first bonus game (these are on a second tape). Play the bonus round, then load in the first race. If you don't qualify for the second race (which you probably won't), you get to run in it again - once you've done the other bonus round. So you load in the flip side of tape two, play the second bonus round and then rewind the main tape to load in the first race again. And so on. No way can I recommend tape users to buy Viz - the multiload renders it unplayable and the action isn't exciting enough to warrant the wait. Like it says in the intro, "Who'd have thought that eleven years later, at the end of of a decade of phenomenal success, Viz would end up trying to flog a mediocre computer game in a desperate bid to make a few bob." Bang on, guys.

1. Detail and animation on all the Viz characters is great
2. Neat sound effects are well suited to the gameplay
3. All six bonus levels are beautifully presented
4. Bouncy soundtracks are pleasing on the ears (for a bit)
5. The five race stages are long and arduous
6. Neat presentation overall

1. Horrible multiload cripples what little entertainment value there is.
2. Gameplay is tame: it only takes a few goes to drain all the enjoyment
3. Humour is limited to shock-value swearing in speech bubbles
4. Unfair speed advantage allows opposition to win from behind