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While Andy Capp ambles along his Tyneside backstreets, a lone French biker is battling it out amongst the crumbling slums of the metropolis, hunting for the parts of his dismembered chopper (bike, that is).

Infogrammes' Sidewalk is, like Mirrorsoft's Andy Capp, a comic-strip arcade adventure with a bit of mugging thrown in for good measure, where 90 per cent of the action takes place on the streets, and where success depends, as always, on being in the right place at the right time, doing and saying the right things.

The graphics, however, couldn't be more different. The punks, heavies and hippies of Sidewalk are grotesque - the men sport immense phallic noses, leering grins and baleful eyes; the women stagger beneath the weight of mammaries the size of Rocky Fore catalogues, capped with nipples like big cherries. It's the violent, sexist style of the underground comic, where Fritz the Cat meets Gilbert Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freaks.

Both characters and the seedy scenery are highly detailed in monochrome - often so detailed that it's tricky to make them out, as in the portrait of the chain-wielding gang members. Fortunately, too, most of the graphics are static, with only a small window for animation sandwiched between the pictures of the characters found at each location.

We see our 'hero' striding past corner shops, bars, graffiti-spattered walls and crossroads. And we soon get to see some urban violence when he takes on individual thugs in a very disappointing combat sequence.

The playing area is miniscule: a dozen or so locations linked by functions. Yet moving through them is haphazard, and though ther eseemed to be some logical route from one street to another, finding it often defeated me.

The object of this frantic exploration is simple enough. The lone dude with the dangling proboscis has got until 7.30pm to find and assemble all the pieces of his stolen motorbike, and buy two tickets to the Bank Aid concert that he's taking his top-heavy girl to. She'll split with some bloke called John if he fails to get on his bike in time.

Equipped with a digital watch and a purse (purse?!!!) containing £50, he searches the scenery for hidden bike forks and the like, and attempts to persuade any thugs he encounters to part with any other bits in their possession. Below the screen are icons which allow you to choose the most appropriate action - ask questions, resort to violence or run for cover.

It's not always advisable to attack the thugs (who've all got macho names like Snake and Sumo). If you character loses, they'll grab any cash and bike parts that he's collected, as well as his watch, which means he'll have to foolishly ask every passer-by for the time. In any case, carefully and meekly talking to them will often reveal useful info.

The skill lies in performing the actions in the correct sequence, and in doing so you'll find that parts of the scenery will unlock, allowing your biker to meet the mechanic, the melon-toting punkette, or the stoned Germaine. And every time you attack a gang-member you'll have to visit the bar to top up your energy with booze - another similarity with the permanently squiffy Andy Capp.

There's a lot in Sidewalk which will attract gamers - the unusual graphics, the relatively successful mix of logical puzzles and beat 'em up action - but its main failing is that it's too easy by half. I reckon that a couple of evenings' play will have the game completed, and that's just not good enough for a full-priced game.

Worst of all is the boasting on the inlay that 'for each copy of Sidewalk sold, Infogrames will donate at least 15p to the Band Aid trust'. Big deal. It's a particularly warped sense of priority which tempts us to spend 10 quid on a game so that 1.5 per cent of it can be sent to starving Africans. You'll feel a hell of a lot better if you forget Sidewalk and send a tenner to Band Aid instead.