A laughter track in a TV show is like having a really annoying friend jabbing you in the arm whenever anything slightly amusing happens on screen.
The lack of a laughter track on iCarly Mobile instantly makes it better than the original source material, then, which is firmly rooted in the laugh-a-second camp, but it doesn’t cover up what is essentially a very shallow game.
iAm amusediCarly mobile is mainly a collection of mini-games strung together with walking around a few locations, finding hidden objects, and talking to the various cast members from the show.
This is actually pretty good fun, believe it or not, mainly because the script for each of the six episodes in the game is tight and amusing with meta-jokes made about the structure of game (“We did that in the last level”) nestled between the usual smart-ass replies from Sam.
It’s also well presented, with smooth animations and cheerful, Nickelodeon-styled cartoony graphics. While there aren’t that many unique locations to visit (unless you count slightly different coloured classrooms as unique), the ones that are there are well drawn and recognisable from the show.
The slick presentation follows through to the five mini-games that make up the ‘meat’ of iCarly, and take place at regular intervals between walking left and right down corridors.
iCan do this with my eyes closedThey’re all riffs on familiar games like Tower Bloxx, Snake, Mastermind (the code one, not the quiz show), but the presentation is strong, controls tight, they’re generally quite fun to play.
The mini-games aren't particularly hard, though. In fact, they’re almost insultingly easy, with no real penalty for failing and no reward for doing well.
Unfortunately, only having five mini-games spread across six levels does mean there’s an awful lot of repetition, with most games needing to be beaten a number of times with only the slightest amount of variation between instances.
The lack of variation and the incredibly easy difficulty level also mean that the game’s playing time is around that of the iCarly webshow – short.
Fans of the programme should still get some enjoyment out of spending time with the characters, helped by a good script and strong presentation, but those who just don’t ‘get’ the programme will find it a little too shallow.