Has there ever been a game built around interesting, sound mechanics and visuals where the movie-license actually detracted from the experience? The Naked Gun: I.C.U.P certainly makes its case. It is a light-hearted, funny and well-made point-and-tap adventure game that would be served just as well if it were called anything else. The bizarre tie-in with The Naked Gun, a dated movie franchise whose star, Leslie Nielsen, has been dead for a couple of years, doesn’t add anything to the experience.
Being a point-and-tap game, the player takes their detective (purported to be the son of Nielsen’s Frank Drebin) and goes from scene to scene click tapping the screen to pick up cash and reveal clues for the cases Frank Jr. must solve. Mixed in with detective bits are action scenes with target style shooting and plenty of genuinely humorous asides to keep the gameplay from becoming monotonous. Cases are long enough to at least provide a bit of challenge but still short enough to jump in and out of quickly.
Visually, I.C.U.P. looks like a well-made cartoon. The style won’t knock anyone off their feet but it fits the light, comic tone of the game perfectly. If you can get past the incredibly silly name of the game and the knowledge you don’t have to care about The Naked Gun at all to enjoy it, The Naked Gun: I.C.U.P. is quite enjoyable point-and-tap game. It may lack the immediacy of a great action game app or the wits of some of the better puzzle apps, but it creates a world all its own that is a joy to play in.
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