The Act is an odd one. It’s a delightful interactive cartoon that can’t help but make you smile, but also something of an extravagance at £1.99.
It’s Carry On Matron as animated by 101 Dalmations era Disney, with a cameo from Jessica Rabbit. The word ‘charming’ has never been better used.
You’re Edgar, a window-cleaner who’s about to break many and various crimes by impersonating a member of the medical profession in the pursuit of love. Your useless co-worker is destined for unnecessary surgery, your angry boss is angry and there’s this nurse a pair of cracking pins. Cue comedy!
The Act is a warm and funny offering – its happy fuzziness largely a product of its deft animation. The game proper enters proceedings when you’re controlling the extremities of Edgar’s behaviour. Say you’re attempting to woo the Nurse, drag your finger to the right quickly and your goo-goo eyes will be accompanied by desperate flapping and she’ll back off. Delicately toying with your finger sliding, however, will move Edgar back and forth from brash to coy. What super-sexualised lady cartoon could resist?
The trick is to watch the brilliantly represented body language on screen before edging Edgar ever closer to kiss-based victory. Sure, it sounds creepy to read about it – but when animated quite so lushly it’s beautiful. It’s like having control of the head movement when the dogs are eating spaghetti in Lady and the Tramp. It’s not all romance, either, as there’s plenty of medical misdemeanours, angry boss placating and GP imitation in there too. It’s just that I quite fancy the nurse and need to get it out of my system.
There are a few big buts coming though, and I dislike big buts – I cannot lie. As mentioned earlier the pricepoint is a little extreme for such a short game, while there are points of frustration when the hints within the animation aren’t enough to prod you in the right direction. The controls are far from foolproof, and occasionally poor Edgar suffers repeatedly from your forced brain-freeze.
The Act is, however, a game quite unlike any other I’ve played on my iPhone this year– if and when it comes down to a far more sensible 69p you’d be advised to brusquely shove your digit from left to right to show willing.
