	Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
	Developer: Amaze Publisher: Activision Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
I'm sure there are people out there whose job it is to watch movies and wonder how they can incorporate memorable scenes into a fun game the whole family can enjoy. Sadly things usually don’t go their way, amply demonstrated by this game. Still, they’re a lot better off than the three Baudelaire children; Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny. After being recently orphaned and made homeless, they are taken into the care of their Uncle Olaf who doesn’t have their best interests at heart. Pretty bleak so far eh? But wait! There’s hope! Violet is a keen inventor and soon starts bossing Klaus around to fetch items of junk to make gadgets out of which she can make ingenious gadgets to help them out of their predicament, and so the game continues in bouts of lukewarm 3D platform gamey action as the children attempt to escape the clutches of evil Uncle Olaf. There certainly are good points to the game. It has caught the darkly comic mood of the books and the movie, and is presented nicely with a workable soundtrack, and spooky narration by Tim Curry that’s genuinely worth a listen. Graphically it doesn’t pull out any stops but once again it doesn’t detract from the game. Disappointingly the main bulk of the game is extremely repetitive. As mentioned above, Violet gets all MacGyver-ey and offers up a list of items to get for the next invention. Control flits between Violet and Klaus as they explore the limited area they have access to and collect the items. Once the items of junk have been collected for the Backside Scratcher (or whatever it happens to be), the invention is then assembled as per bossy Violet’s instructions. Now ready for action, the crazy madcap invention is put to good use whacking rats, collecting snakes, or scratching backsides. You then get treated to a cut scene followed by another smart alec shopping list from Violet. This gets tired very quickly. Gameplay wise, there is nothing new here. It’s all pushing boxes to reach levers and the clunky camera problems one expects from run of the mill 3D platformers are there too. It’s not all bad though. The tedium of the main part of the game is occasionally broken by surreal 2D platform sections where the baby Sunny Baudelaire is sent off down a hole to fetch an item or flick a switch, and she puts her razor sharp teeth to good use by chomping through obstacles, or stomping on rats. Babies with jetpacks are always funny. There is also some limited replay value for fans of the movie by unlocking extras like stills from the movie by collecting puzzle pieces dotted around the game. My main point of confusion with this game is wondering who this game is aimed at. Younger players will probably get the most out of the game but may find some parts too tricky. However the monotonous gameplay is too dull and repetitive to engage older more experienced players. In summary it’s not a bad game but neither is it a particularly good one. It fells like an obligatory ‘game of the movie’ rather than a game that can stand alone as worthy of your play time. It is not worth shelling out for but it is worth renting out for younger players and or Lemony Snicket fans.

Best Bits
- Tim Curry is great.
- Keeps darkly comic mood of the books well.

Worst Bits
- Lack of innovation.
- Hazy audience focus, although probably aimed at a younger audience.
- Another run of the mill ‘game of the movie’.


by: Jason Rainbird