Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

The vastly popular children's series of books entitled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" has been translated into a film of the same name, due out next month. Activision has released several of these games for various consoles, one of which is the GBA.

A Series of Unfortunate Events is the tale of the Baudelaire children, who truly are unfortunate. Sent to live with their egotistical Uncle Olaf, a very weird theatrical actor, in a huge, rundown mansion after their parents die, they must use all their wits to survive his nefarious plans to gain control of their money. After escaping from his clutches, they end up with their Uncle Monty, a kindly, but just as weird uncle who's not much protection against their Uncle Olaf, who continues to scheme and plot on different ways to get to the children. Then it's off to their Aunt Josephine's, and yes, again, it's another rambling mansion peopled with eccentric characters.

The strange and wonderfully creepy localities of the books lend themselves fabulously to action games. This GBA version is a traditional platform game, where the three Baudelaire children maneuver their way through lots and lots of rooms in huge, decrepit mansions, and also around many different localities outside. Each of the three characters have their own unique abilities, but Violet is the most utilized, as she's the only one who can climb up ladders to high places. But, at times, the other kids will lend a hand: Sunny can crawl into low areas, and Klaus can use his water pistol like no other.

Basic gameplay consists of jumping and climbing from platform to platform, using Violet's inventions as defensive weapons, namely the Apple Chucker and Water Pump, while avoiding or dispatching enemies. Collectibles abound, such as apples and water for missile use, and photos, butterflies and book pages for purchasing items like movie stills, game hints and weapon upgrades.

The action is very easy, and Violet has no problems jumping from ledge to ledge, an unusual feature in a platform game. The only difficulty comes from avoiding enemies, which sometimes come at the player blindly, but most often these can be dispatched fairly easily. Apples are the primary weapon missile, and as the kids can only carry 50 in the first levels, they run out quickly. However, apples can be collected by visiting the same areas again and again, as they reappear if the characters return after leaving.

Health is measured in a "misery meter", which, when full, causes the characters to collapse in despair and return to the beginning of the level. However, this can be avoided by killing many enemies and collecting hearts to alleviate this melancholy.

The puzzles are action based, and most often consist of figuring out how to get from one area to another, which can be seen but not obviously accessed. For instance, in the levels at Uncle Olaf's house, a particular area can only be opened up by Violet jumping on top of some boxes, then shooting her apples over the top of the wall, to trigger a lever in the room.

Each level involves collecting items for a task, either for the kids' own purposes, or to satisfy a request by one of the game's characters. Sometimes these tasks can get forgotten, especially when not picking up the game for several days, then sitting down to replay a level. There doesn't appear to be a task list anywhere, which would help in keeping up with these goals. Also, the levels can get a bit confusing directionally and it's sometimes hard to figure out how to get back after wandering through several different rooms.

Gameplay is very satisfying, and collecting all the photos, pages and other items is fun and not laborious, as in some games of this type. While the movement is easy, the enemies keep things interesting and the platform puzzles require some thought. The bosses at the end of each chapter take a little time to beat, but are not impossible. There is a good amount of interaction with objects and game characters, too, as the kids can perform actions like talking to, examining and manipulating various objects and people.

The environments are weird and fantastical, just like in the books. They're drawn very well, and really add to the enjoyment of the game. The characters all move fluidly and smoothly, too. It's obvious that some care and time was spent on developing the visuals in this game. The whole tone of the game is dark and mysterious, but not scary, it's a tongue-in-cheek type of morbidity.

The music is also just right for the atmosphere of the overall game, and is orchestrated nicely. The sound effects are few and far between, though, and could have been beefed up.