Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (video game)

Lemony Snicket's
A Series of Unfortunate Events

North American cover art for PS2
Developer(s) Adrenium Games (console)
KnowWonder (PC)
JAMDAT (Java ME version)
Publisher(s) Activision
Engine Unreal Engine 2.0 (PC)
Adrenium Engine (console)[1][2]
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Java ME
Release date(s)
  • NA: November 10, 2004
  • PAL: November 26, 2004

Mobile

  • NA: November 16, 2004
Genre(s) Platformer
Mode(s) Single-player

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 game based on the Lemony Snicket book series and film of the same name. The game is based primarily on the film, which in turn is based on the plots of the first three books of the series: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. Players take the roles of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, solving puzzles, fighting villains and finding objects. Players encounter characters such as Mr. Poe, Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine, along with villains such as Count Olaf, the hook-handed man, the white-faced women, and the bald man with the long nose.

A significant feature has Emily Browning, Liam Aiken and Jim Carrey reprising their roles from the film while the voice of Lemony Snicket is provided by Tim Curry, who provided narration for the audiobooks for the series.

Gameplay

The core gameplay consists of elements of a platformer, a puzzle game, and a third-person shooter. The player assumes the role of either of the three Baudelaire orphans, and can cycle through them depending on the version.

The Baudelaires can eventually gain access to a multitude of inventions as well as ammunition throughout the game, which are mostly those that tend to run along the lines of things a child might actually attain, such as rotten eggs, bubble gum, bees, eau de toilette, and garlic, among other things.

Console versions

Gameplay screenshot showing Klaus Baudelaire wielding a makeshift battering ram.

The three console versions have the same basic layout - players can switch between playing as Violet, Klaus and, at certain moments, Sunny. The game begins at Count Olaf's house, then progresses to Justice Strauss' home, back to Olaf's, then to Uncle Monty's house, then Damocles Dock, then Aunt Josephine's house, Curdled Cave and, finally, Olaf's again. Along the way, Violet invents things - Klaus's weapon — the Brilliant Bopper; her own weapons — the Fruit Flinger, the Reptile Retriever, and the Peppermint Popper; the Baby Booster, which helps Sunny jump; the Steady Stilts, which help Violet reach high places; the Uplifting Umbrella, which helps Violet fly; and the Levitating Loafers, which can make Klaus fly. In the game, the heroes solve puzzles, fight Count Olaf's theater troupe, and collect puzzle pieces with the familiar eye throughout the series. If the player collects 25 of each color puzzle piece, a place is revealed in their secret folder, which in turn reveals a picture where they can find a V.F.D package. This package reveals a special extra in the game, such as a making of featurette. Completing the game will also unlock the World Map, a sandbox mode similar to the Freeride game in Mafia, allowing players to roam around the various levels and collect more puzzle pieces and packages.

Game Boy Advance version

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version is different in that players can switch between all three Baudelaires at all times. The game also features more places, such as Briny Beach. It is said to be more difficult than the console versions. In The Reptile Room level, some reptiles are mentioned that never appear in the books. Also, there are fewer inventions but have the same effects as the other games, such as the Parasol Glider, which helps Sunny glide from platform to platform; the Water Pump, which helps Klaus spray and absorb water; the Grappling Hook, which helps Klaus swing from platform to platform; and the Apple Cobbler, which helps Violet shoot apples. Players must collect objects that Violet or Klaus mentions to make the inventions. Players must also talk to other characters to complete some quests or grab items that other characters are holding.

The player must collect pictures and butterflies for invention upgrades, movie scenes, and concept art. They must also collect book pages to use on specific places to either give you extras, keep going on the story, or makes it easier to get around.

PC version

The PC version has several differences from the console games. For one, players cannot switch between characters. The game keeps the player as one character, switching to another when necessary, and even separates the older Baudelaire siblings at times. Secondly, there are two new environments, Briny Beach and a horseradish factory (presumably the one that is discussed in The Reptile Room, The Grim Grotto, Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography and The End). Finally, players have different inventions to make; the Smasher, the Lobber, the Lockpick, the Sprayer, the Lever Yanker, the Reptile Retriever, stilts, and a Grappling Hook. As a bonus, players can collect eyes; every ten eyes collected gives the player a poster for an Olaf theater production, and letters from the alphabet which start a word that is then defined. Some of the words, such as Quagmire, referring to the Quagmire triplets and Xenophobe, referring to a word Jerome Squalor mentioned to the Baudelaires in The Ersatz Elevator are from the books.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(GC) 69.64%[3]
(GBA) 69.55%[4]
(Xbox) 68.20%[5]
(PC) 67.20%[6]
(PS2) 66.17%[7]
Metacritic(GBA) 72/100[8]
(GC) 70/100[9]
(Xbox) 67/100[10]
(PC) 64/100[11]
(PS2) 63/100[12]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer6.25/10[13]
GameZone(PS2) 8.5/10[14]
8/10[15][16]
(GC) 6.9/10[17]
(PC) 6.5/10[18]
IGN7.1/10[19]
(PC) 6.5/10[20]
Nintendo Power(GC) 3.6/5[21]
(GBA) 3.3/5[22]
OPM (US)[23]
OXM (US)7/10[24]
PC Gamer (UK)58%[25]
X-Play[26]
Detroit Free Press[27]
The Sydney Morning Herald[28]

The game has received average to mixed reviews upon release. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 70% and 72 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version;[4][8] 70% and 70 out of 100 for the GameCube version;[3][9] 67% and 64 out of 100 for the PC version;[6][11] 66% and 63 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[7][12] and 68% and 67 out of 100 for the Xbox version.[5][10] Some reviewers gave the game lower scores, citing the short span of the game, lack of replay value, easy difficulty and repetitive gameplay.

The Sydney Morning Herald gave the game two-and-a-half stars out of five and stated that "The difficulty level is accommodating for youngsters, although the controls can be unwieldy. Sadly, the fun is short-lived, with no multi-player modes or replay appeal."[28] Detroit Free Press gave it two stars out of four and stated that "Potential players need to know that we cruised through the entire game -- without any cheats -- in about four hours."[27]

Cast

Additional Voices by Robin Atkin Downes and Brian Stepanek

References

  1. ↑ Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events game credits
  2. ↑ The console versions use a variant of the Azurik: Rise of Perathia engine.
  3. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for GameCube". GameRankings. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Critic Reviews for Game Boy Advance". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Critic Reviews for GameCube [mislabeled as "Xbox"]". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (xbx:2004): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  13. ↑ Mason, Lisa (January 2005). "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events". Game Informer (141): 119. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  14. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (9 November 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  15. ↑ Hollingshead, Anise (6 December 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Review - Game Boy Advance". GameZone. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  16. ↑ Hopper, Steven (10 November 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Review - Xbox". GameZone. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (22 November 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Review - GameCube". GameZone. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  18. ↑ Hollingshead, Anise (11 November 2004). "Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  19. ↑ Goldstein, Hilary (15 November 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". IGN. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  20. ↑ Butts, Steve (6 December 2004). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (PC)". IGN. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (GC)". Nintendo Power. 188: 113. February 2005.
  22. ↑ "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (GBA)". Nintendo Power. 186: 150. December 2004.
  23. ↑ Maragos, Nich (February 2005). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 83. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  24. ↑ "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". Official Xbox Magazine: 80. January 2005.
  25. ↑ "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". PC Gamer UK. March 2005.
  26. ↑ D'Aprile, Jason (11 January 2005). "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on 16 June 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  27. 1 2 "RECENT VIDEO GAME RELEASES: BLINX 2: MASTERS OF TIME AND SPACE; LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS; CALL OF DUTY: FINEST HOUR". Detroit Free Press. 23 January 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  28. 1 2 Hill, Jason (16 December 2004). "Lively pace". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
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