Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

I was chatting to a fellow movie buff just the other week about just how disappointing 2004 was for films. Imagine my surprise then when, trying to avoid the demon drink over the festive period with a trip to the cinema, I stumbled across Lemony Snicket. I went because a friend's a big fan of the books but quite simply, this is everything a good movie should be: a great story, well told, beautifully shot with impeccable acting from the main and supporting cast. Originally billed in the UK as a darker Harry Potter it was only a matter of time before we saw the film and then the movie tie in. Obviously you know by now how I, along with most of the gaming community, feel about games based on films or TV programs so it's fair to say that my expectations for this game were fairly low. I have been surprised before though, notably by Ubi Soft's Lilo & Stitch, but that was some years ago and if you had any idea just how many games I've played since you'll probably deduce that it's not a particularly good average. Can the developers weave their magic with Lemony Snicket? Read on and see...

Gameplay

The game mirrors the movie almost scene for scene following the ups and downs of the three Baudelaire children, who truly are unfortunate. Without giving too much of the plot away it takes place in three distinct areas mostly due to the fact that it's based on three books which have been seamlessly welded together. You can switch between playing any of the children, which you'll have to do on a regular basis as they all have very different abilities. That is once you've discovered the various components required for Violet's inventions, which are scattered about the place. When you do eventually locate these items and construct the gadgets, Violet is armed with an Apple Chucker whilst Klaus has a kind of enhanced Water Pistol. Sunny (the baby) is already armed with the ability to bite almost anything, thanks to some rather strong teeth, while her size allows her to crawl into areas inaccessible to the other two. She can also float down from a height, thanks to Violet's Parasol Glider, once you've found the pieces and constructed it of course.

Once you're fully equipped it's on to more collecting and solving puzzles that really are scattered about all three locations. One ongoing project is located in the library section in your inventory. Here you must collect pages of a book, which although cryptically named do actually refer to a location. The pages in question are parts of a code so it's a simple case of finding all the pages, discovering the location, inputting the code and hey presto, the bonus is yours. Other puzzles are much more focused and handed down to you by one of your unfortunate relatives. These are generally solved in the one location although you may have to do a considerable amount of running around before you find the solution.

As is usual in creepy locations there are lots of bats, spiders and henchmen and disposing any of these will generally leave a collectable of some description. This might be a photo, to be used to unlock one of the many bonus items, including stills and concept art from the movie, and weapon upgrades, or a locket that fills you with joy and happiness. This latter item is essential because you're in such a miserable condition and every encounter with an enemy makes you even more miserable and will eventually cause you to lose a life. The lockets are a much-needed antidote so pick them up whenever you see them. Because of the clever design of the levels it's likely that you will be compelled to go on even after you've completed the game. This is because there's more to uncover such as the elusive Golden Butterflies some of which can't actually be accessed until you have unlocked all the inventions and abilities. Finally (and conveniently) you can save absolutely anywhere in one of three save slots with useful information also helpfully displayed, such as which book you're currently accessing and percentage finished.

Controls

Because of its intended demographic Lemony Snicket is another of those titles that spoon feed you the various game controls as you travel though the various levels. This is incredibly helpful because even though it's aimed at younger gamers it's actually reasonably complicated with many items in your inventory as well as many weapons at your disposal. It also works though because of the intuitive nature of the control layout as the developers demonstrate yet again that not only do they know GBA games but GBA owners too.

Graphics

Given the GBA's small screen size it's actually quite difficult to create any sense of atmosphere but the developers here appear to have achieved the impossible and the production values on display are very impressive indeed. It all kicks off with one of the most unique ways in which to display the cut screen (of which there are many) for quite some time with black and white stills appearing scratched and aged. The rest of the game follows suit with some wonderful and varied locations giving you the impression that you are actually on a journey of some description.

Sound

The music complements the game's visuals perfectly. It's rare to not only find a well composed score but also one where some thought has gone into actually selecting or indeed creating it. There are far too many GBA soundtracks at the moment, which appear to be so generic that you occasionally feel that they're just something they've had lying around the studio. On the downside there are no direct voice samples taken from the movie although the baby does gurgle whenever an enemy hits it.

Final comments

If ever there was perfect balance with a variety of gameplay elements this is it. The learning curve is pitched just right, puzzles are not too difficult, mini-games are fun, and levels are just the right size... I could go on but it does appear that developers Griptonite have taken everything they've learnt from the Harry Potter games (which they also developed) perfected it and pushed it all into this tiny cart. In fact it's difficult to find anything to criticize in Lemony Snicket. You could argue that none of the various elements are very original and while this is probably true it's the manner in which they have been combined and the clever ways they have been used here that have transformed a good game to a great one. I haven't said this often in the years I've been reviewing GBA titles but this is a movie tie-in I can highly recommend. Go and get it now!

Pro: Wonderful Presentation.
Con: Not Terribly Original.
Final score: 8.9

Share on Twitter or Facebook

Comments