Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Same game, different controller…
Tags: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Mar 31st, 2005
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Adventure | No | ||
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I wish I could tell you something better. I wish I could tell you that the PS2 version of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is a thrill-a-minute game that contains extra hidden secrets, all-new levels and fresh, surprisingly energetic voice work that makes it superior to the versions of this game that appeared on Xbox and GameCube. I wish I could tell you that – but if I did, I’d be lying. The truth is, the PS2 version of ASUE is a straight port of the same game that appeared on other platforms, so whether you like it or not is completely a matter of system preference; if you’re a PS2 fan or just prefer the feel of the PS2 Dual Shock 2 controller in your hand, then you’ll like this version better. If you prefer Xbox or GameCube, you’re not missing out on any hidden extras in the PS2 version.
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That said, the game is a serviceable movie adaptation game, though one not likely to fare well when compared to others of its genre, such as EA’s Harry Potter games. While both Harry Potter games and this Unfortunate Events game are adaptations of movies with a pre-teen to teen audience, and both focus on platform-style tasks and mini-games, the Harry Potter games gain their appeal through sheer energy, faithful adaptation and storyline expansion, and the energy and verve of the voice work contributed to the games. By comparison, Unfortunate Events has only about half of those elements going for it; the faithful adaptation and story expansion is in place, but the energy behind the game play is more like a roller coaster, riding high in some spots while seeming to bog down in other segments, making the whole product a spotty result, at best. As for the voice work, while the child actors in this game do yeoman’s work, their adult counterparts come off as a bit more apathetic about the whole venture of spending hours in a voice studio for a videogame when they’d rather be moving on to their next movie role.
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Particularly disappointing is Jim Carrey, who brought his A-game manic energy to the film but seems more concerned about enunciation and clarity of his delivery than really energizing the game with his typically over-the-top performance. This robs the game of the dark comic joy that infused the movie. Lacking that element, the game’s tone suffers; what makes ASUE work in book and movie form is this dark, gothic tone of impending doom that, thanks to the comedy, never quite becomes completely depressing or morose in the face of circumstances that are anything but fun. Without the high-energy comedy a better Carrey performance could have provided, the game unfortunately sinks into a darker, less enjoyable place than author Lemony Snicket aims toward. And while Tim Curry appears as the narrator and does his best to rescue the game with a snarky-good adult performance, it’s ultimately not enough, in my book, to make the game a great audio experience.
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Vocal performances aside, the game’s graphics are okay but not much more than that; the in-game graphics are rather standard, though at least the art design department managed to keep some sense of the gothic tone of the piece. The cutscenes, as other reviewers have pointed out, are disappointingly low-res and rather unpleasant as a result. About the only thing that saves the game is the core of any game worth playing – how it plays.
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Filled with several tasks assigned to the kids by Count Olaf and, later in the game, other temporary guardians, our three suddenly orphaned heroes – Violet, Klaus and Sunny – are thrust into situations requiring them to complete unpleasant tasks that, in a game context, end up being fairly enjoyable. Whether you are clearing a basement of rats or trying to cage animals or preparing a meal or whatever, ASUE offers a nice twist on standard platform-style game play in that each of the kids performs and interacts differently within the game.
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Violet, for example, functions as the whiz-kid, inventing contraptions from items found in the game to complete the seemingly-impossible tasks laid out for our young trio. Klaus is more the action-oriented character, responsible for operating Violet’s inventions. And Sunny, the little imp, provides variety by taking on side-quests that vary from the style of take that you’re currently completing, but with a purpose, which usually boils down to obtaining that final necessary element for Violet to complete her latest invention. It’s a kooky, off-kilter formula that not only works, but stays true to the characters of the tale – a rare element for a movie adaptation game.
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When all is said and done, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is rather – unfortunate. While the game play is solid and could have been to basis for a memorable movie adaptation game on par with EA’s Harry Potter offerings, drab, ho-hum graphics and lackluster vocal work really detract from the overall enjoyment that can be drawn from the game. Maybe Jim Carrey and folks were having a bad day when they hit the sound booth for this one, but the real loser here is the end user; while the flaws may not bother the extremely young, older gamers may end up having to enjoy the game despite its flaws.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Inventive tasks and challenges + Each player character serves a different, rather than duplicative, function within the game |
6.3 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
— Nearly all the vocal performances, save for Tim Curry’s and those of the kids — Ho-hum graphics that don’t even attempt to touch the envelope, let alone push it |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events delivers solid game play and challenges that should thrill the target-market for a game of this type. But lackluster vocal performances from most of the adults in the game, especially Jim Carrey, hurt the tone and the game’s overall enjoyment factor. Lackluster graphics don’t help. | |
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Tags: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Mar 31st, 2005 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
