It, of course, is nearly impossible to translate the humor from a book or other media to a video game. To much dismay, the nearly impossible was made possible in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The three Baudelaire children become orphaned after their parents were unlucky enough to attend a fire. Happily, their uncle Count Olaf takes them in to give them the shabby life they always wanted. Not only does Olaf treat them badly, like any good uncle should, he inexplicably wants to steal all their inheritance.

In this side-scrolling adventure, you control the Baudelaire children (Violet, Sunny and Klaus), as they adjust to life with their creepy, conniving Uncle Olaf. When they discover that he only wants their money, they must do what they can to foil his plot.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is better than your average side-scroller. The graphics have good detail and the challenging puzzles heighten the gameplay experience. At any time, you can switch among the precocious Baudelaires. Because Sunny is a baby, she can crawl through small openings. Klaus can take care of spiders, bats and thugs with this water pump but he can't climb ladders. He's afraid of heights. Violet downs enemies with her apple-chucker, but that mode of attack isn't as effective as Klaus'. To switch between characters, you simply press Select and choose your new kid.

In each level, the children collect photographs and butterflies. They can exchange photographs to unlock invention upgrades and scenes from the upcoming movie. Once they get enough butterflies, the children gain access to a new set of unlockable features.

Within each level, the children must solve a number of problems for the eccentric townsfolk and Uncle Olaf's associates (most of whom are actors). Once the children solve a problem, they'll receive a reward, which they can then use to solve another problem.

The game's wit makes you chuckle. As in the hit books, the light humor is presented in a dark way (or is it the other way around?). Some games are filled with way too much text, but not Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. When the game has something to say, you should read it.

Create inventions

Unlock artwork from the movie

Three save slots