Video game:Microsoft Xbox Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

In 2004, Paramount and Dreamworks Pictures released a motion picture based on A Series of Unfortunate Events, the darkly funny children's books by Lemony Snicket. As a companion to this film, Adrenium Games (consoles), KnowWonder (PC), and JAMDAT (Java ME) developed a single-player video game that Activision then published. The film covers the first three of Snicket's books and the game follows the same plot, in which the recently orphaned Baudelaire children must figure out what happened to their parents, who were part of a mysterious secret society, while also evading the evil Count Olaf, who often appears in different disguises. Events features the voices of actors Jim Carrey (Count Olaf), Emily Browning (Violet), and Liam Aiken (Klaus) from the film, and Tim Curry supplies Lemony Snicket's narration. During the game, pictures of the cast appear when a character speaks, music from the motion picture soundtrack plays in the background, and special extras such as making-of featurettes can be unlocked. Events is a platform game that consists of five levels in which the player can act as any of the three Baudelaire children, who each have different abilities. The player must solve puzzles, complete certain tasks, and find special objects, switching between the children who have the abilities or tools needed to accomplish the goals. At times the player also acts as a third-person shooter when using some of Violet's inventions, such as the Fruit Flinger or Water Pump. While collecting items, the player must look for Count Olaf's eye symbol. After assembling a requisite amount of items, clues reveal information about the Baudelaires' parents' mysteries. Finishing the game also unlocks a sandbox or free roam mode, in which players can move throughout the virtual world and collect additional items in a non-linear fashion. Gamers can choose to play Events on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, and Java ME (for mobile devices). While all versions follow the same basic plot, certain game mechanics differ based on the platform. In the console and handheld editions, for example, players may switch between the three Baudelaire children at any time, while the PC edition limits the player to one character. The PC and handheld versions also offer more locations to explore than the console editions, and the handheld contains alternate inventions, collectible objects, and prizes.