Remember how, as a stroppy kid, you were certain the whole world was against you? Well, spare a thought for the Baudelaire children. Not the luckiest kids in town, they lose both parents and their dream house in one day, and are packed off to live with their sadistic uncle, Count Olaf. If you're familiar with the Lemony Snicket novels you'll be aware of the cruel, blackly comic tone of the series, and the hilariously articulate way it's delivered. Thankfully the game stays very true to the source material, and perfectly captures the bleak, industrial feel of the recent film.

The game assumes the expected guise of a relatively simple adventure/platformer. Players can flick between the exceptionally intelligent Klaus and the permanently practical Violet. Count Olaf's gothic mansion presents the first of the substantial levels for players to explore and conquer. Utilising one of the versatile Violet's cobbled-together inventions, gameplay is split between exploring the level, collecting assorted random objects to construct these devices, and using them to complete a specific task or access a specific area. The annoying absence of a map makes for some seemingly aimless wandering through the level, though at least you get to locate a wealth of items, and can proceed directly to them when needed. In a neat touch, players get to physically manufacture these crazy contraptions in a simple rotating puzzle fashion.

Players work through their various relatives' nightmare scenarios (Olaf's Mansion, Uncle Montgomery's Reptile Garden, Aunt Josephine's Lakeside Abode) in their perpetual quest to be happy. Blasting enemies with rotten fruit and manoeuvring around on your Levitating Loafers is actually quite a blast, and the fresh tasks never really make repetitiveness a factor. Mixing it up somewhat is the necessity to use little baby Sunny to reach other hidden areas, taking the form of a very rudimentary side-scrolling platformer.

Yet this is where the game presents one of its major inconsistencies. Sure, the puzzling and exploring is of a very simple nature, and the title is quite clearly aimed at kids. This presumption borders on irritating, as after several hours players are still repeatedly reminded (and prompted) that the B button will open doors, push blocks, and function as a general interaction button. Bosses are boringly simple, and the odd stealthy mission won't tax anyone. This is a vast contrast to the subject material; the dark and twisted script is more likely to petrify young 'uns than inspire them to go and read the rest of the novels or watch the film.

The developer has done a good job of recreating Snicket's warped world, although the character animation and undetailed environments aren't exactly cutting edge. Pulling out the king of trump cards however, it manages to enlist all the main actors from the film to provide voiceovers, including a barely recognisable Jim Carrey. Frank N Furter himself, Tim Curry, fills in for an absent Jude Law, but the overall result is a deliciously wicked, immersive experience. It's a shame, then, that the gameplay can't live up to this vocal virtue, and be more inspired than this very tepid adventure. Unfortunate indeed.

1. Captures the essence of the film and provides a devilishly dark and frightening world for players to explore.
2. The varied environments are wacky and imaginative in nature, though bland and lacking detail in execution.
3. The gadget assembly puzzles are fun, but very simple to solve. The absence of a map irritates after a while too.
4. Having Jim Carey on board does wonders for the authenticity, and the camp Tim Curry does a great job with the narrative.
5. Although gameplay is very rudimentary, the substantial levels should keep the kids quiet for a long time. If they don't get scared off, that is.

Think Grabbed By The Ghoulies for the Harry Potter generation. A respectable kids actioner, but it won't push the genre.