If you're looking for an adventure for your younger kids, you should get Pajama Sam in 'No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside' without hesitation. Whether you pick up the new Wii version (called Pajama Sam in Don't Fear the Dark) or the older PC original, don't let its age fool you, as this remains a rather timeless classic.
The fantasy world Sam finds himself exploring is beautiful and full of funny characters in an adventure wrapped neatly with clever puzzles and multiple plot paths for repeat visits to the Land of Darkness. And when all is said and done, today's junior adventurers might just find out that Darkness isn't as unfriendly as he first seems after all.
BCG writes: "Now kids can really get a head start on gaming with the Entertain Your Brain Adventure Series for kids ages six and up. These point-and-click titles have an appealing 2D cartoon format and can be an ideal "starter" set for young gamers. This set has a profound and popular history on the PC and Mac before this latest remediation. Interaction works well with the Wii remote (no nunchuk required) except when accessing item inventory at the bottom of the screen.
The autosave feature interrupts game play, but can be adjusted in two of the games. Players can skip animated cutscenes by pressing the – button, but then they would miss some of the funniest moments. Players can interact with several objects and move by selecting the edges of the screen or navigation markers like arrow signs. The characters' mouths don't always match the dialogue and the audio can be hard to hear at times, but the easy levels make progression a breeze for young gamers. So take a leisurely pace and enjoy these easygoing adventures with beneficial puzzles, side missions and problem solving challenges."
1UP writes: "The Wii can always use a good old-school point-and-click adventure, but who would've guessed we'd see one starring a pajama-clad child hero? Pajama Sam: Don't Fear the Dark is the story of Sam, a little boy frightened by the darkness that lurks in his closet. You'll assume the role of Sam as he dons the outfit of his favorite superhero -- Pajama Man -- and enter the fantasy world in his wardrobe on a quest to imprison darkness in his lunchbox. I mean, his portable bad-guy containment unit.
Though originally designed for the PC, Pajama Sam controls nicely with the Wii Remote -- the standard mouse pointer changes color over clickable objects as the controller vibrates lightly. Aside from the slightly tricky maneuvering of the cursor needed at the bottom of the screen to access your inventory, kids and grownups will find it easy to point at and interact with the objects in the environment. And with such an absurd number of noisemaking, animated doodads onscreen at any time, that's a very important thing."
CSM Writes:
"What makes this game so much fun to explore is that the characters and settings are so imaginative. You will meet a boat who is afraid of the water and a refrigerator who sings opera."
"But this game is basically a port of the PC game to the Wii. Majesco has not spent any time developing new gameplay that would use the unique Wii motion-sensitive controllers. There are very few minigames, and your interaction is simply point and click. Even so, this is a captivating adventure for young children because the Pajama Sam story is so strong. It feels as if you are playing inside a Saturday morning cartoon."
