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‘Pajama Sam’ leads kids on Wii adventure

If you’re looking for a fun game for young children on the Nintendo Wii, “Pajama Sam: Don’t Fear the Dark” fits the bill.

Originally created by Humongous Entertainment in the 1990s for the PC, the “Pajama Sam” software series has won numerous awards. In this Wii version, Majesco has done a good job of porting the original PC game over to the Wii, but it has not enhanced the game play to incorporate the unique aspects of the Wii. The result is an interactive cartoon adventure that is still fun and worth playing, but not one that pushes the envelope on what the Wii is capable of delivering. The game is good because the story line is so captivating, but it doesn’t go beyond pointing and clicking with the Wii remote.

The game focuses on Sam, a little boy who is afraid of the dark. By wearing his favorite footed pajamas, donning a red cape and mask, and carrying his trusty lunchbox and flashlight, Sam transforms himself into the superhero Pajama Sam. As Pajama Sam, he has the courage to venture into the Land of Darkness (his closet) to capture Darkness.

Kids play the game by pointing the Wii remote at the screen and clicking the “A” button when the screen pointer turns white. In each scene, there are interactive items that, when clicked, create a fun animated sequence, allow you to pick them up or trigger some other event. You also decide which direction to head in next by directing your pointer to different paths shown on the screen.

This is a captivating world, beautifully drawn in dark colors, which reflects the inside of a closet. In this world, baseball bats grow out of the ground, trees talk and animated carrots have joined the Salad Liberation Front to free themselves from prison in an opera-singing refrigerator.

The strength of this game is that it allows children to explore an interactive environment full of quirky animated characters, including boats, bridges, pianos and a wishing well. They must use logic and memory to solve problems, and play in a game show that asks geography and science questions. Plus the locations of items players seek vary if the adventure is played through a second time.

The game’s weakness is that, unlike other Wii games, it doesn’t make much use of the motion-sensing controls. And there are few minigames within the adventure, so while there are things to interact with in each scene, the gaming aspect is minimal.

Even with these weaknesses, “Pajama Sam” is a game young children will greatly enjoy because the story line is so strong and Pajama Sam is such an engaging character. Plus, cutting-edge game play isn’t something young players demand. And parents will appreciate that the pricing is substantially less than most Wii games. “Pajama Sam” can be played by kids as young as 5, but they will need help with the game show minigame.

It’s nice to see an old classic get a face-lift and be offered to a new generation of kids.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Best for ages 6 to 8

From Majesco, http://www.majescoentertainment.com, $19.99, Nintendo Wii.