Pyjamarama

Copyright : MikroGen | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Sweet deams, Wally! NO CHANCE.

Being a Wally, nightmares are more common than Pleasant Dreams, and the one you have entered is the worst ever. Not only are you still looking and acting like a Wally, you can?t even sleep like normal people and you are having the daddy of all nightmares.

Ok Wally, don?t just lie there suffering in your nightmare do something about it. Well how would you normally wake yourself up? That?s right, with an alarm clock. No problem or is it? Just find the clock, wind it up and your nightmare is over.

Pyjamarama marks the first appearance of Wally Week on the Amstrad.

Graphics

Big, bright and colourful sprites dominate Pyjamarama from start to finish. Although its Spectrum origins are apparent in the colour scheme (lots of yellows and purples - a surefire giveaway!) you quickly become accustomed to it and begin to pick up on some of the clever touches included such as the fluid animation of Wally.

Each of the thirty screens is individual enough to stop you getting completely lost and the quality of design of the various ?baddies? are certainly impressive by 1984 standards.

Sound

Upon loading, Pyjamarama greets you with a catchy and upbeat title music that plays throughout the accompanying demonstration. Sadly the tune is left behind when the game starts proper, although this may be a blessing in disguise as I do suspect that it could soon become irritating. Instead the game is limited to a few spot effects such as the click of Wally?s footsteps and the chime to indicate a change in inventory. Perfectly serviceable if not earth shattering.

Gameplay

The original CPC arcade adventure, Pyjmarama is a tough induction to the genre and is probably the hardest of all the Wally Week series to get into. With perseverance it is possible to make fairly quick progress thanks to the limited map (there are only 30 odd screens in total) and a dedicated bout of trial and error.

Having said that, most gamers will be forced to play through the game a few times to get to grips with the layout and objects before any serious thought can be given to trying to solve the game.

As an arcade adventure, the game works very well thanks not only to the number of red herringsand obscure puzzles but also some neat arcade sub-games. For instance, at one point you take control of Wally in a giant and bizarre variation of Space Invaders? with forks?

The game is certainly worth recommending in its own right but becomes utterly essential for anyone wanting to explore the roots of an ever-present and important genre.

Charming if dated, Pyjamarama is worth a few hours of anyone?s time. If you like this one check out the follow-ups Everyone?s a Wally, Three Weeks in Paradise and Herbert?s Dummy Run.