children's software review

mia language adventure
(previously released as mia kidnap caper) 

Review Sections: Product Overview  Technically Speaking  Skills Covered  Educational Value  Entertainment Value  Design  Replayability  Dollar Value    

Mia Language Adventure - Product Overview
The unique Mia series continues with Mia: The Kidnap Caper, a program that zeroes in on foreign language learning in the context of an exciting adventure. Mia, the brave and adventurous little mouse, is back with an all-new mission: to rescue Grandma Mimi. Just when Grandma Mimi is about to accept her first place prize at an art show, the lights go out and Mimi disappears! Romaine, the culprit from earlier adventures in the series, would be a natural guess, but he is still around. Kids need to help Mia find Mimi, the eight pieces of Mimi's certificate, and sparklies (the currency in Mia's world).

Mia's quest begins in the art gallery. As players lead the little heroine through the gallery, they encounter a variety of activities that are tied into the story line. The adventure progresses in a linear fashion (for example, some doors cannot be opened until activities are completed). Children spell French or Spanish words (they choose one or the other at the beginning of the game), save Scary the spider whose attempts to use "virtual reality" glasses has made him two-dimensional, match fruits and vegetables with their foreign language names, input numbers into a special machine, match pictures with their correct sentences, and so forth. The story-adventure requires some problem-solving as well. For example, kids will need to find a spring (found in the camera) and something to protect Mia's head before the characters can use Roboto's transportation device.

Before they begin the adventure, kids choose one of three difficulty levels, the foreign language (French or Spanish), and whether they want access to hints during the adventure. The introductory movie is stunning, as was the case in the previous three adventure titles in the series.

The detailed and immersive graphics in The Kidnap Caper are a trademark of the series. Kids are truly transported into a fantasy world where human-like mice and rats have arranged elements from the human world to create their own personalized environments. Cute details abound in this miniature world, such as the chess pieces that decorate the art gallery. The activities explore early vocabulary, including animals, positions, professions, the alphabet, and numbers. Children get acquainted with simple dialogues and learn to build sentences in the featured second language.

Children will need some patience in order to complete the adventure. Getting "stuck" now and again is common, but with the "hints" option on, children can get tips simply by clicking on Mia. The activities are available independently of the adventure, and this option is especially handy for children on the younger end of the suggested age group who may not have developed the persistence and follow-through that the adventure format demands.

Technically Speaking
Minimum system requirements are Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium II 400 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 12X CD-ROM, and 300 MB free hard disk space. Mac users require a G3 processor 400 MHz or higher, System OSX 10.2, 128 MB RAM, 12X CD-ROM, and 300 MB free hard disk space.

Skills Covered
French and Spanish vocabulary, sentence building, adjectives and verbs.

Educational Value
The educational activities are cleverly tied in with the adventure, and they effectively cover basic vocabulary words in French and Spanish (both languages are contained on the CD-ROM). Three different difficulty levels offer extra challenge. This program is effective at reinforcing second language vocabulary for children studying the language at school.

Entertainment Value
Endearing characters, bad guys kids love to hate, and a mission that is hard to resist contribute to the appeal of the program. From the very start, children will find the program compelling.

Design
The program is contained on two CD-ROMs, and kids will need to change discs partway through the adventure. The program supports multiple players and multiple games for each. The educational activities can be played independently of the adventure, and navigation is quite intuitive once children know that "the mouse follows the mouse" (children simply point their mouse where they want Mia to go).

Replay Value
Although at times stumping, the adventure is manageable and the story is captivating enough to keep children's interest levels high right up until they complete their mission.

Dollar Value
This CD-ROM carries a suggested retail price of $19.95 US.

Buy KUTOKA Mia's Language Adventure (Windows/Macintosh)

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