Overview
If there were an Academy Award for children’s software, Mia: The Kidnap Caper would win.
Mia is a little mouse who is cute, courageous, and creative. In this, her fifth title, Mia heroically rescues her Grandma Mimi from kidnappers.
Great Graphics!
The story is told with spectacular graphics, the likes of which are only found in full length animation movies.
How to Play
Kids assume the role of Mia and control her movements in real time. They look at the world from Mia’s point of view as they travel through a miniaturized environment full of discarded human objects. While looking for clues about Mimi’s kidnapping, kids will play 15 excellent games which teach Spanish or French (players choose) as a second language.
This software has real depth. The story is so complex that it spans 2 CD-ROMs. Kids feel like they are part of a beautiful interactive movie that is humorous but exciting.
Game Analysis
Offered on three levels of difficulty, the foreign language games are cleverly sequenced to immerse children in a foreign language without overwhelming them. By using both visual and verbal cues, kids can easily begin to learn a second language. Players will learn the alphabet and letter sounds in the second language as well as hundreds of vocabulary words. They will learn about adjectives and verbs, and create sentences.
And the Oscar goes to: Mia: The Kidnap Caper.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
