| PRESS
CONTACTS: Lauren
Tascan/Roxanne Pascente 212-772-3900/847-955-7730 lauren@sspr.com/roxanne@sspr.com FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE MIA
THE MOUSE HEROINE RETURNS IN ‘MIA 2: ROMAINE’S NEW HAT’ Sequel
to Kutoka Interactive’s Hit 3D Learning Adventure Set for August Release LOS
ANGELES (May 11, 2000) E3 Booth #6033, Kentia Hall — Mia, the skateboarding
mouse who first burst on the edutainment scene last year in a rollicking
learning adventure that has won 18 awards, returns this summer in an
all-new episode called Mia 2: Romaine’s New Hat. This time around, Kutoka
Interactive turns its charming star into a miniature Indiana Jones bent
on rescuing her mother’s brand new hat from an accidental journey down
the sewer. Designed
for children 5 to 11, Mia 2 mixes an entertaining storyline with a variety
of science activities addressing topics ranging from the solar system,
the human body and the weather to the classification, habitats and eating
habits of animals. The two-CD title also features more than a dozen endearing
characters rendered in feature film-quality animation, a high-quality
sound track and vivid scenery seen magically from the perspective
of a mouse. In addition, Mia again has the unusual ability to move
anywhere on the computer screen where the child points the computer mouse,
giving players complete control over the main character. Mouse
on a Mission The
story begins when Mia dons her mother’s fancy new hat without permission
and goes to play on the roof of the human-sized
Victorian house where she lives. A sudden
torrential downpour washes Mia down the drain pipe. She escapes
by crawling out on a branch, but the hat is swept into the sewer, where
it is snatched by the evil rat Romaine and his cousins. Mia
must pick herself up, retrieve the lost hat, and then find her way home.
As she pursues her quest, she gamely negotiates
hidden passages, scales heights not usually
fit for a mouse, crosses streams, lifts heavy objects and
performs other feats of derring-do all with the active assistance of the
player. Along
the way, children must be on the lookout for “Sparklies”, the currency
that Mia will need to buy her mother a new hat.
Some Sparklies are half-hidden on a path or
in some bushes, but most are earned by successful completion
of a series of science learning games that exercise the player’s powers
of observation as well as gently imparting new knowledge. Science
with a Smile Mia
2’s science activities are so seamlessly integrated with the story that
children will not even know that they’re “learning.”
At Sam the Squirrel’s tree house, for
example, children play an association game that involves matching
animals with their habitat as well as other animals in their class, whether
it be primate, reptile or amphibian. At Freddy the Frog’s pond, children
adjust a clock to see how the shadow changes on the sundial and how the
shadow can tell time. Inside the hedge that serves as Simon the Scientist’s
laboratory, they play a game that teaches them to identify the parts
of plants. There
are eight full-featured science games as well as a variety of scientific
information and mini-science activities, and the content varies according
to which of the four age-appropriate difficulty levels the child has
selected at the beginning of the game. Younger children may learn simple
principles of magnets and prisms, while older players may encounter more
difficult terms like deciduous, chlorophyll, igneous and carnivore. Higher
difficulty levels require more knowledge or faster responses, and in some
cases the difficulty is increased by taking points away for incorrect answers. At
the same time, children gain familiarity with basic science concepts simply
by navigating through the game. They use a lever, a pulley, an electromagnet
and a siphon, and repair an electrical circuit as they progress
from point to point. Responsiveness
and Replayability Every
element in Mia 2 is designed to maximize pleasure and minimize frustration.
If the child needs help anywhere along the way, for example, a series
of clicks on Mia’s head will yield a progressively more precise set of
clues on how to proceed. Users
can save up to 12 games, enabling family members to go through Mia 2 at
their own pace. In addition, the location of objects and the solution of
puzzles change each time a new game is started,
encouraging children to play Mia over and
over again. Availability
and Price Scheduled
for August release, Mia 2: Romaine’s New Hat is the second in a series
starring the same Mia character that debuted last year. It will be compatible
with both PC and Macintosh platforms, carry an MSRP of $19.95 (US),
and be available at computer retail stores and mass merchandisers nationwide. Kutoka
Interactive develops high-quality interactive titles for the consumer market.
Its best-known titles are Mia: The Search for Grandmother’s Remedy, the
first in a planned four-title series covering literacy, science, math and
the arts, and Cyber Grannies, a preschool vocabulary game. The first Mia
has sold more than 65,000 copies. Kutoka was founded in 1995 and is based
in Montreal. For more information, call 877/8-KUTOKA (877/858-8652) or
514/849-4800 or visit www.kutoka.com. #
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