Mia 2: Romain's New Hat
Ages 5 - 10

Once again, Mia the skateboarding mouse is on a quest for sparklies. To get them she has to keep her eyes open and solve a number of science type problems. As she wanders or skateboards through hidden passages, grassy mazes and ponds she has to devise clever ways to get around obstacles. There are a number of friendly animals to help and encourage Mia and there is the villainous character Romaine the Rat to balance all the sweetness.

The activities cover a broad range of science involving the human body, fossils, naming plant parts, weather and questions about the solar system. The difference between the levels is that the advanced level has a greater number of questions to be answered before being rewarded with a sparkly. The graphics are as good as the previous game - which is very good.

The navigation has been improved since the previous game, and Mia's pace has been speeded up. Some of the controls require using the F and arrow keys, so for the young ones, an adult introduction would be necessary. Additionally, some reading skill is required to read and answer some of the questions. Hints are supplied by clicking on Mia's head. There is a wise option to either do all the activities or just to wander with Mia and pick up sparklies, which nicely broadens the age range. The game consists of a two disk set and changes each time it is played.

Editor Review 10/00

I think that the age range for this game should be at least 7-11 because you have to read a lot in the game and also you need to read the instructions to find out how to use all the special keys. I think that the places Mia goes to are really cool and the pictures and the videos are really good. The things I liked the best were the part about the planets and driving the car - it was awesome.

I would like it better if they would tell you how many sparklies you need to find. Also, when you want Mia to pick up something that she doesn't want, she should tell you she doesn't want it instead of just walking away. At first it was hard to move Mia around but you get the hang of it after a while.

Reviewed by Allison L.