| FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE AWARD
WINNING MIA IS BACK WITH A GREAT TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURE Mia:
Just in Time! Lets Kids Have Fun Exploring the Meaning of Numbers, Logic and
Basic Math Skills NEW
YORK (February 12, 2001) Toy Fair Booth #4555 — Mia, the star of Kutoka
Interactive’s award-winning edutainment adventures is back with the release of
Mia: Just in Time!, a time travel adventure designed for children 6 to 10
years old. In this story-based adventure, the player uses the title’s unique
navigation to lead Mia through her adventure, where along the way math
activities are seamlessly integrated into the story. This innovative two-disk
CD-ROM set encourages children to work with numbers to create code-breaking
sequences, find the answers to addition and subtraction equations, and work
with fractions in order to help Mia accomplish her mission. "The
success and popularity of the Mia edutainment games is that each seamlessly
integrates learning lessons into a story-based adventure," said Richard
Vincent, president, Kutoka Interactive. "In Mia: Just in Time!, kids are
drawn into a story where they learn the relevance of math by helping Mia and
her friends move through their adventure." In
Mia: Just in Time!, our gutsy little heroine is thrust into homelessness when
her attic home catches fire. Mia decides she must go back in time to prevent
the fire and embarks upon a mission to build a time travel machine. It is up
to the player to help Mia and her friends build the machine that transports
her back in time to stop the fire from ever starting. Mia
Makes Learning Fun With
four different skill levels available, children learn without realizing it.
Many fun and engaging numerical and mathematical challenges await kids on
Mia’s time travel odyssey. In the first part of the story, the player must
help Mia find the four missing parts she needs to create a time machine. In
one instance, Mia encounters a colony of ants that create an assembly line of
numbered boxes. The player must choose the numbered boxes based on the answers
to addition and subtraction problems. After answering several questions
successfully, Mia will acquire one of the time machine’s missing pieces. As
the story progresses and Mia travels back in time before the fire, she is
faced with finding out what happens in the future. She finds a frantic gypsy
who can assist her, but only if Mia can help the gypsy re-create her forgotten
personal identification number (PIN), which will unlock the powers of her
magical crystal ball. It’s up to Mia and the player to complete several number
sequences by selecting numbers as they float around inside the crystal ball.
The PIN code is revealed after several sequences have been completed. Only
then will the crystal ball tell all and reveal that the evil Romaine Rat is
the one that accidentally set the fire that destroyed Mia’s home. Now
that the truth is known, the pressure is on Mia and the player to build a trap
to catch Romaine Rat before he can set the blaze. After accomplishing several
other activities, Mia finally arrives at the attic, where she approaches Scary
the spider for help, but realizes that he is busy creating fly pies. If she
wants him to assist her, she must work with him to complete a number crossword
puzzle by picking numbered flies out of the air. Once completed, Scary will
help set the trap to catch Romaine before he can ignite his plan. After Mia
completes her mission, she realizes she has another problem to solve: her time
machine is missing! Romaine’s greedy rats have mischievously taken her machine
but don’t know how to use it. The only way to retrieve the time machine is for
Mia and the player to bribe the rat duo by offering them dessert treats served
in fractions. Once the rats have filled their bellies, Mia can return home and
everyone can enjoy a sweet victory. Mia,
the loveable little mouse who accompanies children through various learning
adventures, has received more than 40 awards from various parent
organizations, education groups and industry reviewers. The series has been
recognized by the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; Dr. Toy’s 100
Best Children’s Products for 2000 and as one of the Best 10 Software products
for 2000. In addition, the series has been honored with a New Media Invision
2000’s Best 3-D; Möbius Award in the Education category; OCTAS Award of
Excellence; Silver Statue in the CD-ROM category at the 1999 Summit Awards;
and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award in 1999 and 2000. Mia:
Just in Time! is a hybrid disc that is compatible with both Windows and
Macintosh systems. The $19.95 (U.S.) software is expected to ship to retail in
Q2, 2001. Kutoka
Interactive develops high-quality interactive titles for the consumer market.
Its best-known titles are Mia: The Search for Grandma’s Remedy, Mia: Romaine’s
New Hat and Cyber Grannies, a preschool vocabulary game. To date, the Mia
series has sold more than 125,000 copies. Kutoka was founded in 1995 and is
based in Montreal. For more information, call 877/8-KUTOKA or 514/849-4800 or
visit www.kutoka.com. #
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