I have never been so appalled at a piece of so-called educational software in my life. Millie Meter is so far from educational as to be down right offensive at times, though mostly it’s just an absurd piece of software.
The game begins with the heroine, Millie Meter walking among boulders. One of them has a stomachache. He asks Millie to get in a helicopter (they call it something cute, but it’s a helicopter) that he just happens to keep nearby in case he wants anyone to travel through his digestive system.
This beginning is the first problem. I don’t know if you know this, but rocks don’t have digestive systems. I know; I was shocked too. Once inside the rock’s system Millie finds things like little gnome-like people running the digestive system, which is composed primarily of conveyer belts and pulleys. If you bought this game to teach your child about how the digestive system works, or to teach them about good nutrition, you are going to be taking a giant step backwards in their learning process.
Conveyer Belts? Pulleys? This sounds more like fantasy you say? It sure does. However, if you click on the little man that swabs the teeth with a bucket of saliva, he will begin talking like an anatomy professor about how the mouth really works. Unfortunately, what he is saying has nothing to do with what is happening on screen and will go way over the heads of children between the ages of four and eight to whom this awful CD-ROM is supposed to appeal.
Included within Millie’s travels are several hidden games and songs. The games are the best part of the software, but hardly worth the ridiculous journey to find them. The songs are as absurd as the rest of the software.
To top off the whole game there is a grossly offensive ethnic stereotype residing in the small intestine that is enough to give you a stomach ache. To digest food, a little Asian man named Chop-Chop stands there complete with slanted eyes and a pointed straw hat. He speaks pigeon English and has one skill, karate chopping food into smaller particles. For some unknown reason, he also has four legs. Who knew your digestive system was so wacky? Besides not having a thing to do with actual science, what the game does is show children that it is ok to make fun of Asian people.
I’m not sure what to be more upset with, the corruption of scientific knowledge or the racial stereotyping.
The good news is that if you buy this software, you can be offended in three different languages: English, French and German. For some reason, I was unable to find the French version, though it was advertised on the box. Sadly, the entire program is just as offensive in German as it is in English.
I’ve never done this before, but I’m giving this game zero GiN Gems. It doesn’t deserve any. Avoid it like a stomach ache.
I was one of the little German kids who played this game, and frankly, I don’t recall one time of this game scaring me for life. I can actually credit this game for giving me an interest in human anatomy like no other children’s game I ever played could. I distinctly remember various mechanics of the human body being artfully explained such as the branching of the pharynx into the trachea and esophagus. In the long run, I don’t remember Chop-Chop or any other stereotypes because they weren’t the focus of the game. The focus was to explain in very basic terms how human anatomy works. It doesn’t matter that boulder’s don’t have digestive systems. It’s a game for kids, who are more open minded and attentive to the text than you could ever believe. Since I’m commenting on this review 15 years after it was posted, I don’t think anyone will ever read this, but if you do, just know that whoever wrote this review really missed the point of the game.