Treasure Hunt Reviews

Until recently, every copy of Microsoft Windows came with a little game called Minesweeper. It was a simple game; simple enough that many other games implemented their own copy as a minigame*. Still, it's really not something most of us would spend time playing. Fortunately, Microsoft has spruced it up, recreating the classic game as Microsoft Treasure Hunt.
Now there's a reason to click through those many dangerous squares -- treasure lies among the rocks, just waiting for your adventurer to run over and collect it! But, this wouldn't be much of an adventure without some peril. Hidden in the walls of the dungeons are various traps you'll need to avoid. The trick to doing this lies on the floor -- just like in the original Minesweeper, spaces display a number indicating how many traps are in the adjacent spaces. Places where no numbers appear harbor no dangers, while a one or more indicates that there's a trap nearby. By watching for patterns in these numbers, you can work your way around the traps, collect the treasure, and continue deeper within the caverns.
Making things more interesting, there are now various powerups* for you to use. Map fragments can be used to show where nearby traps are located. Pickaxes and dynamite allow you to smash through walls, and arrows provide you with a way to defeat the monsters lurking in the depths. At the end of some levels, you'll also encounter a mummy shopkeeper. They'll trade powerups* for some of your loot*, but beware: the shops aren't found that often.
Eventually, your adventurer will trip one trap too many, and collapse on the ground. Your game is over, and your high score is recorded. There is no end to this journey; the only real goal is to see how far you can go and how much booty you can gather.
Ultimately, this is an okay game. It's a big improvement on the original Minesweeper concept, but there isn't much in the way of staying power. Still, it can't hurt to give it a whirl.

Until recently, every copy of Microsoft Windows came with a little game called Minesweeper. It was a simple game; simple enough that many other games implemented their own copy as a minigame*. Still, it's really not something most of us would spend time playing. Fortunately, Microsoft has spruced it up, recreating the classic game as Microsoft Treasure Hunt.
Now there's a reason to click through those many dangerous squares -- treasure lies among the rocks, just waiting for your adventurer to run over and collect it! But, this wouldn't be much of an adventure without some peril. Hidden in the walls of the dungeons are various traps you'll need to avoid. The trick to doing this lies on the floor -- just like in the original Minesweeper, spaces display a number indicating how many traps are in the adjacent spaces. Places where no numbers appear harbor no dangers, while a one or more indicates that there's a trap nearby. By watching for patterns in these numbers, you can work your way around the traps, collect the treasure, and continue deeper within the caverns.
Making things more interesting, there are now various powerups* for you to use. Map fragments can be used to show where nearby traps are located. Pickaxes and dynamite allow you to smash through walls, and arrows provide you with a way to defeat the monsters lurking in the depths. At the end of some levels, you'll also encounter a mummy shopkeeper. They'll trade powerups* for some of your loot*, but beware: the shops aren't found that often.
Eventually, your adventurer will trip one trap too many, and collapse on the ground. Your game is over, and your high score is recorded. There is no end to this journey; the only real goal is to see how far you can go and how much booty you can gather.
Ultimately, this is an okay game. It's a big improvement on the original Minesweeper concept, but there isn't much in the way of staying power. Still, it can't hurt to give it a whirl.