Super Solvers: Treasure Cove (PC) review "After Treasure Mountain, Outnumbered, Mathstorm, and Ancient Empires the Learning Company wanted to put up one last classic before vanishing from the scene. That game was Treasure Cove, which was basically the same as Treasure Mountain and Mathstorm, but underwater. This game was nearly as addictive as its predeccesor, and helped teach that same early education, although at the time I got this game it was very simple (seeing I was about 7, and the questions are made for like 5 year olds). "

After Treasure Mountain, Outnumbered, Mathstorm, and Ancient Empires the Learning Company wanted to put up one last classic before vanishing from the scene. That game was Treasure Cove, which was basically the same as Treasure Mountain and Mathstorm, but underwater. This game was nearly as addictive as its predeccesor, and helped teach that same early education, although at the time I got this game it was very simple (seeing I was about 7, and the questions are made for like 5 year olds).

STORY (5/5): Treasure Cove has the strongest story of the series, although the Super Solvers collection was never really strong in that category. The Master of Mischief has destroyed the Rainbow bridge, and his goobies are polluting the sea. Your job to collect the gems, stop the goobies, and restore the great Rainbow Bridge.

GRAPHICS (9/10): This is the most colorful of the entire series, as the environment is huge and some are bright, and others a gray gloominess that will make your kids jumps. There is a huge variety of different fish in the game, and those cool looking sharks near the end too. The fish all have fixed movements, and they do fit eachother well. Plus the goobies, they are the coolest looking black globs I have ever seen.

SOUND (7/10): The sound of Treasure Cove is what you expect from a PC game, that will not work on a system that has Windows. It's a collection of beeps that create an atmosphere of underwater. How is that possible? I really don't know, but from those simple beeping music you really do get a feel of the ocean. There is about five different tracks throughout the entire game, that will do the game nicely.

GAMEPLAY (54/60): You are a scuba diver, and the control are simple. Instead of just being able to move side to side you can also swim up and down vertically. Once again you have the light beam at your disposal, to stun power goobies and try to figure out where the need gems are to move on in the stage. Gems are also needed to use this light beam, so be don't just start beaming at everyone.

The game itself is very similiar to Treasure Mountain. You will use Gems to find stars, answer questions to get clues, and then use those clues to find the needed item to move to the next level. You also will hvae to avoid the goobies and sharks who will try to stop you, as they are minions of the master of mischief. The game itself is fun, cause each play through takes about 15 minutes, and really not nerve racking although some of the questions will be tricky, and your child will need to use his brain for a change.

REPLAYABILITY (7/10): This is the area where Treasure Cove is supposed to dominate like every other Super Solver game has done so (besides Outnumbered). The game is addictive, and I played all 500 games through, and finished putting back together the grand rainbow bridge, and boy that took me years. But as far as addictive go, for a series that is based on this category, Treasure Cove is just not as addictive as Treasure Mountain or Ancient Empires. This game is fun, and you will play it alot if you are into this type of thing (and are fairly young), but some day you will likely just grow out of it.

DIFFICULTY (5/5): The question get harder the more times you play the game, and the closer you are to finishing the Rainbow bridge. So while at first a 5 year old will be cruising through, at the end your now 8 year old kid will be racking his brains tryign to figure out the answers to these questions. That is how games should work; get more difficult as they go along.

OVERALL (86/100): Treasure Cove is a game I highly respect, just like every game in the Super Solver series. Once again Treasure Cove shows how education can be fun, and that the Learning Company has that ability to MAKE education fun. I can tell you, if my teachers were as appealing as the Learning Company, I'd be happy to be going to school. Although this will have to do for now, trying to develop a method to play classic games for completely outdated computers. Treasure Cove in a game that is infinitely difficult to find, so if you do get your hands on it, I would reccomend not letting it go.

Community review by ratking (February 12, 2003) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.