Treasure Trap

This is the first game in a while to plunge computerists under the sea rather than blast them into outer space, send them through caves or flying through the air. Although numerous games have attempted to explore the watery depths, the oceans have never been as popular to gamers as drier locales. Part of the reason is that, in order to simulate underwater movement, designers have often slowed the action to a dismaying pace. Treasure Trap overcomes this problem by giving the player a lot to do while in the water.

Treasure Trap lives up to its name: It places the player in a sunken ship to look for golden treasure while he avoids the many traps and dangers that lurk around every corner. The game is a notable one from a promising new contributor to the game market: Electronic Zoo.

What started as just an idea for a game with a three-quarters perspective turned into a delightful and challenging product. The player controls a diver in his search for gold bars and spare air tanks through over 100 rooms. A detailed overhead map can be brought up during the exploration to give a better view of the surroundings.

The tough part of playing Treasure Trap is the orientation of the screen. Only the diagonal directions of the joystick are used. It would have been better if the game had allowed more freedom with joystick positioning to move the character. However, the ability to redefine keys is built into the interface, and after a few games, any decent arcade gamer will be dodging sea anemones and electric eels with the best of them.

Graphics are detailed and colorful without any fuzziness. Although there may be a lot of objects and creatures moving in a room, it is easy to tell things apart, even in the unusual perspective. Sounds are minimal, but a rousing sailor's theme plays before and after every game. The package deserves mention, especially for the plastic gold nugget and diver's log tablet.

It is fun to figure out the different logical and spatial puzzles in the many rooms. They keep Treasure Trap fresh and eliminate boredom even after a couple of hours of undersea adventuring. Now put on your helmet and head below!