Gold Rush: Treasure Hunt Review

Written by: Keri Kunaschk Published: August 20, 2008 Prospector Jack was once a successful digger, but he was overcome by greed, and now his ghost haunts a gold-filled cavern. As you click on matching groups of blocks to remove them from the screen and gather gold nuggets for Jack, he'll tell you his tale and give you the chance to prove you're worthy of his secret treasure. Your journey starts in a cavern, where your job is to stop a wall of rising rocks from reaching the top of the screen. To do this, you must click on groups of three or more identically colored rocks. As you clear the rocks, others fall into place from above. To complete a level and progress, you must find and click on a group of at least three gold nuggets, which begin to appear as you dig deeper into the cavern. One of the many goals of the game is to collect 1,000 gold nuggets. After the first few rounds, I began to think Gold Rush: Treasure Hunt would get repetitive and boring, but happily, I was wrong. The game changes into quite a challenging adventure. As you clear rocks, special tools begin to appear that can assist you in completing a level. A pickax with a colored handle, for example, can destroy all of the rocks of that color from the screen. Another bonus feature as you scroll through the depths of the cavern is a treasure chest and key. Get them together and you're awarded with extra points or a tool. There are 12 mines to explore, and as you complete each mine, there's a bonus round to complete. If you reach the goal of the bonus round, you're awarded with several gold nuggets. Last but not least, Gold Rush: Treasure Hunt presents you with 100 tasks to complete. There are always four active tasks available on each level, from clearing a specific number of colored rocks with one click to matching X number of gold nuggets during a round. There's quite a varied number of tasks and they become progressively more difficult. If I'm going to spend $20 on a game, I want to feel like I'm getting my moneys worth, and Gold Rush: Treasure Hunt fits the bill. With 12 mines to complete, 1,000 gold nuggets to collect and 100 tasks to complete, this isn't a game you'll finish in a few hours or even a few days. I've enjoyed playing the game for several hours at a time, and I'm sure other match-three fans will as well. Scoring (out of five stars): Graphics: Ease of use: Gameplay: Challenge: Sound effects: Music: Final analysis: Click here to download the free trial version of Gold Rush - Treasure Hunt.