The Learning Company was an educational company that made computer games in the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's before folding. Their most infamous games were Reader Rabbit series, and the Treasure seeker series. Treasure Math Storm falls into the latter. The original Treasure Math Storm was released for Mac in the early 1990's. In the late 1990's the learning company released Treasure Math Storm PC also known as Treasure Math Storm Windows. Unlike the original version this version could be played on computers that ran windows or other operating systems.

I will be doing a review of this one and comparing it to the original. So lets take a trip down memory lane If you grew up in the 80's and 90's like me.

Story- The story was left unchanged. The master of mischief also known as Morty Maxwell has invented a arctic blast machine. He cast it on Treasure Mountain. His arctic blast froze the prized crown causing the entire mountain to be turned into a winter wonderland. You as the treasure seeker must solve the puzzles, and collect all the treasure to thaw out the crown. If you can thaw out the crown than the master of mischief deed will be undone. Will you be able to conquer the mountain or will the mountain stay a winter wonderland?

Okay I'm glad they did not change the plot in this remake. The original had a good plot. The plot is a basic plot for these types of games. When I first played the original version I thought it was nicely done, so I will give it an 8 out of 10.

Graphics and Controls. This is were this game really shines. In just a few years from the original the graphics have become more colorful. The colors were nicely done. Sometimes with the original it could be hard to tell what is a crystal and what is part of the background. This version fixed that. It is so much easier to tell the different shades of colors in this game.

The controls are also amazing in this game. Not one time did I feel like the keyboard was getting stuck. There was a few times in the original that I felt like the keys could get stuck a few times. I think I gave the original a 9 out of 10 but this version the graphics do not get much better than this.

Sound- This is were this game suffers in my opinion. The voice acting could be better. The original did not have that many voices in it. This one the characters talk and sometimes their voices seem scratchy. I remember a few times just wanting to mute when a character was talking. However, the music in this game is very relaxing just like the original the sound track was left unchanged. Also when you catch an elf your net makes a whoosh sound which was a nice touch. I give this version a 7 out of 10 when it comes to sound. If it wasn't for the scratchy voices I would give it a higher rating.

Replay Value- I was still at the school my mom worked at when this game came out. I would play it until my mom came and got me. I played this one when I was on a windows computer. However, when I could play on a MAC computer I played the original. I remember playing the original more than this one. The main reason is because of the voices in this game. The original did not have that as I stated. Still, this is a fun game to play. Just cause I did not like the voices in this game does not mean that you will not like them. This is a solid fun educational game. You will want to play it again, so I give the replay value a 8.

Depth- This game has a lot of depth to it due to all the treasure you have to collect just to get the correct ending. You will have to make several trips up the mountain to get everything. This is not a game that you are going to
beat in just a few hours. This game will take a while, which is a good reason the game saves your process. Also, each time you go up the mountain the number of treasures you have to fine to advance increases. Therefore, I give the depth a 9 out of 10.

Difficulty- Like the original version I had a hard time rating this game when it comes to difficulty. The main reason is because I was very good at math at a young age. This game was very easy for me. However, if your not good at math this game can be tricky. The purpose of this game is to help students solve math and to some extent budget. You have to get so many coins to buy nets or other items needed to get up the mountain.

It should be noted there are a few traps in this game. After so many levels you will have floating snowballs to dodge. This snowballs if they hit you will cause you to loose an item mostly coins. You can duck to avoid them or capture them with a net. The floating pattern can be hard to pick up on.

On the other hand, the game does help you out. If you mess up in the clock station, weighting station, or crystal counting station the game will show you and give you hints. Also if you run out of nets you can go to one of the stations and earn cash to buy some. This version also included a snowbird named Chirp that gives hints.

Thus, I give the game a middle of the road rating when it comes to difficulty. If you are good at math this game is going to be easy and more fun for you. If your not good at math this game will help you get better. As I mentioned there are a few traps, but the game goes out of its way to help you out.

Overall Rating

This version was mainly released so classrooms that had windows operating systems could have it for the students. I guess in some sense it was supposed to be an upgrade from the original which came out a few years before this one did.

This version saw improvement in the graphics and controls. Also if your having difficulty the game does more to help you out than the original version. In those sense it was an upgrade. However, in a lot of sense it was just a newer version. I would have considered this an upgrade even more if they did not add the voices in this game. I do not know why they made the voices scratchy. Had they not made the voices scratchy I would consider this an upgrade all the way.

The game is a very fun game and I enjoyed this one. Although, I enjoyed the original and played the original one more than this game. The main reason is the voices. However, the voice issues in this game is very minor just cause I did not like the voices in this game does not mean that you won't.

I give the overall rating a solid 8.8. This game is a fun game and its a good game to introduce somebody to math too. If you have a elementary student too this would be a good game to let them play. If you have a student that is struggling in Math this would be a good game. Also, if you just want to take a trip down memory lane even if you are good at Math this is a fun game. I gave the original a 9.2 or 9.3 rating. This one is close to the original. The problems I had with this game are very minor. This concludes my review.