Snowy: Treasure Hunter 2 Review

Snowy: Treasure Hunter 2 is the sequel to “the third most popular Alawar game of 2005”, Snowy: Treasure Hunter. What the game amounts to is a modern game of Pac-Man. Your character walks across the map collecting items, avoiding the enemies. But instead of a top-down view like the classic Pac-Man offers, Snowy has a side view with the ability to climb ladders and jump to the ground. In fact, this game is more like a modern mash of Pac-Man and Lode Runner. The gameplay is more like Lode Runner, and the goals are more like Pac-Man.

As I mentioned, the goal is to grab all of the treasures in the level and make it to the exit. What’s hard about it? Really, not a lot. Ways they throw you off include adding “items� like boxes to capture enemies and the ability to dig through some types of ground pieces. The game is more of a puzzle game than an action game. There are 2 modes of gameplay, “Tasks for Kids� and “Serious Campaigns�. The first is a bunch of simple, straightforward levels with little or no complication. The latter is the mass of the game, spanning 3 sections, which are really no different in gameplay, but only have different skins for characters, items and enemies. Each section has 20 levels, each precision tuned.

The enemies, which are thrown in early in the game, are functional, but…to say the least, basic. They follow you. That’s about it. If you go up, they do. If you go down, they do that too. This both makes them annoying and easy to trick. As far as creativity goes, what can I say? It’s like Pac-Man but new. Its got new graphics, new features and a new price tag. The look and feel of the game are great, much like all of Alawar’s games. The menus and texts look top-notch, giving the game the look of having a high production value. Even in-game, the characters, items, and backgrounds not only match each other but the overall theme of the game.

Unfortunately, the music isn’t as great. What’s there sounds fine, even better than average. The problem is that there are remarkably few songs. Very, very few. But let’s focus on what matters. It works, it’s solid, and it has a lot of levels. The only real problems I had with this game were the fact that the enemies came in only one variety, and the lack of a level creation utility. If you liked old-school Pac-Man and are looking for a worthy rehash, Snowy: Treasure Hunter 2 just might fit the bill.