Diving is fun
It might not be immediately obvious from the screenshots, given their visual crudity, but Twilight Treasures is a sort of primitive diving simulator and while it might be pretty basic stuff, it's simple gameplay is strangely compelling in that old arcade style. The aim of the game is, as in the bets such experiences, straightforward enough, and players are required to guide their little diver down from his ship to the treasure chest which lurks temptingly at the bottom of the ocean. It's then a simple matter of heading back up with the loot in tow before your air runs out but to complicate matters you also have to deal with the deadly attentions of the sharks and eels which are out for your blood. As you progress, the enemies get more frequent while mines are also thrown in for good measure on later levels just to keep you on your toes. That's pretty much it for Twilight Treasures in terms of gameplay but its simplicity is what works in its favour and as far as old-fashioned entertainment goes, this is good stuff. It's little more than an exercise in high score hunting, like arcade classics such as Frogger and Donkey Kong and in many ways, it shares these games' appeal. The visuals might be a little lacking in terms of personality or distinctiveness and while the sharks and eels are kind of cute in a bizarre way, the main player sprite is a little short on individuality. This is no great problem though as the gameplay turns out to be entertaining enough to overshadow any visual shortcomings so if you do love to see your name on the high score table, this is neat way of doing it.
