Mystic Ice Blast is a new Match-3 Facebook game by GameHouse. It features great graphics and fast paced gameplay, which is a basic requirement for this type of game, but don’t expect for another “Blast!” like Collapse.
Review
Mystic Ice Blast is technically quite solid, features a cute white fox and great sound effects, but offers nothing new when compared for example, to an already relatively old but yet really playable Diamond Dash, by all means it can even be seen as a clone, if it wasn’t for the pieces coming from the bottom of the screen instead of the top. That is pretty much the only improvement that Mystic Ice Blast brings to the genre.
If you are used to play match-3 games, you’ll find the difference quite refreshing, after some time you get used and the fast and frenzy gameplay requirements keep you focused on the 60 seconds play sections.
Each section will give you coins and experience, the first allows to buy power-ups and the second is necessary to level up and progress.
To achieve high scores in Mystic Ice Blast you need to be fast and precise, the “frenzy or blast mode” gives the most points, and in order to activate it you need a series of successful moves, if you miss click and fail a move the bar comes down. Also when in “blast mode” you need to be very quick to keep it alive!
As for power ups, there are several to choose from, you can buy them at the beginning of each game section, you have the Solar Flare that destroys all block surrounding it, the Bonus Time which adds more time to the clock as you play, the Rainbow Bomb that removes all blocks from a single color and last but not least the Shape Shifter. As a matter of fact this is probably the best power up of all, it sorts the boards into large groups of same color blocks allowing for great scores and bonuses.
You should use the power ups as fast as possible, they clear the board, give you extra time and are the key to achieve the highest scores!
Mystic Ice Blaster uses lives as playing base, you start with five and spend one in each section, this will refill over time (around 7 minutes) or can be bought with emeralds. I came across a bug with the game actually, yesterday I spent all my lives, and quit the game, today when I got back to it, it was telling me I had no lives and add to buy with emeralds, but as there was no way to remove the buy notice, so I was forced to buy with 6 emeralds, but it can really be a crippling point, if you have no emeralds to buy…
Socially Mystic Ice Blast lets you compete with other players in weekly tournaments, send and receive lives from your friends which can really help out to extend your play time.
Mystic Ice Blast is actually a really addictive game, not original as I said, but well put together and technically great, so, if you like match-3 games, and have a Facebook account :), you have to at least try it!