Ice Crystal Adventure

Linking gems is a fairly common theme in match-three games, especially since there are not many other things that would serve as colorful tiles. However, the genre depends on much more than that, because it doesn’t really matter how colorful everything is if the mechanics are not addictive enough. Replay value is important too, especially if you want to keep playing after the levels are done.

Ice Crystal Adventure is a basic match-three game in which you have to link colorful jewels and score a certain number of points in order to finish the levels. There’s a story running in the background as well, not to mention the fact that you can also strive to get huge combos by connecting as many gems as possible. To make things more interesting, the difficulty level keeps rising later on in the game.

The story has you exploring all sorts of frozen worlds as you go along, although most of them are barely visible in the background while you move from level to level. The mechanics are the important part, on the other hand, and they are as fun as they can get in this case. Even if you basically have to get at least three jewels in a row, there’s much more to it than that.

In essence, you are free to move horizontally, vertically and diagonally, as well as retrace your steps and go over tiles you have already crossed in order get as many gems as you can. This in turn allows you to score combos, which reward you with more points and an opportunity to end the stages quicker. In fact, sometimes you might be forced to do so in order to make do with the limited number of moves at your disposal.

As far as the graphics are concerned, things are not as glamorous as they would be in a triple-A production, but then again the genre is not exactly fit for such grand displays of technical prowess. Thus, the artwork is very pleasant and colorful, and so are the special effects every time you manage to score a combo. The soundtrack is very enjoyable, although it gets rather repetitive after a while.

In the end, Ice Crystal Adventure is obviously not a very original concept, but it has all the right elements to keep you busy for a long time. The mechanics are very refined and addictive.

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