Titan Thunder & Sevens High Slot Reviews (Quickspin)

21st May 201521st May 2015 Dev Ops

As many readers of Online Casinos & SlotsÂ will probably already know, Quickspin have been the vehicle for bringing Microgaming slots to the non-Viper Download multi-platform sites for a number of years. In basic terms that means that most flash casinos providing MG games will use Quickspin to convert them.

As expected this factor along with the increasing presence of ‘Mega Sites’ offering in some cases over 1,000 games from multiple software providers has led to Quickspin hosting games from more and more companies like Rabcat for example. This has opened the door for the MG download sites (which hitherto had started looking dated and with limited choice) to have reciprocal arrangements. We can see this now at their download clients that now provide Rabcat’s ‘Castle Builder’ amongst others not created by MG. Obviously, albeit with a slow start MG are going to be offering a bigger choice in future to their download players.Â (more…)

The Arrival Of Rival in 2015!

10th February 2015 Dev Ops

Lion's Roar (Rival) Many players in the US and Canada will be familiar with Rival software but I have never covered the games here at Online Casinos & Slots for a variety of reasons, not least as the sites providing the games have primarily faced the US market. Online gaming is not illegal in the USA but their banks and card companies are forbidden by law to action gambling transactions (with the exception of a few States), thus effectively denying the majority of a potentially huge American market the right to play online.

This didn’t stop offshore casinos offering gaming to the USA though but the European software companies, casinos and poker sites abandoned the market after the government siezed the assets and even arrested some personnel of these companies. (more…)

Cleopatra Slot: An Old Classic – Or Maybe Not!

26th December 2014 Dev Ops

You may be wonderingÂ why I am writing a review of one of the oldest and most popular online casino slots ever in late 2014! IGT’s Cleopatra slot is an ageless classic, loved for its simplicity: 20 pay-lines, 15 free spins at 3x multiplier along with doubling wilds. Although it was itself a nod in the direction of Aristocrat’s Queen Of The Nile slot (video), the format has been endlessly copied on other games with less success. The curiously addictive ‘dang! dang! dang! as the three copper sphinx symbols drop in and trigger your bonus round will be familiar to the vast majority of slots players, even today.

The game started off as a land-based slot in casinos in North America and became very popular, so was one of the first IGT adaptations for online play, although due to U.S. banking laws forbidding online gaming transactions, ironically not for Americans. Now some of the lucky ones (or unlucky!) can play in New Jersey online.
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The Problem with TV & Movie Themed Slots

17th December 2014 Dev Ops

As a seasoned slot machine aficionado, I can’t help but notice, year-in and year-out, the amount of hype surrounding the ‘Next Big Game’. Developers such as IGT, WMS and online slots developers Microgaming and Playtech in particular like to wheel out some big name TV and Movie slots under licences which were, in most cases at least, not inexpensive.

One of the things that surprises me is how many of the movies, shows and brands used in slot games are dated!Â Sure, we see movie slots themed on more recent releases like “The Hangover” and “Kong” but for every one of those there are 2 or 3 based on old movies like “Ghostbusters” and “Jurassic Park“, TV shows of the day like “Game Of Thrones” and “Sex & The City” have spawned successful slots but are released alongside games based on the 70’s show “6 Million Dollar Man” and “I Love Lucy“. Even old board games get wheeled out: the ” Cluedo” and Monopoly slots being prime examples!

Now that;’s not to say old shows are old hat. The success of IGT’s “Wheel Of Fortune” slots are testament to the fact that big names work, irrespective of era. IGT’s Monopoly franchise (soon to find itself in competition with WMS’s new Monopoly slots licence) has been phenomenally successful in land based casinos, less-so online. Playtech’s Marvel slots and Gladiator, WMS’s “Wizard Of Oz” slots and Microgaming’s “Dark Knight” and “Lord Of The Rings” slots series have all enjoyed some time in the PR limelight.

But with the few exceptions aside, when you actually look back at the large number of big-brand slots that have been released, how many actually STAY popular and last the test of time? The answer is, not many and one of the reasons for that is not so much boredom with the brand but what is arguably a necessary compromise in game play. Let me explain: (more…)

2014 New Slots Review – Crackers Or Turkeys?

28th November 2014 Dev Ops

As we wind up for the festive season, so we can look back on the main releases of the year past. It has been a year of vastly improved choice, with many casinos available to UK players now offering a whole plethora of software, for example Bally, Aristocrat and WMS which was previously available on very few sites. TheÂ now-defunct Jackpot Party, once the sole provider of WMS slots to us in the UK has been taken overÂ and re-branded Slots Magic and their games are now providedÂ by Sky Vegas, MrSmith, Bet355 andÂ Virgin Games to name but a few WMS providers.

Why do we mention WMS? WellÂ leaving aside the plethora of newÂ Colossal reels slots, theirÂ 4096-way Raging Rhino game (my game of choice on my annual pilgrimage to the Encore in Vegas!) has taken players by storm, and is without doubt the hit of 2014. A high-variance beast capable of hits paying several thousand x stake with the stacked symbols and wild multipliers in the bonus round, and can also pay big in the base game. The popularity of the game has surprised many, but not the experienced player who has sampled Bruce Lee and the Wizard Of Oz slots. There is also a slimmed-down version with 5 reels by Bally named ‘ThunderHorn’.

The provider of the largest platform Microgaming has needless to say not been idle. They tend to release games with less fanfare than their up-and-coming rivals Netent, who often promote new releases with free spins via their casinos. So, we have seen several new MG 3-reel games to replace the AWP’s which were mysteriously pulled a few months back such as Hiphopapotamus and Treasure Ireland. These however are stocking-fillers for their download client. The big titles are their branded games Jurassic Park and Terminator 2 plus the innovative Today’s Weather. (more…)

Aristocratâs Wonder 4 Slots

1st August 2013 Dev Ops

So there I was, playing some slot machines in Holland Casino on a recent trip to Amsterdam andÂ I came across a bank of Aristocrat slot machines with a twist…you could play 4 games at once on each screen!

It turns out that these are called Wonder 4 games and they are a bit cleverer than it sounds. Because not only can you play 4 games at once, but you can choose each of the 4 games. So you could have the one top left and bottom right playing Pompeii, the top right one playing Buffalo and the bottom left one playing Fire & Light. As an example. You can choose to play all 4 of the same game if you want.

And it doesn’t stop there. I was playing 4 Pompeii slots together (and doing quite well as it happens!) when I hit the bonus feature on one of them. If you know the Pompeii slot machine well you will know that you have to line up the Coin scatters (or Wild symbol) on reels 1-3, left to right. Which I did. Except on the Wonder 4 machines, the 3rd reel also contains a “Super Scatter” which triggers the featre on all 4 games! So I effectively got 4 bonus rounds and a very decent 200x win. Shoulda taken a photo, I know.

The only negateve here is that these Woner 4 games are not available online yet. They are detailed on the Innovate Gaming website so I guess they develop them for Aristocrat whereas Aristocrat’s online games are developed by Next Gen Gaming or Game Account Network. The latter release their games to MoneyGaming for online play while Next Gen licence to casinos like Bet365 Games.

Pompeii itself is available to play online but only at a couple ofÂ casinos (check out the Aristocrat slots website for details or see my recently-ish postedÂ Aristocrat online slots list) and because of Aristocrat’sÂ need to protect theirÂ land-based licences, the online slotsÂ are only available to players in a few countries as of August 2013. Not the USA yet, not Australia either but New Zealand players should be OK and from late 2014, US players in some states like New Jersey and Nevada should also be able to play them online all being well. (more…)

WMS Colossal Slots – Nice!

8th October 2012 Dev Ops

I just returned from a trip to Vegas where I stayed at Encore for the 4th year in a row. Now I actually go there to play Spin Poker mainly – I just love that game – but I do like to take a break and wander round from time to time checking out the new slots, especially those from IGT and WMS. A couple of my old favorites had all but disappeared from the Encore floor – Bruce Lee had gone totally and Zeus II (Super Respin) had been shoved up the far end. At least the Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers games were still in the same place!

Also interesting to note that the fairly recently-released and somewhat epicly grandeuse Lord Of The Rings Slots had gone to be replaced by some pretty average-lookingÂ 3d reelsÂ version. But the discovery of the trip was WMS Gaming’s “Colossal Reels” games, Spartacus, L’il Red, Van Helsing and Forbidden Dragons. (more…)

WMS Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers – Now Online!

18th July 2012 Dev Ops

Oh my God! OH MY GOD! Erm…well you can forgive the reaction in the video above. Quite an amazing hit it must be said, hit at Red Rock in Vegas according to the YT description.

This is WMS Gaming’s Wizard Of Oz Ruby Slippers slot (thet have at least 5 different Wizard Of Oz slots out there that I’ve seen) which they just released online at Jackpot Party although the bad news is, only players from a few selected countries can play WMS games online right now (July 2012) and that mean that US and Canadian players are among those that can’t. Brits and Swedes are in luck though!

The Wizard Of Oz slots are generally feature packed but the random Glenda wild reels you see in the video above is easily among the best adn most lucrative. Well – that’s pretty obvious watching the video and seeing over $11,000 paid from a $4.80 bet!

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Sizzling Hot Slots (But Not The Weather! Sorry!)

12th July 2012 Dev Ops

What is it about Novomatic slot games? The Super-V+ and Multi Gaminator machines are gradually starting to dominate the UK land-based casinos I frequent and I’m happy about it. But it’s weird ‘cos the games are old-skool and I tend to like glitzy, jazzy eye candy so why do I LOVE the Gaminator games so much?

TakeÂ Sizzling Hot Deluxe for example – it’s like some throwback to the fruit machines of the 1980’s to look at. It’s using all the old JPM and Barcrest style fruit symbolsÂ but it has 2 extra reels and no feature board! Why would I even lookÂ at it? Then there’s the Ultra Hot slot and Xtra Hot. OK, so these bring a little something extra to the table but they still look like they’d be at home in the backfrop of an episode of Fools & Horses.

The simpe truth of the matter is that Novomatic seem to be quite clever. While IGT, WMS and the like are making Vegas-styleÂ slot machinesÂ (and very successfully too), Novomatic have realisedÂ that not every market is quite ready to just jump on them straight off the bat. Here in the UK, we know fruities. We like fruits, we grew up with fruits and f**k it we’re gonna have fruits! So what have they done? They’ve bridged the gap the clever so-and-so’s and now people like me, with my pub fruit machine background, well…I’m playing Novomatics! (more…)

Dolphinâs Pearl Slot Machine

11th November 2011 Dev Ops

European bricks and mortar (B&M) casino slots players, in particular those from the UK, AustriaÂ and Germany will probably be very familiar with Dolphins Pearl, one of the Novoline slot games. For those who aren’t, you can play Dolphins Pearl at GFM to see why it has become something of a cult slot game.Novomatic are a German software company who make a series of “Novoline” slot machines seen in B&M casinos and now, more frequently as it happens, online at popular casinos like the online version of the land-based Grosvenor Casinos. The ‘Gaminator’ machines, ‘Multi-Gaminator’ and single kiosk versions are commonplace around European casinos and house various Novoline slot machines. I often play Dolphins Pearl and Book Of Ra at Rendezvous casino in Brighton (UK) or the Empire inÂ Leicester Square. (more…)