New Game Review

Pac-Man Wheel

Ainsworth Game Technology

by Frank Legato

This video slot on Ainsworth’s new A-STAR Curve cabinet is the newest offering in the manufacturer’s popular Pac-Man franchise, exploiting the bonus wheel format to trigger eight bonus events based on the characters of the legendary video game.

The base game uses a five-reel, 243-ways-to-win format, with a wheel spin bonus trigger mingling with the ghosts and other Pac-Man icons of the theme.

The game, however, is centered on the giant bonus wheel displayed on the 43-inch floating infinity monitor of the A-STAR Curve. According to the manufacturer, the main wheel bonus, triggered by wheel symbols on the first and fifth reels, occurs once every 21 spins. The 12 slices on the wheel include a few static credit awards along with six bonus events based on the Pac-Man theme, plus a “Jackpot” slice that reveals one of two progressives—a Major resetting at $300 or the Grand, resetting at $2,500.

Landing “Credit Prize” on the wheel spin awards a credit value of either 50 or 100 times the total credits bet. The frequency of this outcome and of the Jackpot feature increase the higher the wager.

When the wheel lands on the Jackpot slice, the player chooses a ghost, which reveals the Major or the Grand as the prize.

If the wheel lands on “Ghost Bonus,” each of five different fruit symbols changes into a mystery wild symbol, and wins are evaluated. If it lands on “Fruit Bonus,” each fruit symbol on the screen reveals a prize of up to 50 times the total bet. If it lands on “Extra Prize,” four ghosts appear on the screen, and each reveals a credit prize.

The other two outcomes on the wheel are “Golden Ghost” and “Free Game.” Golden Ghost triggers a picking game in which the player selects one of three ghosts to reveal a prize of up to 100 times the total bet. Free Game awards eight free spins on a three-reel array, with a fourth reel that awards bonuses including the Ghost Bonus.

Manufacturer: Ainsworth Game

Technology Platform: A-STAR Curve

Format: Five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot Denomination: .01 through 100.00

Max Bet: 300, 600

Top Award: Progressive; $2,500 reset

Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% T

heoretical Hold: 4%-15%

Buffalo Link

Aristocrat Gaming

This has been Aristocrat’s hot release of the year, drawing on the main features of two of company’s most iconic brands, Buffalo and Dragon Link—itself a sequel to Lightning Link, the game that pioneered the “Hold & Spin” game mechanic now being featured by most slot manufacturers in one form or another.

The game, presented on the MarsX Portrait cabinet, uses the well-known free-spin round and other game features of the Buffalo brand, and adds new features like 2X and 3X wild multipliers and a mystery “must-hit-by” bonus that awards either the Hold & Spin feature or free games, as well as a four-level jackpot consisting of two static awards and two progressives.

The base game is a five-reel, 1,024-waysto-win format, The game features a a bonus called “Buffalo Free” for collecting Buffalo symbols during the base game, free-spin and Hold & Spin features. During all phases of the game, a meter logs the Buffalo symbols collected. A Buffalo Free jackpot is returned before the meter reaches 1,800.

The Free Games feature is the familiar free-spin round from the original Buffalo with re-triggers, plus 2X and 3X multiplying wild symbols. Eight or more Buffalo symbols on the screen trigger the Hold & Spin feature. The triggering symbols reveal credit awards and hold in place for three spins, during which any additional Buffalo symbols lock in place and return the bonus spins to three. The Buffalo symbols can also reveal three of the four top prizes—static awards of $20 (Mini) or $100 (Minor), or the secondary progressive resetting at $750.

The feature continues until three spins without Buffalo symbols, which awards the cumulative credit and progressive awards, or until the entire four-by-five screen is filled with Buffalo credits, which awards all credits plus the Grand Jackpot, which resets at $10,000.

Manufacturer: Aristocrat Gaming

Platform: Mars-X Portrait

Format: Five-reel, 1,024-ways to win video slot

Denomination: .01, .02, .05, .10, .25 (Player-Selectable Multi-Denom)

Max Bet: 500

Top Award: Progressive; $10,000 reset

Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% Theoretical Hold: 5%-7.46%