New Game Review

Bull Blitz

Konami Gaming

by Frank Legato

This new game series on Konami’s Dimension 49J cabinet features the holdand-re-spin feature popularized on last year’s All Aboard series, with an extra twist and unique free-game bonus features.

The two inaugural titles are Bull Blitz Fortunes of the Orient and Bull Blitz Roses & Riches. Aside from the themes, the games contain the same common features with slightly different free-spin features.

The base game is a five-reel video slot with payline configurations corresponding to the denomination—the penny and 2-cent versions have 50 paylines; the nickel and 10-cent versions have 25 lines; the $1 and $2 versions, five lines.

The main feature is the Bull Blitz Bonus, a hold-and-re-spin event featuring gold coins as cash-on-reels symbols. Gold coins on the triggering spin lock in place, and the free-spin meter starts at three. There also are symbols corresponding to one of the five progressive jackpot levels that can appear during the Bull Blitz feature. Additional gold coins return the spin meter to three, and the bonus proceeds until no gold coins land for three spins or the entire reel array fills with the coins.

The added twist to this feature is the “Xtra Hit” symbol. Any time that lands during the Bull Blitz spins, the player is awarded the accumulated balance of all locked coins, in addition to the total of the coins in place at the end of the feature.

On Fortunes of the Orient, three lantern symbols trigger six free games. Nudging wild symbols appear on all but the first reel during the free spins. On Roses & Riches, three rose symbols trigger five free games. During each of the free spins, at least two of the reels will contain all wilds.

Manufacturer: Konami Gaming, Inc.

Platform: Dimension 49J

Format: Five-reel, five-, 25- or 50-line video slot

Max Bet: 25, 125, 200, 500

Denomination: .01, .02, .05, .10, 1.00, 2.00

Top Award: Progressive; resets at $10,000

Hit Frequency: 24.89%

Theoretical Hold: 8.01%-10.01%

Sinatra

Light & Wonder

This is the second game on L&W’s new Landmark 7000 Wheel stepper cabinet, which features a wedge bonus wheel and 32-inch portrait video monitor above three mechanical spinning reels.

Sinatra includes a wealth of archival footage of Frank Sinatra singing his most popular songs. The base game is a three-reel stepper in five-line or nine-line configuration.

In the base game, five, six, seven, eight or nine symbols with gold-record watermarks in the base tame trigger the Sinatra Bonus, which plays video of a few songs while awarding a progressive that corresponds to the number of record symbols.

Much like the legendary Bally Quick Hits mechanic, the number of records determines the progressive prize, up to the Grand, resetting at $10,000—or in Nevada, $200,000 on a wide-area progressive link—for nine records.

Three symbols with wheel watermarks trigger the bonus wheel, which includes credit symbols, Sinatra—triggering the Sinatra bonus—or nine gold records, triggering the Grand progressive jackpot.

Manufacturer: Light & Wonder

Platform: Landmark 7000 Wheel

Format: Three-reel, five-line or nineline stepper

Max Bet: 5, 9, 15, 27

Denomination: 1.00

Top Award: Progressive; $10,000 or $200,000 (WAP) reset

Hit Frequency: 25.52%

Theoretical Hold: 11.3%-13.51%

Press Your Luck Series

Everi

This brand extension of the popular Everi game based on the long-running Press Your Luckgame show brings the top modern game mechanics and HD graphics to the popular theme. The two new titles, available on Everi’s Empire MPX and Empire Flex cabinets, are Press Your Luck Whammy Bucks and Press Your Luck Whammy Wilds. They are similar in their features, with Whammy Wilds adding multipliers up to 4X.

The base games are five-reel, 243ways-to-win video slots, available in 1 cent and 2 cent stand-alone denominations, or a multi-denom version with a choice of .01, .02 or .05.

There are three bonus events, hosted by “Whammy,” the devilish character which, on the 1980s game show, would end the player’s bonus round. The main feature is the Press Your Luck Bonus, a hold-and-re-spin event. The reels transform into cash-on-reels symbols that look much like the prize display from the TV show. Cash symbols lock in place for three re-spins, and any more cash symbols return the spin meter to three.

Filling up the entire 15-spot grid with cash prizes awards additional “Whammy Prizes,” or it triggers the main wheel bonus and the chance at one of seven progressive jackpots.

The Big Bucks Bonus features a spin on a horizontal wheel to land a credit prize that can value in the hundreds of dollars. Randomly, when it stops, it will “nudge” to a larger credit award. There is a piggy bank above the reels that grows when special symbols land. Randomly, the bank will break to trigger the Whammy Wheel bonus and at least one guaranteed progressive jackpot. All seven progressives are on the wheel, and some of them indicate the progressive plus an extra spin, potentially giving the player two progressive prizes. The top “Epic” jackpot resets at $6,000, $12,000 or $30,000, depending on the denomination.

The new games also are available on the TournEvent tournament system.

Manufacturer: Everi Holdings

Platform: Empire

Format: Five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot

Max Bet: 375, 750, 1,875

Denomination: .01, .02, .05

Top Award: Progressive; resets at $6,000 (.01), $12,000 (.02) or $30,000 (.05)

Hit Frequency: Approximately 40%

Theoretical Hold: 5%-17%

Jackpot Carnival

Aristocrat Gaming

This is the launch game for Aristocrat’s new Neptune Single cabinet, which offers the cinematic presentation of the Neptune Double with a single 48-inch curved monitor.

Jackpot Carnival is a festive game group with player-selectable multi-denominations that includes clever carnival themes. Inaugural base games include new versions of the popular game families Buffalo, Timber Wolf and Power of 88.

All three base games are five-reel, 1,024-waysto-win video slots. During base game play, hurdygurdy carnival music pipes along. Voice-overs on the game imitate carnival The player spins for barkers. (“We have a winnah!”)

The common bonuses are the Clown Feature, the Hammer Feature and can award multipliers up the Jackpot Carnival Feature. There also is a free-game feature that differs between the three base games.

Three or more bonus symbols trigger the Pick Feature. The player chooses either the Free Games Feature or the Jackpot Carnival Feature.

In the Jackpot Carnival feature, one free spin is awarded with at least one Jackpot Carnival symbol on each reel. Players are awarded cash-on-reels values for those, as well as the opportunity to win one of four progressives, the top resetting at $8,888.88.

A clown or hammer symbol on the fifth reel triggers the Clown Feature or Hammer Feature, respectively.

In the Clown Feature, the screen displays a carnival-style game board.

The player spins for four Bonus Balls that can award multipliers up to 25X. The player presses the Play button to drop a ball down the screen and into one of five prize buckets.

The Hammer Feature is a take on the test-your-strength hammer-and-bell games. Players strike a hammer on the bottom of several rows to generate credit awards and multipliers rising to a maximum of nine rows.

The free games vary in quantity between the three base games. Buffalo includes 2X and 5X multipliers in the free games; Power of 88 features stacked reveal symbols; Timber Wolf includes 3X and 5X multipliers.

Manufacturer: Aristocrat Gaming

Platform: Neptune Single

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

Max Bet: 880

Denomination: .01, .02, .05, .10 (player-selectable multi-denom)

Top Award: Progressive; $8,888.88 reset

Hit Frequency: Approximately 40%

Theoretical Hold: 6%-11%