MONSTERS OF ROCK MEGAWAYS™ SLOT
Many famous rock n roll singers have sung about the thrills and pitfalls of gambling. Among the numerous tracks on Spotify are Motorhead’s Ace of Spades, Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler, and The Rolling Stones’ Tumblin’ Dice. Of course, online gaming has toyed with rock n roll before – see the NetEnt Rock series for examples like Guns n Roses and Jimi Hendrix Slot. Metal Casino is even headlined by heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. What connects these two cultural pastimes? Somehow, the recklessness of the gambler connects with the rock n roll dreamer, and the draw of gambling destinations like Vegas cements them as staples of the gigging scene. Whatever it is, Storm Gaming has seen the link and based their third Megaways™ slot on a metal event named Monsters of Rock.
No, Magic Merlin and Bar X Megaways™ were not very good games, following the well-worn Bonanza clone road and giving little to make them stand out among the series’ more imaginative entries. Monsters of Rock, on the other hand, is a touch more ambitious, with added features (such random multipliers and upgraded reels) that may help it stand out in the future.
SYMBOLS AND GRAPHICS
The game itself is situated on an expansive outdoor stage. A large lighting system and sound stacks surround the six reel set, each of which displays between two and seven symbols after each spin. In Megaways™, that implies up to 117,649 paylines every spin, with similar symbols paying out left to right. A victory requires three or more symbols.
This deck’s low value symbols are the cards from Jack to Ace, while the high value symbols are the four band members howling into microphones. The Monsters or Rock logo pays 50x for six on a payline. A wild symbol appears in the 4×1 reel above the main reel. Watch out for the V-Guitar scatter symbol to get the free spins round with the greatest wins.
However, while Monster of Rock is a Megaways™ slot, it isn’t as high volatility as many of Big Time Gaming’s own releases. We’d say it’s medium-high, implying more frequent rewards. While the game offers a 96.29 percent RTP, the highest payout of 2,500x may deter some jackpot hunters.
Cascading Wins
Monsters of Rock has several popular MegawaysTM slot features, such as Cascading Wins. After each winning spin, winning symbols bounce off the reels, to be replaced by new ones. This can lead to additional winning lines. Iterate until no more victories are generated.
Idol Symbols
Mystery Symbols are also a staple of this game genre. Speaker stacks depict them here. These will convert into identical symbols from the paytable following a spin, increasing your chances of winning.
Pick Me
Storm Gaming’s first new feature is Pick Me. To activate this, you must land three or more LP symbols. Pick one of the three album covers to discover a multiplier reward.
Feature – 240V
Ok, BTG supporters got enthusiastic. No, it doesn’t turn into Danger!, the reel-cloning monster slot. Voltage! Instead, something more modest, but still amusing… This feature removes all low value symbols from the reels to generate an increased paytable. Both the regular game and the bonus round include this feature.
Wins
The Free Spins round is triggered by hitting FOUR OR MORE V-Guitar icons. Four scatters get you 12 free spins, five get you 17 and six get you 22. During the spins round, your win multiplier grows by 1x after each win cascade. It has no upper limit and does not reset after each cascade sequence. Re-trigger the free spins by landing three or more scatters on the top reel set.
VERDICT
Monsters of Rock is Storm Gaming’s greatest expanding reels slot yet. Also, it’s a fun game both philosophically and aesthetically. But it’s still too close to a Bonanza clone to have sustained appeal. There’s plenty here to keep us curious in what this UK-based company has planned next.
