Review of the new MG games (August)

[Zoozie]

This month MG released 4 new 5-reel slots besides a video poker and blackjack game. Until now I had only heard that 2 new slots would be released, but since RTG released 5 new slots earlier this month it could be that MG decided that only 2 new slots was not enough. Only of the new slots is a clone of existing slots and finally none of them has the 9TJQKA symbols which disturbs the theme.

Dolphin Tale:
Low/medium variance slot
40 Lines
The 10 new lines (compared to the 30 lines) now has the symmetric versions of the 3 lines in the 30-lines that did not have a symmetric(mirror) version. However most of the new lines has neighter x-axis or y-axis symmetry since all combinations has been used opposed to all pre 30-lines slots where every line had some kind of symmetry. So I do not fancy all the new lines, but the good part is I can just play the number of lines I like. (and the payout% is the same!)

5 wilds only pays 3000 which is extremely low, also wild when substituting does not multiply the win. Most of the symbols when hitting all 5 symbols pay under 100, this is also extremely low. And makes this slot a bit boring unless you are in feature mode.

Feature mode:
3 scatters (anywhere!) gives free spins. You can choose from 5 free to 25 free spins, but when you choose a lot of free spins the multiplier is also lower. The multiplier is then random selected from the possible range of multipliers for that number of spins. The extremes are: 5 spins at *20 multiplier or 25 spins at *2 multiplier. During free spins any symbol on reel 2,3 or 4 can random morph into a wild but this is a bit rare, so do not count on it. Getting a good win feature mode is really the only way you can walk winning from this slot. But the two features I have hit has paid decent. I selected 15 and 20 spins time and won 50 and 70 *bet-size on the two.

The theme is good without being brilliant. Good examples for what I call 'complete' themes are 'Loaded','Mad Hatters' and 'Moonshine' etc.

The sound effects (samples) are good and graphics are excellent. The feature mode is also really fun and again one of the rare slots where MG introduces truely new mechanics. The only complaint I have is that you can basically only win money in the feature mode and though the graphics is nice it is not as complete as 'Mad-hatters','Loaded' or 'Moonshine'. Something is missing. The theme is childish (compared to 'Loaded') but so was Mad-hatters and 'Moonshine' also which I loved anyway.

I have put this slot as #8 on my favorite MG slots list, but maybe it will move
up. I want to try that feature mode a few more times

This is definately the best slot amoung the 4 released this month.

Warning: Playing too many lines decreases variance (if total bet-size is constant!) Do not play 40 lines just because the slot offers that. Low variance for a slot means you will be closer to the expected loss (95%payout) the MG slots has. As an example say you are playing a 9-line slot with line-bet 0.1$ for a total bet of 0.9$. If you hit 5 wild paying 10000 you will win 1000$.(1111 times bet size). If you instead a playing a 40-line slot with line bet 0.02$ for a total bet of 0.8$ and hit 5 wilds for 10000, then you 'only' win 200$(250 times bet size). And loosing 250 spins in 1 session is possible. Actually I only play 5-lines for MG slots except for Isis which I sometimes play for the full 25-lines. This is because the slot has very extremely high variance. If you could play ALL lines (5M for MG slots) and we ignore the feature, then you would win 0.95*bet size on EVERY spin. How exciting (and stupid) would it be to play that slot then? The RTG slot 'Fruit Frenzy' is the only slot I know that should be played at all 25-lines. This is because of a wierd but extremely fun mechanic (freespin feature when you hit 5 identical symbols with respins allowed).

Nutty Squirrel:
Medium variance slot.
This is a new slot and not a clone.
20 Lines
New (for MG at least) mechanic. Wild only appears on reel 1 and 5 as known from RTG slots.

The pays for 5 symbols are in the high end of MG slots but with only *2 multiplier in free spins and no multiplier for the rare wild on reel 1 and 5, this is a medium variance slot. I am missing the normal wild symbol that occours on all reels. I feel like this slot is a lesser version of the standard freespin/multiplier slots. There are only wild on reel 1 and 5 instead on every reels and they do not multiply winnings while the rest is the same. Also I really think this theme stinks. Squirrels and nuts is 'ok'. But milk, juice and honey??? When did squirrels start liking that? This slot should have something interesting added to the feature mode to be playable.

Feature:
3 scatters give 15 free spins where winnings are doubled. Feature can be retriggered.

I will never play this slot again unless MG releases a slot with a worse theme and I decide which is worst.

Witch Dr.:
20 Lines
Medium variance slot
This is a new slot actually but mechanics is standard scatter/freespin/multiplier/restrigger.
The graphics is excellent but the sounds are nothing special (The chicken and witch doctor are fun though), but when the reels are stopping it sounds excacly like you are being dealth a card. Not very fitting for a slot with a theme about some savage tribal woodoo babarians. The reels are moving very slow (spin rate), but luckily you can change to 'quickspin'-mode.

When the wild symbol substitutes it does not multiply winnings by anything. Compared to other slots there are more wild symbols on the reels (as in Moonshine). 5 wilds also only pay 5000.

Feature:
3 scatters gives 15 free spins where winnings are tripled and retriggers allowed.

I generally find low variance slots boring and there is nothing new here. Only good thing I can say about it is that it is not a clone of an existing slot. It is as good as the other 20 slots with the excact same mechanics, but I would rather have MG produce some new slots.


Age of Discovery:
25 Lines
Medium variance

This is actually just a 'Pollen Nation' clone with same paytable but new graphics. In the feature mode you pick buried treasures instead of drinking honey. The graphics and sounds are excellent and somehow this theme seems to stick together. However the pirate treasure hunting in the feature mode does seems odd compared to most of the symbols on the reels that reflects the serious part (compass, new exotic fruits etc.) of expeditions.

I prefer some more intersting feature modes and this feature mode can end very fast if you pick wrong. (I wonder if you have ANY influence at all actually, remember the VP doubling?) However since 'Pollen Nation' is a popular slot I believe some might like this.


My favorite MG slots are still:
#1 Isis
#2 Avalon
#3 Loaded
#4 Thunderstruck
#5 Mad Hatters
#6 Harvey's
#7 Moonshine
#8 Dolphin Tale


While I am at it I can also add a few words about the new video poker game.
Now I am only missing the new blackjack game, but I am over my BJ days. Maybe someone else can review that.

Bonus Poker Deluxe:
This is a video poker that favors the 4 of a kind (80), however it also decrease full house, flush and two pairs wins by 1! Payout for this game is 98.49% which is really low for VP. For MG I can only think of single line Dueces Wild that has a worse paytable. I will never touch a VP game with payout less than 99.3% unless it is for bonuswhoring. But I hope that is what MG intended with this game. (make it count as 50% or 100% wagering in the EZ bonuses). And it is not that exciting to win 80*bet more often. There are other MG VPgames with high pays that are more fun.' All Aces' etc. with payout 99.9%) or 'Dueces Wild' (99.4%, multi-lines only).

Zoozie

[Rusty]

Nice review, much better than mine;

THEY ALL SUCK!

[NoMouthToScream]

Dolphin's Tale in the bonus round lets you choose between Free Spins, once you choose one of them, it randomly selects which of the multipliers you will get. But since it's damn hard to hit anything in this game. I would go with middle. Potential for huge returns though.

[Casinomeister]

Originally Posted by zoozie

I will never play this slot again unless MG releases a slot with a worse theme and I decide which is worst.

Ha! Good one!

But believe it or not, I hit the free spins on my first spin. And again about five spins after the free spins had completed.

Great comments on the themes - I've never liked the AKQJetc. symbols - they're a sign of a lack of imagination.

One thing that I noticed with this release is that in the "options" section, one can chose to display "coins" or "credits" in the game. THANK GAWD SOMEONE LISTENED TO ME!! I HATE the friggin' coins since I'm constantly losing track on how much the bet is worth. I couldn't give a flying monkey's ass on how many "coins" I'm betting - I want to know the $$ amount. Thanks MG for doing this

[Casinomeister]

Originally Posted by NoMouthToScream

Dolphin's Tale in the bonus round lets you choose between Free Spins, once you choose one of them, it randomly selects which of the multipliers you will get. But since it's damn hard to hit anything in this game. I would go with middle. Potential for huge returns though.

I picked the middle guy and got 8x - great round of spins. When I hit it again, I got a little greedy and picked the crab and got 2x

Great graphics and theme though. I really like this one.

[Zoozie]

Some math about the 'Dolphin Tale' feature.

If the random multiplier is uniformly (1/3 for each) distributed then some choices are better than others. (#free spins)*multiplier is a measure for how much the freespin feature is worth.


Making the table gives:
A=# free spins selected
B= average multiplier
C= A*B (measure)

A B C
5 45/3 75
10 25/3 83.33
15 17/3 85
20 13/3 86.66
25 10/3 83.33

So it is best to pick 20 free spins (given each multiplier has 1/3 of being chosen)

Zoozie

[kwblue]

Excellent analysis Zoozie.

Due to all the advocates of this game (even though I initially hated it), I gave it a try again. I put another $200 into my account for this game alone to see where that would lead. I spun the wheel at $3.20 a spin and ended up hitting the bonus. I went with the 15 free spins because it was noted in this thread, I think, that this was the best option. I got a 6x multiplier and came out with the a win of $261.60. I guess I like the slot a little more now


kw

PS - I wish I would have tried the 20x instead (based upon math above)!

RTG Slots Contest

[quber]

some of the pay lines are different now as well, I had a win line on b,b,m,t,t, and got nothing. They now do the b,b,m,b,b, and t,t,m,t,t, quite annoying when when you see a win that would have paid on any other slot, but nice when it's the other way round.

[LeJoueur]

Sheez!!!

I get such a rush when new MG slots are released.

Great report from Zoozie.

[Mousey]

Deposited and played new games only. (Once the dang things finally downloaded!) Never saw a bonus round on anything other than the Mariner's tale (or whatever) and -- just like Pollenation -- I got the 'pooper' on the second pick. Won a couple of dollars. It's a beautiful game, but I won't play it because it has that 'pick' bonus round. The Dolphin game has potential and reminds me of land based penny slots. However, 40 lines is ridiculous -- and it ate me alive, never seeing more than 2x bet on any hit (most hits returned half bet or less). I've played the Squirrel game somewhere before... 7 Sultans maybe? Didn't like it then, don't like it now. Hate it when the wild only appears on reels one and five. Witch Dr. may also have potential, but I hit 4 wilds w/the bone or skull symbol and it only returned 10x bet? I'm reserving final opinion until I see a bonus round.

I am ever so grateful that MG updated the coin display: we can choose coins or dollar/cents now!I didn't look at the old games, did they get updated, too? I'll have to check later.

Overall: Nothing about the new games makes me want to deposit and play.