Dead or Alive 2 – The Most Anticipated Sequel in History?

By Alex Smith, Last updated Apr 15, 2024

Dead or Alive is one of the most famous video slots ever released. And, along with Gonzo’s Quest, it’s probably one of NetEnt’s most successful releases ever. That’s why they recently decided to release a sequel – Dead or Alive 2.
In this post, we’re going to be taking a look at what Dead or Alive 2 is all about – and we’ll also look at some of the differences between it and the original slot. (Hint: The game’s already produced some massive wins… including one of the biggest wins the Casinomeister community have ever seen!)

Dead Or Alive 2 – What Are The Differences?

While NetEnt have modernized the design a bit, at its core, Dead or Alive 2 is relatively similar to the original. The payline structure is the same, the symbol payouts are identical… even the betting limits (at most casinos) remain similar. Where things do begin to change, however, is in the bonus feature – and this is what we’re going to be covering the following section.
In order to trigger the bonus round, players need to land three, four, or five of the scatter symbols anywhere in view. They will then be taken to a new screen, where they can pick one of three bonus options. These are shown below:

Train Heist Free Spins

This is the least volatile of the three bonus features on offer – and players who select this option will receive a total of 12 free-spins. Once the spins begin, you’ll notice a new meter appear above the reels. Each time a wild symbol lands on the reels, this meter increases by one notch – adding 1X to the multiplier total. You also receive one additional free spin each time you land one of the wilds.
If you’re lucky enough to collect 16 wilds, you will receive an additional 5 free spins – and there’s no limit to how high the multiplier can reach. Already, YouTube videos show lucky players reacher massive multipliers, of 40X+!

Old Saloon Free Spins

The Old Saloon Free Spins bonus is the medium variance feature – and it’s also one that players of the old Dead or Alive will likely be familiar with. In fact, this feature is identical to the original – and you’ll receive 12 free-spins if you opt for this one. During the free-spins, all wins are multiplied by 2X, and any wild symbols that land in view stick in place for the remainder of the bonus. This makes it possible to achieve the famed ‘wildline’. Furthermore, if you manage to land one of the sticky wild symbols on each of the five reels, you will receive an additional 5 free-spins.

High Noon Saloon Free Spins

This is – by far – the most volatile feature in Dead or Alive 2, and it’s also the one with the most potential. It actually uses NetEnt’s MAX concept – which is something we saw them use in Berryburst (the sequel to Starburst.) If you opt to choose the High Noon Saloon Free Spins, you will receive 12 free-spins – and once more, the wilds are sticky. Here, though, if you get more than one wild on a reel, the wilds will have either a 2X or 3X multiplier attached to them.
Wilds multiply against one another too – meaning for example, if you have a 2X wild on reel 3, and a 3X wild on reel 4, any wins made using both of those wilds will be multiplied by 6X. Like the Old Saloon Free Spins bonus, landing a wild symbol on all five of the reels will award an additional 5 free-spins – and it’s possible to make wildlines here as well, except they can have multipliers attached – leading to some massive win-potential!

What Else Is New?

There are a couple of extra little bits NetEnt have put into Dead or Alive 2, that you don’t see in the original. The first, is a little Easter Egg. To the top-right-hand-corner of the screen, you’ll notice some bottles hanging down. If you click these bottles using your mouse cursor, a bullet will fire into them – shattering the glass, and making for quite a cool-looking animation. NetEnt have also added big win music to the game – something that many players felt was missing from the original.

Dead or Alive 2 Big Wins From the Forum

As we mentioned earlier, already, there have been some mega wins produced from Dead or Alive 2 – and this is all in the first week or two of its release! (Who knows what kind of life-changing wins it’s going to produce in the future!)
Below, you can see some of the top wins we’ve had posted in the Casinomeister forum. Got a great win of your own? We’d love to see it – feel free to post it in our official Dead or Alive 2 forum thread, or one of the Winner Screenshot threads!

Dead or Alive 2 – A Necessary Release For NetEnt?Dead or Alive 2 – A Necessary Release For NetEnt?

NetEnt have come under quite a bit of scrutiny in the past few years. A lot of this has stemmed from complaints around their games – mainly that they simply don’t offer the win-potential that we’ve seen from a number of other prominent game developers.
In fact, many of NetEnt’s slots from the past few years came with win caps of 300-400X – way less than what most players are looking for. That’s why – in many people’s opinion – something like Dead or Alive 2 was well needed. Already, in just a week after release, we’ve seen that the game really can pay. As you saw from the screenshots above, a win of more than 30,000X stake has already been posted – and we’ve also seen multiple 5-scatter screenshots as well.
Clearly, NetEnt have done something right here. Whether they can continue this positive trend in future releases remains to be seen. For now, however, NetEnt can sit back and enjoy the praise Dead or Alive 2 is generating. Let’s just hope their next release is equally as good.

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