The new MG games has hit the streets today right on schedule. As always I will only review the slots. The 10-hands bonus video poker(99.1% payout) release is not important enough to mention. And it is still a mystery to me why they not once for all make ALL their videopoker 4,10,50,100 play instead of converting them one of them once in a while. It sounds like doing a lot of work for something that could be solved very easy once and for all. For blackjack lovers there are released multihand versions of popular blackjack games, which makes them a lot more interesting to play.
We saw a waste number of new MG slots last year, but sadly the majority of those turned out to be clones. This was especially true for the last 6 months of 2006 where there was very far between the 'new' slots.
Over the year MG did invent(steal actually) some new mechanics for their slots and here is the list that comes into my mind:
1) Reels changed during feature (Kathmandu, Avalon,Moonshine, Mad Hatters etc.)
2) Expanding wilds (Twin Samurai,Mad Hatters)
3) Random Multiplier during feature (Harvey's, Avalon)
Before 2006 the only mechanics for the MG slots was 'picking a symbol' or freespins with multiplier. (Remind me if I am wrong here please, I gave it some thought).
I had hoped MG would wake up and realize that if they wanted to make a very succesfull slot, they had to be creative. I had set my hope too high.
This could be because slots has been cash-machines for years and they do not want to change much. However they forget to realize they still have the old slots for the existing customers while advanced slots could attract new players. Also new casino software providers, Rival and Hype, decided to copy existing slot patterns. Rival did invent slot with a story line, but they were not that successfull I think. But it was a good attempt to do something new!
MG did come up with a very few slots with new 'unique' mechanics though like Mad Hatters which was very good and 'Dolphin Tale'. My problem with the 'Dolphin Tale' unique mechanic (random reel 2-4 symbols can morph into wild during free games) is that it triggered way to rare. Often you got bonus games where it not even triggered once.
When designing new slots MG just reused one of more of the three mechanics I listed above new slots while the manager thought out a theme for the slot during lunch break. But if I had to choose between this and the golden goose everywhere, I would still prefer reusing these three mechanics over and over... and over... and over...
One of the few exceptions for the last part of 2006 was 'Mega Moolah' that is a very good slot that keeps the good old freespin/multiplier-feature and combining it with a progressive without fix-value bet. You can ask yourself why it took MG so long to make such a slot though. But it is really good anyway.
On the other hand RTG has been very creative comming up with unqiue slots and generally every slot has some kind of unique mechanics attachted to it that defines that slot. And important reason for my favorite MG slots are the very strong themes that appeal to me, while for RTG it has been the interesting features that make you want to play it just to try the feature.
Well, enough of my ramblings. Back to the review.
Magic spell:
25 line
Low variance
The intro movie is good and I like it (well, I am a cat lover).
The first thing I look for is the symbol graphics and this time I was stunned by the beauty. I really liked it but it is hard to put your finger out what it is you like. Some theme graphics just get to you - like Loaded, Moonshine and Harvey's etc.
The only feature this slot offers is a 'picking game' feature and you have to get 5 scatters to trigger it! Of course it is not as hard to get 5 scatters in this slot as others, but I still found it very hard. The scatters are only here for this purpose and 4 scatters pays nothing and because the scatters are so common they often gets 'into the way' for other wins.
Wild only substitute for top 3 pay symbols but multiply win by *5 making highest win 10000*(line bet) when substituting for top symbol. Interesting and quite disappointing does 5 wilds only pay 2000*(line bet).
Upon hitting the 5 scatters you first have to pick amoung 5 symbols. I my case 3 of the symbols was key that continues the bonus game while the other two just paid less than 15*(bet size) and ended it.
If you make it to the bonus game (after hitting 5 scatters AND some good picking) then the bonus game is actually just totally identical to the "Chain Mail. Which is actually a blatant rip-off from a RL slot("Enchanted Forest" if I remember correct.) But if I have to name to two best 'picking games' from slots it is actually this one and then "The 50000 Pyramid" from WagerWorks. So it is a good picking game, but not a new one though. But I do prefer the freespin feature with unique mechanics during the freespins. But for people that love the picking games, this one could be their favorite for the next months.
It is hard not to notice the theme similarity to "Witches Wealth". Both are about magic and involves cats and also the feature games are very similar. This also reminds me that lately many of the MG themes are been a bit too childish which surprises me since they customers must be at least 18 years. Watching you fly on a broom and avoiding falling pianos for several minutes is maybe fun the first time, but not over and over while you could be spinning away instead. It is not this bad for "Magic Spell" but the bonus round takes a lot more time to accomplish the same as "Chain Mail". But some people like really long foreplays before getting to it.
If a theme has to be age-specific I belive most players would want more mature themes like "Loaded" and "Moonshine". One exception is "Mad Hatters" that actually is from a children book, but I love it.
Still I think this is a worthy release. And if you like "Cashanova" and "Withces Wealth" I am sure you will also love this one.
I finally hit the 5 scatters and found the key. Pictures are included. I made it to the 3 out of 5 picking rounds, which is actually the first where you can end the bonus game. As you can see my final win for the good damn 5 scatters was 475 coins which in my case was only was 19*(bet-size).
Prime Property:
medium/high variance
40 lines
No intro
Once again the graphics is nice, but not as good as 'Magic Spell' and once again none of the 9TJQKA that I believe disturbs the theme.
There are two kind of scatters. One of the just awards coins if you hit more than 3 of them. The other scatters starts the feature and you need 3 of them also. The feature game is very similar to "Moonshine". You can to keep picking until you pick the stop-symbol. But while all the good pick at "Moonshine" only was +1spin or +1 multiplier it is more extreme for "Prime Property" as it can be +3 multiplier or +10 free spins etc. However then it just sucks more when you bust on one of the first picks as I did. It took me 380 spins to hit the feature!! So it is definately interesting when you get to the picking game, but also be aware it can be very frustrating to end up with just a few spins and *1 multiplier. Also wild does not multiply wins.
I do not like the scatters that do nothing really, I would just have prefered some more of the other symbols instead, but it is not enough to ruin the slot for me, it is just irritating. Also you will live and die by the feature on this slot since the normal wins outside the feature far from sustains the cost of the waiting for the feature. But this I actually like. I prefer high variance slots. It is just a shame that there is nothing special going on during the freespins. I noticed the boring scatters seemed to have been substituted by the 'good' scatters. So I manage to hit 3 of the good scatters TWICE during the feature. But nothing happened. No retrigger and not even any win from hitting 3 scatters, so what seems to the point of the scatters during the bonus game? I am sorry I was not able to figure this out. I could be a bug and I would definately not mind a refund after the expensive relationship I had with testing this slot. It also delayed the review 1 hour because I could not hit the feature, and the casino responded a bit slot.
The theme is kind of too much. You do not want aggressive salesmen in you face and this is excactly what the top 3 symbols in this slot are. Also in the start the house symbols looks alike and it takes some time to follow the wins as as reels stop. And it also reminds of "Cashville"
"Prime Property" will not make it into my favorite list but I will definately play this slot some more for my luck during the pre-freespin picking feature boost. It was a close call though, but the non feature scatter symbols combined with nothing special during the freespins is to blame for that. Also the feature games
is too similar to "Moonshine" and this slot is allready on my list.
In my earlier reviews I warned you about playing 40-lines (decreases variance). So do not play 40 lines
just because you can.
My favorite MG slots
#1 Isis
#2 Mega Moolah
#2 Avalon
#3 Loaded
#4 Thunderstruck
#5 Mad Hatters
#6 Moonshine
#7 Harvey's
Earlier reviews:
December: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-december.15581/
November: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-november-mega-moolah.15319/
October: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-slots-october.14887/
September: https://www.casinomeister.com/forum...-new-just-one-mg-5-reel-slot-september.14271/
August: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-august.13925/
Juli: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-slot-games-july.13554/
June: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-june.13084/
Zoozie
We saw a waste number of new MG slots last year, but sadly the majority of those turned out to be clones. This was especially true for the last 6 months of 2006 where there was very far between the 'new' slots.
Over the year MG did invent(steal actually) some new mechanics for their slots and here is the list that comes into my mind:
1) Reels changed during feature (Kathmandu, Avalon,Moonshine, Mad Hatters etc.)
2) Expanding wilds (Twin Samurai,Mad Hatters)
3) Random Multiplier during feature (Harvey's, Avalon)
Before 2006 the only mechanics for the MG slots was 'picking a symbol' or freespins with multiplier. (Remind me if I am wrong here please, I gave it some thought).
I had hoped MG would wake up and realize that if they wanted to make a very succesfull slot, they had to be creative. I had set my hope too high.
This could be because slots has been cash-machines for years and they do not want to change much. However they forget to realize they still have the old slots for the existing customers while advanced slots could attract new players. Also new casino software providers, Rival and Hype, decided to copy existing slot patterns. Rival did invent slot with a story line, but they were not that successfull I think. But it was a good attempt to do something new!
MG did come up with a very few slots with new 'unique' mechanics though like Mad Hatters which was very good and 'Dolphin Tale'. My problem with the 'Dolphin Tale' unique mechanic (random reel 2-4 symbols can morph into wild during free games) is that it triggered way to rare. Often you got bonus games where it not even triggered once.
When designing new slots MG just reused one of more of the three mechanics I listed above new slots while the manager thought out a theme for the slot during lunch break. But if I had to choose between this and the golden goose everywhere, I would still prefer reusing these three mechanics over and over... and over... and over...
One of the few exceptions for the last part of 2006 was 'Mega Moolah' that is a very good slot that keeps the good old freespin/multiplier-feature and combining it with a progressive without fix-value bet. You can ask yourself why it took MG so long to make such a slot though. But it is really good anyway.
On the other hand RTG has been very creative comming up with unqiue slots and generally every slot has some kind of unique mechanics attachted to it that defines that slot. And important reason for my favorite MG slots are the very strong themes that appeal to me, while for RTG it has been the interesting features that make you want to play it just to try the feature.
Well, enough of my ramblings. Back to the review.
Magic spell:
25 line
Low variance
The intro movie is good and I like it (well, I am a cat lover).
The first thing I look for is the symbol graphics and this time I was stunned by the beauty. I really liked it but it is hard to put your finger out what it is you like. Some theme graphics just get to you - like Loaded, Moonshine and Harvey's etc.
The only feature this slot offers is a 'picking game' feature and you have to get 5 scatters to trigger it! Of course it is not as hard to get 5 scatters in this slot as others, but I still found it very hard. The scatters are only here for this purpose and 4 scatters pays nothing and because the scatters are so common they often gets 'into the way' for other wins.
Wild only substitute for top 3 pay symbols but multiply win by *5 making highest win 10000*(line bet) when substituting for top symbol. Interesting and quite disappointing does 5 wilds only pay 2000*(line bet).
Upon hitting the 5 scatters you first have to pick amoung 5 symbols. I my case 3 of the symbols was key that continues the bonus game while the other two just paid less than 15*(bet size) and ended it.
If you make it to the bonus game (after hitting 5 scatters AND some good picking) then the bonus game is actually just totally identical to the "Chain Mail. Which is actually a blatant rip-off from a RL slot("Enchanted Forest" if I remember correct.) But if I have to name to two best 'picking games' from slots it is actually this one and then "The 50000 Pyramid" from WagerWorks. So it is a good picking game, but not a new one though. But I do prefer the freespin feature with unique mechanics during the freespins. But for people that love the picking games, this one could be their favorite for the next months.
It is hard not to notice the theme similarity to "Witches Wealth". Both are about magic and involves cats and also the feature games are very similar. This also reminds me that lately many of the MG themes are been a bit too childish which surprises me since they customers must be at least 18 years. Watching you fly on a broom and avoiding falling pianos for several minutes is maybe fun the first time, but not over and over while you could be spinning away instead. It is not this bad for "Magic Spell" but the bonus round takes a lot more time to accomplish the same as "Chain Mail". But some people like really long foreplays before getting to it.
If a theme has to be age-specific I belive most players would want more mature themes like "Loaded" and "Moonshine". One exception is "Mad Hatters" that actually is from a children book, but I love it.
Still I think this is a worthy release. And if you like "Cashanova" and "Withces Wealth" I am sure you will also love this one.
I finally hit the 5 scatters and found the key. Pictures are included. I made it to the 3 out of 5 picking rounds, which is actually the first where you can end the bonus game. As you can see my final win for the good damn 5 scatters was 475 coins which in my case was only was 19*(bet-size).
Prime Property:
medium/high variance
40 lines
No intro
Once again the graphics is nice, but not as good as 'Magic Spell' and once again none of the 9TJQKA that I believe disturbs the theme.
There are two kind of scatters. One of the just awards coins if you hit more than 3 of them. The other scatters starts the feature and you need 3 of them also. The feature game is very similar to "Moonshine". You can to keep picking until you pick the stop-symbol. But while all the good pick at "Moonshine" only was +1spin or +1 multiplier it is more extreme for "Prime Property" as it can be +3 multiplier or +10 free spins etc. However then it just sucks more when you bust on one of the first picks as I did. It took me 380 spins to hit the feature!! So it is definately interesting when you get to the picking game, but also be aware it can be very frustrating to end up with just a few spins and *1 multiplier. Also wild does not multiply wins.
I do not like the scatters that do nothing really, I would just have prefered some more of the other symbols instead, but it is not enough to ruin the slot for me, it is just irritating. Also you will live and die by the feature on this slot since the normal wins outside the feature far from sustains the cost of the waiting for the feature. But this I actually like. I prefer high variance slots. It is just a shame that there is nothing special going on during the freespins. I noticed the boring scatters seemed to have been substituted by the 'good' scatters. So I manage to hit 3 of the good scatters TWICE during the feature. But nothing happened. No retrigger and not even any win from hitting 3 scatters, so what seems to the point of the scatters during the bonus game? I am sorry I was not able to figure this out. I could be a bug and I would definately not mind a refund after the expensive relationship I had with testing this slot. It also delayed the review 1 hour because I could not hit the feature, and the casino responded a bit slot.
The theme is kind of too much. You do not want aggressive salesmen in you face and this is excactly what the top 3 symbols in this slot are. Also in the start the house symbols looks alike and it takes some time to follow the wins as as reels stop. And it also reminds of "Cashville"
"Prime Property" will not make it into my favorite list but I will definately play this slot some more for my luck during the pre-freespin picking feature boost. It was a close call though, but the non feature scatter symbols combined with nothing special during the freespins is to blame for that. Also the feature games
is too similar to "Moonshine" and this slot is allready on my list.
In my earlier reviews I warned you about playing 40-lines (decreases variance). So do not play 40 lines
just because you can.
My favorite MG slots
#1 Isis
#2 Mega Moolah
#2 Avalon
#3 Loaded
#4 Thunderstruck
#5 Mad Hatters
#6 Moonshine
#7 Harvey's
Earlier reviews:
December: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-december.15581/
November: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-november-mega-moolah.15319/
October: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-slots-october.14887/
September: https://www.casinomeister.com/forum...-new-just-one-mg-5-reel-slot-september.14271/
August: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-august.13925/
Juli: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-slot-games-july.13554/
June: https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/review-of-the-new-mg-games-june.13084/
Zoozie
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After all, if they were the first two bonus games we'd be all over them like a rash. But unfortunately, now that we are used to having our cake, we want it with chocolate fondent icing. Then we'll want a chocolate fairy stuck on top. Talking of which, anyone seen Macgyver recently?
