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Online Video Slots: Why Bonus Features Are What’s It All About
Well-familiar to all slot players, wilds and scatters are simply taken as a given nowadays. If we suddenly run into a game that doesn’t have them, our disbelief quickly turns into disappointment: no matter how you slice it, the absence of these perky symbols certainly doesn’t make it more fun.
Current trends in the industry call for more innovative and unconventional content, the latest answer to the famous brands is a new type of extra features called Skill bonuses. Most likely, we’re going to witness the thrive of this segment in the coming years. But let’s take a closer look at what we have today.
The Classic Duo
When it comes to the role of the scatter, it’s still the same as years ago – this icon doesn’t have to appear on an active payline to award prizes. Still, there is something relatively new: scatters are often used to trigger bonus events.
Originally employed to replace other (usually regular) symbols in order to complete more winning combinations, wilds are definitely more than ordinary substitutes on modern video slots.
They come in different forms and can be expanding (cover the whole reel), sticky (hold in place for the following spins), stacked (come in stacks of several icons), shifting, walking, transferring (all three differently move across the reels) … of course, with the intention to create as many lucky sequences as possible.
Extra Features
Rapidly evolving, cutting-edge technologies not only brought us incredible 3D experience but also opened a whole new world of interactive bonus events – the main focus of game makers around the world.
Sky’s the limit …
… is the best possible way to describe the potential of software developers in regards to the implementation of bold ideas.
Indeed, considered regular perks, free spins and multipliers can hardly surprise the demanding gambling community. Often combined together, they are definitely the most popular benefits on modern one-armed bandits, warmly welcomed by the gamblers in all corners of the globe.
However, the continuously growing appetite of punters for unprecedented thrill forces leading designers to use all their imagination making up even more exciting extras …
… some can rival the most action-packed video games.
Created to add volatility to slots, free spins (players don’t place stakes but collect payouts) are usually triggered by a certain number of particular symbols (could be special free spins, scatters or other bonus icons).
Moreover, these treats on the house can be enriched by various wilds, stacked or colossal icons, or even by the greater number of paylines as a result of the changes in the grid configuration. As already noted, options are limitless.
Pick’ Em And Wheel Bonuses
Significant elements of video slots since the late 1990s, both pick-a-prize and wheel bonuses make games truly interactive. Whether it’s just a simple one-step version or a complex string of events, players directly influence the outcome.
Despite what many punters think …
… the results of these games are not predetermined and the size of the bonus does depend on their choices.
Set by special software called RNG, the possibilities of getting a smaller or bigger award are absolutely random and there is no strategy to hit the most valuable prize that usually comes in the shape of credits, free spins, multipliers or another bonus event.
While in the case of Pick 'Em extra features, the punters can be offered a selection of different items matching the slot theme and likely involved in engaging mini-adventure, the Wheel games usually stick to the same concept as many years ago.
Although today they are not mechanical disks once fixed on top of a slot cabinet, vibrant images set in motion by sophisticated software, to determine the prize, players still have to simply stop the spinning wheel.
Mystery And Skill Bonuses
Instead of being activated by certain combinations of symbols on the reels, Mystery bonuses are triggered at random. Created to surprise the player, they can represent any type of advantageous add-ons programmed to launch at a specific point of the game.
Mystery jackpots, also known as must-hit-by progressives, constitute a pretty impressive part of all progressive top-prizes and attract many punters since they are guaranteed to hit by a certain moment.
Just as its name suggests …
… the Skill bonus demands some abilities to achieve a better outcome of the game. Whether it is target shooting, chasing the extraterrestrial outlaws or defeating the fire-breathing dragon, players have an opportunity to show their talents and, in some slots, even influence the variable payback percentage.
To sum up, best online casinos have huge collections of video titles jam-packed with various bonus features, and it’s totally up to you, which one to play.