Posted in Game Reviews, New Games June 22, 2019
NextGen Releases Merlin’s Money Burst Slot
Playing good old 3-reel slot machines will never become boring, but browsing through new games and experiencing new technologies is something every gambler should do. You might not like the animated, modern look of new slots, but they definitely deserve a shot, as developers and designers use the latest technologies to make them as entertaining and as good-looking as possible.
Although there are hundreds of software providers out there, there are a couple of companies on top of the industry which regularly release new titles just to prove that they are indeed the best.
One of those is, without a doubt, NextGen Gaming. They have been producing entertaining and useful software and hardware products for over 45 years! Although the online gambling industry was formed around 25 years ago, the experience and skill their team acquired throughout the years is what allowed them to come out on top.
Merlin’s Money Burst’s Design
The game we’re focusing on today is their most recent release — Merlin’s Money Burst. The very first thing we’re going to look at is the design. The appearance is quite important in slot machines nowadays because rendering 3D animations and loading all the details doesn’t require as many resources as it used to.
The title already suggests that players are about to enter a magical world where the popular Merlin is the main character. The reels are located in a magic forest, with crystal dust flying all over the screen as you’re playing the game. The transparent reels allow winning combinations to pop out and jump in front of players, showing them where their prize money is coming from, while all the remaining symbols get their opacity lowered to a level where they are still visible but not in focus.
The two most important things to look at are the user interface and overall user experience. Everything fits perfectly to the screen from what we’ve seen (the game came out on May 20). The only exception is the menu circle which features a massive Play button in the middle (or a Stop button during the spins). The entire circular menu looks great, except that the three lines used to get into the main menu of the game go over the reels a little bit. Hopefully, NextGen will fix that prior to the official release.
The Structure
We’re just getting started with the specs and it’s really interesting right off the bat. You probably expected a 5 by 3 or a 5 by 4 machine with colossal reels, but NextGen has something completely different for us. The machine has a 2-2-3-3-3 structure, and here’s how.
Starting from the left, there’s a small box which contains four symbols, formatted in a 2×2 square. Right next to it is the main reel with four symbols on each reel. The total of 16 reels can land on the machine in one regular spin.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what’s the payline counter or if the machine even uses regular paylines instead of ways-to-win systems such as 243, 1,024, 2,048, and so on. Surprisingly, NextGen integrated 60 fixed paylines into the reels. This is most likely the best way to handle prizes and winning combinations, as the RTP for Merlin’s Money Burst is 96,75%, which is fairly high compared to other new slot machines.
Read our guide about RTP (Return to Player).
Symbols and Features
It all starts with five picture playing cards, including the ace. Tens, jacks, and queens are all valued the same, while aces and kings are worth a bit more, especially when four of five of a kind connect on one of the 60 paylines. Going up the value scale of symbols, we get to unique signs designed by the NextGen team. It all starts with an hourglass, followed by a bag of gold, potions, magic books, gems, and of course the Merlin himself.
You can check the value of each symbol on the paytable, but it’s worth pointing out that five Merlin icons reward 1,500x. Merlin is also the wild card, and it substitutes for every regular symbol we listed, except for the gem which is a scatter used to activate bonus features and get Free spins.
And hey, still having trouble to understand the meaning of paylines, reels, scatters, wilds, symbols and other weird terms? Stay calm – we got you covered! Just head over to HitCasinoBonus Navigator – Your glossary to master online terms & abbreviations.
Betting Span
The betting range is what most players look at when trying out a brand new slot machine. NextGen tries to take care of everyone, which is why the lowest possible bet sits at €0.30, which is extremely low for a 60-payline machine. On the other end of the spectrum is the maximum possible wager — €62.50 — which can be reached by using the integrated SuperBet feature.
The feature allows players to increase their bet size and activate the bonus on wild combinations. Choose between 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, and 10x. Keep in mind that this multiplier is not applied to the bet size, but to the amount won from a win that includes the wild sign. A great thing about the game is that the RTP increases as players increase the multiplier, going up to 96.75%.
Bonus Features
Some bonus features are activated by landing at least three scatter icons on any position on the screen. Merlin’s Held Respis is quite an interesting one as all it takes to activate it is to get matching symbols into the 2 by 2 box of reels on the left side. The symbols in the box will be locked in place, while 5 re-spins play out. During the feature, Merlin can pop out and turn regular signs into wilds randomly.
Getting at least three scatters awards 10 Free spins, while the last one is activated by combining the first two. So getting matching symbols in the 2×2 box along with three scatters on the remaining reels activates Merlin’s Wild Spins bonus feature. Check out the paytable for more information.
Happy spinning folks!
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