What crazy invention would you cook up if you were a mad scientist? I’d create a money-printing machine that’d elude any government’s most advanced forgery checkers. Perhaps, I’d brew a fancy potion that’ll rewire the drinker’s brain with money-making chops. While these devices remain a fantasy, let’s enter another mad scientist’s laboratory instead. Dr Igor and his slot game, Manic Millions may produce the same fortunes that I’m after. The most recent release by NextGen Gaming contains many familiar features that are sure to win over players, namely free games, random Wild symbols and a good gamble.
Game Basics
It turns out that Dr Igor is something of a chemist. His lab (that also doubles as your slot reels) is full of various-shaped flasks containing six different coloured potions. The pink and red concoctions are the most profitable of the lot, granting you 100x your stake if you get five of them on a payline.
Then, there are also some kids covered in slimy goo, an alien mouse, a flesh-eating plant and Dr Igor’s assistant, Frankenstein; these are the high-value symbols that can earn you over 25x wins with only three of them in a row. Dr Igor himself is the game’s wild symbol. As usual, the wild symbol stands in place for other symbols to complete winning paylines. You can earn a whopping 500x your stake if you manage to line up five of them on a payline.
You can play Manic Millions from 25p to £625 per spin. Consider it an investment into Dr Igor’s ingenious fortune-changing machine. The game has 5 reels and 25 paylines. Manic Millions has a payout percentage of 95.25% – pretty average payouts for a slot game. The three-of-a-kind wins are quite unimpressive, giving only 5 to 25x your stake each time. However, you’d want to hang around long enough to score a few four- and five-of-a-kind wins.
Bonus Features
In the movies, the moment a lunatic character breaks into one of his loco episodes is never good news. Take Spiderman’s villain, Doc Ock for example; he went from inventing clever mechanical arms to committing villainous crimes. However, in Manic Millions, the mad scientist’s loopy outbreaks are more than welcome. At random, Dr Igor will pull a lever to add more chemicals (in the shape of Wild symbols) into the mix. This enhances your odds of winning quite significantly.
The other feature in Manic Millions is titled Electrifying Free Games. This feature is activated whenever you score three Manic Million symbols anywhere on the reels. First, you’ll get 10 extra spins. During these, Dr Igor goes onto his loco-streak and adds a lot more wilds to the reels, up to three in a single spin. He can even transform an entire reel into Wild! Players are guaranteed a thrilling streak with win after win. The extra spins can be re-triggered during the feature.
Finally, there is a Gamble Feature to spice things up. After every win on the slot reels, you are presented the option to gamble what you’ve just won. The game involves guessing the colour or suit of the next playing card. If you choose the right colour (red or black), you’ll double the win. Meanwhile, picking the right suit (heart, diamond, club or spade) would quadruple your win in an instant!
Of course, guess wrongly and you would have to surrender your winnings to Dr Igor and his evil Frankenstein assistant. Would you take the risk? In my opinion, a small dose of risk makes life much more exciting. Don’t leave the game without trying one or two Gamble rounds yourself!
How Does The Game Perform?
Dr Igor and Frankenstein work out of quite a high-tech lab. The setting wouldn’t be out of place in any sci-fi cartoons on TV today. The game also showcases NextGen’s animation chops; for example, Igor zaps symbols with powerful bolts of electricity before transforming them into Wilds. The liquids are continuously bubbling away in their canisters.
It is the little details like these that set great games apart from average ones. It also goes without saying that the game meets all the usual standards: fair gaming engine, compatibility on both desktop and mobile platforms, intuitive controls, Autoplay feature and so on.
The Feature That You Should Look Out For
Manic Millions is produced by one of the world’s largest gaming studios, NextGen Gaming. This studio churns out games by the truckloads. In the past few months, players of Fortune Frenzy Casino have enjoyed action-packed Green Lantern and Gorilla Go Wild, alongside an engaging mix-and-match feature extravaganza titled Witch Pickings.
And Finally…
Manic Millions is a simple game with great appeal. The features aren’t exactly breaking new ground; instead the designers simply did what they did best – free games, lots of Wilds and a Gamble feature. Yet, we could argue: if these features alone could put coins in players’ pockets, why bother cluttering the game with more?
Alas, it’s the age-old battle of innovation against proven fundamentals. Manic Millions definitely sits in the latter category. If a simple evening is all you’re looking for tonight, I definitely recommend starting with Manic Millions.
