Outback Jack Pokies
Aristocrat is an Australian pokie developer, so it’s only appropriate that they should have a couple of games themed around the country. Alongside the kangaroo-themed Big Red, there is also Outback Jack, which has a Crocodile Dundee type character across 5 reels and 30 paylines, and while the style is one thing, the highlights are the amazing collection of six bonus features that take players on an adventure through the Red Centre for bonus prizes and free spins.
Many Aristocrat pokies feature bonus rounds, but they tend to have just 1 or 2, so it looks as if they have really pushed to boat out with this one to promote the Australian lifestyle of surfing, mining and being eaten by crocodiles.
Aussie Adventures
A classic image of red hills looking much like Uluru and the surrounding desert forms a backdrop to the reels and sets the game up nicely. The payline indicators run down each side of the game, showing players where each starts or finishes and lining up 3 or more of the same type of symbol on sequential reels running across a line from the left side is all that’s needed to win a prize.
The smaller, but more frequent wins will come from the playing card symbols 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, all of which are standard across the Aristocrat range, but to win more, players will be looking for the pictures symbols that include a kangaroo, red cliffs, crocodile, campfire and Outback Jack himself.
Outback Jack
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Boomerang Bonuses
Bonus features keep coming back to the reels again and again, so it’s not surprising that the boomerang is featured across them. It’s also a wild symbol, so will act as any other, apart from the scatter symbol, to help complete winning combinations, or even extend lines of 3 symbols into lines of 4 or 5 for higher payouts.
The scatter is a map of Australia, and whenever this stops in any 3 or more positions, players are transported to a big map of the country, with 6 destinations marked on it and a bonus game attached to each one.
Outback Jack drives his Ute across the land, stopping at any of the spots at random, whereby the bonus round linked to it will begin, many of which involve our hero taking part in traditional Australian pastimes.
In the Fishing bonus, players are granted 7 free spins that play out on reels where the symbols have been replaced by different kinds of fish including a swordfish who is wild and can help create extra winning lines.
There’s 15 free spins to enjoy in the Great Sandy Desert game, and if the boomerang wild completes a combination, the win is multiplied by 10x its base value.
If the Big Rock feature is triggered, Outback Jack will throw a boomerang and as it flies through the air, the value of bonus credits will be increasing, so players end up with a bigger payout depending on how far he’s thrown it.
Jack takes to the waves in the Nippy Surf round and the longer he manages to stay upright on the surfboard, the bigger the reward will be at the end, especially if he makes it to shore.
There’s a little bit of judgement involved in the Gold Mine round, as Jack digs for gems, but players have the option of cashing in the first one he finds, or carrying on hoping for a bigger jewel. But they could end up with a lesser prize, so they need to decide carefully.
Last but not least is the Winding River, which Jack has to cross using the stepping stones, and players get a win with each successful step. But if they pick the wrong stone for him, he can end up falling in, where the poor guy gets eaten by crocodiles.
Like all of the bonus rounds, it’s accompanied by some nice animations and all done with a typical Aussie sense of humour
The Verdict
There’s not many pokies that come with as many bonus rounds as Outback Jack and while some of them may be short and sweet, with little or no player input, others, like the Winding River and Gold Mine are engaging extra features.
But as it could take a while before the scatters land in the right place to trigger any of them, players will be pleased to see that even in standard mode, Outback Jack is a decent game, with lots of winning spins from lining up the playing card symbols, higher wins from the pictures, and the chance for wild substitutions.
The only downside is that players don’t get to pick which bonus rounds play out, as the software decides where Jack is going to stop, but that’s about the only criticism.