The Walking Dead Pokie Machine
Based on the AMC network series of the same name, The Walking Dead pokie from Australian developer Aristocrat is perfect for anyone who likes a good zombie apocalypse. It’s also very good for anyone who likes bonus features, as this game is packed with extras such as free spins, stacked symbols, wild substitutions, a bonus wheel and a 4-stage progressive jackpot.
Some players can be put off by having scary zombies running across the reels, but this is a pretty tame pokie which concentrates more on the characters from the show rather than blood and guts, so let’s head to Atlanta and fight off hordes of the un-dead across the 6, (yes, 6) reels and 4,096, (yes, 4096), potential winning combinations.
Real Scary Reels
First aired in 2010, The Walking Dead follows the exploits of a band of survivors as they fight off zombies and rival groups. Many of the cast members make an appearance in this game, along with other images from the show such as an RV, crow, vial of blood and abandoned teddy bear.
The layout of the game is quite unusual, as there are no conventional paylines, with players winning by landing symbols anywhere on adjacent reels running from the left side and that huge number of potential ways to line them up is the result of having 4 rows across 6 reels.
Above the reels is an image of abandoned cars and the ruins of downtown Atlanta, while below is the control panel that players use to set their wagers. A stake of 75 credits is needed to qualify for the largest of the progressive jackpots, and the maximum is set at a fairly low 300 credits.
The Walking Dead
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Dead Good Extras
While the look and standard gameplay of The Walking Dead is excellent, what players will really want to do is trigger some of the bonus rounds and there’s no shortage of extra features to get their teeth into.
During the main game, the treat that’s most likely to appear is the wild symbol, which is simply The Walking Dead logo which replaces all but the Wheel Bonus to help complete winning lines, although it won’t turn up on the outermost reels and has no value on its own.
However, at the start of each spin, any symbols that feature 2 characters can also substitute for others, plus some will be double height for even more winning chances.
A randomly awarded Reel Growth feature sees symbols on the middle 4 reels expanding to 5, 6 or 7 high, while The Horde is another feature that can be triggered after any spin.
In The Horde, a character symbol is randomly selected and will replace any symbol that lands beneath it, while others will expand up to 7 high.
The Wild Attack feature can also be awarded at random, with extra wilds placed on reels 2, 3, 4 or 5, but the main features are triggered by the Bonus Wheel scatter symbol appearing in any 3 or more spots at once.
The Wheel has several different segments on it and players win whatever corresponds to the segment that stops against a pointer when it’s spun. These can be any of the 4 progressive jackpots, free spins, cash bonuses or entry to the Escape From Atlanta or CDC bonus games.
The Escape From Atlanta round consists of free spins where extra wilds and expanding symbols should hopefully lead to some decent payouts, while the CDC is another wheel that awards the Grenade or Walker bonuses.
The Grenade blows up to reveal a prize value, while Walkers award multiplier wins of up to 10x the triggering bet, while players get to spin the wheel a number of times, so earning several prizes along the way.
Biting Off More Than It Can Chew?
The Walking Dead is based on a popular show, so it’s success is pretty much guaranteed. The design is well executed and by having so many potential winning lines, players should be assured of lots of rewarding spins.
It’s the bonuses that really make this game stand out though, with few pokies having such an extensive series of extra treats in store. Some of these are only awarded after completing other rounds, while some are triggered at random, so players never know if their next spin is going to take them to a new level of the game.
With free spins, multipliers, jackpots and exploding grenades to liven up proceedings, The Walking Dead is sure to be as popular online as it has been at land based casinos.