Mount Olympus Pokies
One sure-fire way for online pokie developers to ensure that their games are a success is to base them around the theme of ancient cultures and that’s exactly what Genesis Gaming have done with the classic Greek themed Mount Olympus.
Subtitled The Revenge Of Medusa, this 5 reel game sees magic potions, swords and the evil eye of snake-haired villain Medusa herself bringing players rewards that include wild wins and multipliers alongside free spins with extra winning features.
In Greek mythology, Medusa had the power to turn people to stone with just one look, until the heroic Perseus chopped her head off and used it to defeat the giant Kraken that was busy destroying the city. Anyone who has seen Clash of the Titans will know enough, but an in-depth understanding of ancient legends isn’t really needed to start spinning the reels here, so we’ll get straight to the game.
Enter the Lair of Medusa
A foreboding landscape of storm-lashed rocks leading to Medusa’s lair forms the background to the reels, with the title across the top and a series of control buttons underneath that have been designed to keep in with the theme by looking as if they are carved from stone.
The reels are framed by colourful payline indicators that show how each of the 25 lines runs across them, from left to right, and winning combinations are formed by sets of matching symbols landing across a line on adjacent reels starting from the left side.
The control buttons are used to decide how many lines to play and how much to wager on each, with players having the option to activate any number from 1 to all 25 lines and stake between 0.01 and 10.00 on each for a maximum bet of 250.00 per spin.
The symbols are all beautifully presented, even though the lower value ones are the ever-present 9, 10, J, Q, K and A icons which feature across so many other pokies, although they have at least been re-designed to resemble the snakes that make up Medusa’s somewhat unconventional hairdo.
Just 2 examples of the 9 symbol are enough to win 2x the bet per line, with a full run of 5 across the reels on an active line being worth 50x, while moving up the scale, the A pays between 10x and 100x. Players win more when the picture symbols land favourably, with a bottle of purple potion being valued at 15x, 75x and 125x the line bet when 3, 4 or 5 land on a line.
The sword that Perseus uses to decapitate Medusa is worth up to 250x, while the most valuable of the standard symbols is old snake-head herself who can reward players with up to 1000x for a full line of 5.
Mount Olympus
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Bonus Bits
To help players land more winning combinations, there’s a wild symbol which will act as any other, apart from the scatter, if it can complete a line. In addition, any wins it creates will be doubled in value, although unlike many other pokies, the wild here has no value when it lands by itself.
The game logo is a scatter symbol, so there’s no need for it to land across an active line and it just needs to stop in any 2 or more positions to pay out multiples of the total bet per spin, not just the line bet. Between 2x and 50x the stake can be won when between 2 and 5 scatters appear at once, while any 3 or more will also trigger a free spins game.
Although only 5 spins are awarded, our friendly demon first invites players to pick a snake from the 5 she presents. The snake will then turn from 1 to 4 reels into wilds for the duration of the spins, and then the others will reveal how many reels they would have turned into wilds before the spins commence. Only reels 2 to 5 can be turned into wilds, but players should get some decent wins, with the 2x multiplier in effect during the round.
The Verdict
Mount Olympus: The Revenge of Medusa is a great looking pokie that has success pretty much guaranteed thanks to a popular theme and decent bonus features. The free spins game can be particularly lucrative, especially if players are lucky enough to get 4 wild reels, as this will result in every line winning on each spin.
Perhaps it could have done with wins for landing the wild symbol on its own, or maybe even the gamble game that Genesis Gaming feature on many other pokies, but overall, this is a quality game that has plenty to offer.