Cleopatra MegaJackpots Pokie
Casino games developer IGT has a long history of releasing pokies with big progressive jackpot prizes and now has a range of them under the MegaJackpots name, including a version of what is arguably their most popular game, Cleopatra.
Although the original Cleopatra pokie has been around for many years, this added jackpot doesn’t take anything away from a well-loved game and simply adds a potentially life changing prize on top of the wild multipliers, free spins and scatter awards that millions of players have enjoyed.
People who have not seen the Cleopatra game before may wonder what all the fuss is about, as this looks like yet another pokie that follows the ancient Egyptian theme and even comes with symbols that are seen in countless other games. But this is one of the original pokies to have this theme, so it’s a case of everyone else copying it, not the other way around.
Despite its age, Cleopatra, including the MegaJackpots version, has some great features and quality gameplay which should see its popularity continue for many more years to come.
Playing Cleopatra MegaJackpots
Colourful symbols adorn the 5 reels of this pokie, and a background image of an Egyptian palace or temple sets the scene. 20 paylines run left to right across the game and to get a win, players will need to line matching symbols across the reels in an unbroken line, with some paying out for just 2 in a row and others needing 3 to be worth anything.
Richly decorated playing card symbols 9, 10, J, Q, K and A will turn up to pay the smaller, but therefore more frequent, wins. The 9 for example is worth between 2x and 100x the stake per line when landing in the right places, while the A is valued between 10x and 125x.
In an ascending order of value, the picture symbols consist of the Eye of Horus, a Crook and Staff, Gold Tablet, Blue Fan and the Scarab Beetle. These will be familiar to anyone who has played a similar game, but each has been nicely designed and with the Fan and Beetle each being worth up to 750x the line bet, these images landing on the reels will be a welcome sight.
So far, this pokie is identical to the original version, but once the bonus features come into effect, it gets a little different, or a lot different if the jackpot is won.
Cleopatra MegaJackpots
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Bonus Features
The MegaJackpots symbol is the most valuable in the base game, paying 2x when it stops on reels 1 and 2 across a line and a huge 10,000x when it lands across all 5. It also doubles up as a wild, replacing all except the scatter to complete extra winning lines, or turns lines of 2 or 3 matching symbols into higher value lines of 4 and 5.
Any time it substitutes for a win, the value of the prize is doubled, but the real attraction of this symbol is the progressive jackpot that’s instantly won if a full line stops across the middle of the reels.
There’s even an unusual behind the scenes second chance progressive jackpot after each spin, although only players who are using higher stakes will have a realistic shot at getting this prize paid out to them.
The jackpot is spread across a few IGT pokies, including Monopoly and grows with each bet placed on the games at every online casino. This means that it can get to $1 million+ fairly quickly, at which point the potential return to players is improved.
Other bonuses include the Sphinx scatter symbol being worth 2x, 5x, 20x or 100x the total triggering spin when it lands in any 2, 3, 4 or 5 positions at once. If 3 or more appear, it triggers a free spins round in which 15 games will play out.
During these, any wins apart from the progressive jackpot will be tripled in value and should 3 or more scatters turn up again after any spin, the round will be retriggered.
The Verdict
By improving on what was already a hugely popular game, IGT have raised Cleopatra from the dead, but unlike an Egyptian mummy, this game is actually an improvement on the original. Updated, although still simple, graphics and the inclusion of that progressive jackpot should keep this game alive for a long time.
Thankfully, they haven’t taken away the things that made is such a success in the first place, and players will still get wild multipliers, scatter wins and some potentially big payouts during the free spins game, so even without winning the main prize, this is a pokie well worth a visit.