Transformers Pokie Machine
Those under a certain age will now associate the Transformer franchise with a series of movies launched in 2007, but IGT’s Transformers: Ultimate Payback pokie harks back to the 1980’s and the days when Megatron, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were some fairly basic cartoons, not the eye-popping CGI characters that they have now become.
Laid out as a classic 5-reel 25-line game, it looks as retro as the symbols, but there are a couple of extra features that bring it a little more up to date, such as multiple expanding wild symbols and a free spins round where robots battle it out until the spins end.
Largely replaced by the Transformers: Battle For Cybertron game, this is still around at a number of casinos and anyone who remembers the original cartoon series is sure to enjoy seeing their heroes spinning up some wins and bonuses in this entertaining pokie.
Playing with Transformers
Everything in this game is made to look as if it comes directly from the cartoon series, including the blocky playing card symbols, the edges to the reels and the picture of our hero, Optimus Prime standing above them. Running down each side there’s payline indicators that show where each line starts. At least 3 matching symbols will need to land on adjacent reels across a payline running from the left side to create a winning combination.
When the 10 or J symbols land across the reels, players win 5x, 20x or 100x the equivalent of their bet per line, with the Q, K and A each being worth more and more, and then we get to the picture symbols of various Transformers. Autobots, (the good guys), and Decepticons, (the baddies), will pay out different amounts, depending on who appears. Wins range from 30x, 100x and 500x up to 50x, 200x and 1000x the line bet when Bumblebee arrives.
Transformers
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Bonus Features
As any fan of Transformers will know, the Autobots and Decepticons each have their own logos, and in this game, these act as expanding wild symbols when they appear on reels 2 and 4 respectively. There’s a nice animation as they transform into Optimus Prime or Megatron and with a reel or 2 fully wild, it’s pretty easy to get a win or maybe several at once when this occurs.
These are not the only wilds however, as the Transformers homeworld, Cybertron can also substitute for other symbols to complete a winning line, although it only appears on the middle reel, so like the others, can’t make up a line on its own. But it’s also a multiplier, with players able to pick 1 from the 3 symbols lined up before them, to have any win boosted by between 2x and 10x the base amount.
Ultimate Payback Feature
Optimus Prime and Megatron can also appear on their own bonus symbols, and anytime they turn up at the same time, on reels 1 and 5, the main extra feature is triggered. In a high-quality animated sequence, (well, certainly in keeping with the standards of 1980’s cartoons anyway), players are first asked to choose either Transformer to fight for them. Each Transformer will then be given a life bar, with 3 lives on them that will either stay topped up or get depleted as they fight.
A number of free spins will then play out, and each time the fight symbol of the 2 robots staring each other down appears, an animated battle plays out below the reels. Free spins carry on until either Optimus Prime or Megatron have their life bar fully exhausted, and although technically, these spins can carry on indefinitely, in reality 10 to 15 games are likely, but this is still a pretty good number.
Anyone who chose the winning Transformer to fight for them will receive a bonus prize on top of anything won throughout the free spins. Up to 650 credits can be claimed by anyone who picked the right Transformer, which is a nice little extra.
The Verdict
This pokie will appeal to anyone who remembers the Transformers cartoon series, but for those who are more familiar with the movies, it could be a bit of a disappointment. Despite the animations being perfectly in keeping with the TV show, they remain a bit basic and with most people now demanding much higher-quality graphics, it’s understandable that this game has been superseded by the Transformers, Battle For Cybertron pokie.
However, anyone looking for old-school charm, along with bonus features that were highly original back in the day, and remain quite exciting even now, Transformers Ultimate Payback is a great choice.