Wolf Rising Pokie Machine
Casino games developer IGT really seem to have a fondness for wolves, as Wolf Rising joins Wild Wolf and Wolf Run in their line-up. But that’s OK, as it’s very different in layout and format from the others, so anyone who liked the design of these wolf-themed games but wants to try out something unique will certainly be interested in giving this pokie a try.
It comes with symbols staked 8 high on each of the 5 reels and running across the game, from left to right, there’s a huge 100 paylines. Some of these symbols take up more than 1 position on each reel, making higher value wins easier to land, and couple this with a wild totem pole that can fill a whole reel, bonus wins and free spins, and we have a game that’s going to appeal to lots of players.
The frozen forests of North America are the setting for Wolf Rising, which is pretty typical for games of this genre, and the images are presented in the high quality that IGT have become known for. Because there’s 8 symbols on each reel, they are pushed over to the left side of the screen, leaving space on the right for a big picture of a wolf, the title and the control buttons, with a snowy scene behind it all. Unlike many pokies, where the maximum wager is just 10.00 or so, high-stakes gamblers will like the 500.00 limit here, while the rest of us will be able to place a minimum of just 0.01 per spin, or 1.00 to activate all lines.
Playing Wolf Rising
Unlike many pokies where players need to land 3 or more symbols across an active line to get a prize, in the case of Wolf Rising, they will need to see a matching symbol on reels 1, 2, 3 and 4 before winning anything. The playing card symbols from 9 through to J are each valued at 25x the line bet when filling 4 reels and 100x for a full line of 5, while the K and A will return wins of 50x and 150x.
Each of the card symbols fills a single position on a reel, but the 4 different wolves that make up the higher value winning combinations are each double or triple-height which makes completing lines easier. The white and grey wolf, and the brown wolf are both double-height and each pays out 25x the line bet when landing on reels 1, 2 and 3, while lines of 4 will be worth 75x and there’s wins of 250x for seeing the same type across all reels on a line.
Triple-height white and black wolves each return prizes of 25x, 100x or 500x the line bet when stopping on 3, 4 or 5 reels respectively.
Wolf Rising
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Bonus Features
A pokie themed around the North American wilderness wouldn’t be complete without some sort of reference to Indian culture and here we have a totem pole that serves a couple of useful purposes. Landing this symbol on 3, 4 or 5 reels, across an active line, is worth 50x, 250x or 1000x, but it’s also a wild, meaning that it can substitute for any other, apart from the bonus symbol and then complete combinations.
Its job is made much easier because it can be stacked across entire reels at a time, adding to the totem pole effect, and if it turns up on a number of reels at once, players could complete multiple lines in a single spin.
The only other symbol is the bonus, which lands on the middle reel and any time there’s 3 or more on there, players are first paid out 2x the triggering bet and then awarded 5 free spins. Although some symbols are in different colours during the free games, the payouts are the same and there are more stacked wilds in play throughout them, so landing some bigger wins is possible, even if just 5 spins are initially awarded. Any 3 or more bonus symbols will retrigger the round, potentially several times over.
The Verdict
Wolf Rising takes a familiar and popular subject matter and adds a new twist, with the reel layout being quite unusual for a pokie. It’s not unique however, so this is a proven system that can bring in some decent returns, both during the base game and particularly during the free spins bonus round.
Like the other wolf-themed IGT games, the design of this pokie is first-class, with some highly realistic images of these creatures across the reels and particularly with the main image to the side of them. Anyone who likes wildlife and doesn’t mind having to stake 1.00 or more to get all lines activated, will enjoy playing this game.