Apocalypse Cow Pokie Machine
Anyone who has laid awake at night wondering if a Poker machine that mixes farm animals with the Vietnam war will ever be released can now sleep easy, as Microgaming have brought out Apocalypse Cow which follows just that theme.
This 3-reel, single payline game has images of battling bovines all over the place, from the logo which is similar to the movie that inspired it, featuring a vivid sunset and a flying cow, to the symbols of crazy cattle that reward the biggest payouts.
Developed by Microgaming, this pokie may appear to be a very straightforward, albeit funny game, but hidden within it is a nice bonus round, plus the traditional Nudge and Hold features that many similarly styled games from this supplier are known for.
As it’s a Microgaming pokie, players can be assured that it has been fully tested for fairness and that it won’t be a cash cow for the casinos.
Apocalypse Cow
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Moo-ving on to the Game
With only 3-reels and the one line, players don’t need to make any judgements on how many paylines to have a ‘steak’ on, but they do need to decide how much to place on each spin of the reels, with the options going from just 0.10 up to 10.00, which is a pretty decent spread but may not be for the higher rollers. Still, with such a fun theme, they will be missing out, and so even someone who likes to bet big should give this one a go.
Start to play, and winnings come in whenever three of the same symbol land across the payline, and like most pokies of this nature, there’s no wild symbol to help you, although just three reels means that players won’t have to wait too long before picking up a prize.
A fun bonus round starts off whenever the three of the T-Bone symbol land in view, with players entering the Psychedelic Trail game. By clicking the Spin button, players move around a board, collecting bonuses, multipliers, free spins and extra prizes as they do so, and if they get all the way around there’s a 500x multiplier prize waiting for them. The trick is not to get too confident with this round, as it can end quite suddenly.
Landing on a question mark ends the round, but even getting to the first stage is enough to get a prize, so it’s a sure-fire win when triggered.
There’s a few other nice touches to Apocalypse Cow, many of which will be familiar to people who have played other 3-reel Microgaming pokies. If the word ‘Shifta’ appears lit up above the reels, then all they need to do for a guaranteed win is click to spin the reels.
The traditional Nudge and Hold buttons will offer up some further winning chances, with players able to gamble the nudges for bigger wins, or hold a reel if they think it’s going to result in a payout.
Udderly Amazing or Just Bull?
No-one could deny that the theme of this game is a stroke of genius, and whoever thought it up deserves a medal. Few Poker machines have such a fun collection of symbols, but that doesn’t mean it lacks features either. The Psychedelic Trail bonus round can be a challenge to play successfully, but it looks good and can result in some decent payouts, while the more standard Nudge and Hold options, plus the guaranteed prize that comes with the Shifta feature all make Apocalypse Cow as much fun to play as it is to look at.
Anyone who has become used to multi-line pokies with loads of wilds, scatters and free games should consider getting back to basics with a game like this, as it’s something of a bridge between traditional fruit machines and the more modern video slots that have become so prevalent.