Retro Reels: Extreme Heat Pokies
The Retro Reels series from Microgaming consists of several similar pokies with virtually identical gameplay, differentiated mostly by design. Extreme Heat adds flames to the proceedings but apart from that and the inclusion of a wild symbol, it works in much the same way as Diamond Glitz or the original version, which isn’t a bad thing as they are all quality games that have a couple of interesting features.
Although the overall style is fairly traditional, Microgaming have found a niche with their Retro Reels games, and this one is just as successful as the others, so let’s read on and see how it all fits together.
Playing Retro Reels Extreme Heat
Flames, flames and more flames can be seen everywhere in this 5 reel pokie, with the title looking like it’s cast from molten metal, the tops of the reels are on fire and many of the symbols are also ablaze. In common with other games from the series, it’s all designed to look like a real pokie cabinet at a land based casino, with something of a 3-dimensional effect to everything.
30 paylines run across the reels and players use the control buttons below the game to decide how many of them they want to play, although of course any winning combinations that land on in-active lines will not count, so it’s usually best to activate all lines and adjust how much is staked on each.
That can be as little as 0.01 for an overall minimum bet of 0.30 per spin, while the value of each coin can be raised to as much as 0.25 and the number of coins per line from 1 to 15, giving a maximum bet of 112.50.
The symbols are laid out on a paytable to give players a clear indication of what they win for each combination. Classic cherries, lemons and bells are the lowest value ones, with the cherries paying 10x, 50x or 75x the line bet when 3, 4 or 5 stop across an active line, on sequential reels running from the left.
The single, double and triple bar icons, all merrily ablaze, pay 25x, 150x or 250x for the same combinations, while there’s also single, double and triple 7’s which are worth 50x, 250x or 500x the line bet for landing 3, 4 or 5 of the same type.
Unlike the other Retro Reels games, this one comes with a wild symbol, which is a burning $ sign. It will act as all others, apart from the scatter if it can complete a winning line and the biggest wins of the game are created by lines of the wild on its own. Landing just 2 wilds pays out 5x the line bet, while a full set of 5 will pay 10,000x.
Retro Reels: Extreme Heat
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Burning Bonuses
The scatter symbol also triggers a bonus game, with any 3 or more being enough to trigger a free spins round. Three scatters launches 10 spins, 4 of them are worth 15 free spins and 20 will start if 5 of them land at once, while players are also awarded scatter wins that are multiples of the total bet. On top of this, any wins during the free games will be doubled from their base value.
Another feature that Extreme Heat has in common with the rest of the Retro Reels games is the Respins. As the name suggests, players can re-spin any reel, any number of times, although they will need to make additional bets to do so. The amount needed is in proportion to the odds of getting a winning line out of it and while this can be a way to create a win out of nothing, it’s also a good way to fruitlessly chase down a prize when there isn’t one, so these should be approached with caution.
The Verdict
Retro Reels Extreme Heat brings a couple of subtle extra features to this range. It’s the only one that has wild substitutions, and the only one with 30 paylines, the others making do with 20 or 25. Apart from this however, the way it plays is the same and none the worse for it, with frequent winning spins, often multiple lines being created in a single spin.
The free games are triggered in the same way and have the same multiplier in effect throughout them, while the Respins feature works in identical ways across the series.
A classic design is given a new twist then, which makes this a popular pokie and one that players who like older design games are sure to appreciate.