Thunderstruck Pokie
Thunderstruck is one of the best known Poker machines online, and has been ever since it was released way back in 2005. With a powerful Norse Gods theme and a bonus game where all wins are multiplied several times over, this is arguably the biggest hit from Microgaming, and seeing as they have released around 650 games over the years that's quite some achievement.
Since one of the main stars of the game, Thor, has recently become an even more popular character with his own series of movies, Thunderstruck looks set to continue reigning at the many online casinos where it's featured.
About Thunderstruck
5 reels and 9 paylines give it a fairly standard layout, but a generous betting range means that players can wager 0.01 on a single one of the lines, or have a full 5.00 on each for a maximum bet per spin of 45.00.
Symbols are in a somewhat cartoony style, with clear enough images of Thor's Hammer, Clouds and Lightning, a Horn and the gates of Asgard, looking somewhat less spectacular than the movie version, but the game predates the films by a number of years and only shares a general theme which in turn predates the game by several hundred years.
Thunderstruck
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The usual 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A are also there to fill out the reels and have the lower value payouts associated with them. All wins pay from left to right, meaning at least 2 identical symbols need to be on a payline for any winnings to be had, although the Wild can help out by acting as any other main symbol if it helps to make up a rewarding line.
A mean and moody looking Thor pops up as the Wild symbol and he helps out in a couple of ways, with the biggest jackpot of 10,000x the stake per line when a full row of Thors (is that a real word?), lines up across an activated payline.
He also performs the helpful task of substituting for all except the Scatter symbol if it helps to complete a winning line, for example if 2 Hammer symbols and a Wild are on a line it will count as 3 Hammers and pay out for the win. As a nice bonus, the value of any win created by the Wild will be doubled in value. Thanks Thor.
A couple of Rams wearing what looks like medals make up the Scatter symbol. Why Rams with medals? I don’t know, but they bring in some nice wins so I’ll just let it be.
Any 2 or more Scatters landing in any positions on the reels will trigger a prize that will be a multiple of the total bet per spin, with 2 equalling a 2x win, and up to 500x the stake when 5 appear at once. If 3 or more have turned up, then they also start off a free spins bonus game, where 15 spins with all wins tripled in value play out. They can be re-triggered by more Rams any number of times, so in theory players can enjoy infinite free spins, but let’s face it, it’s only getting re-triggered once or twice.
Microgaming pokies often come armed with an optional Gamble game, and Thunderstruck was one of the early adopters of this popular round that players can enter after every win, except jackpot ones.
The aim of the Gamble game is to double or quadruple the value of the last payout, and this is done by correctly guessing the colour or suit of a playing card, but of course an incorrect guess forfeits the win and returns the player back to the main game.
Thunderstruck or Underwhelmed?
Thunderstruck is one of those evergreen pokies that seem to go on and on in popularity, so any criticisms levelled at it will be largely ignored by the many fans that have enjoyed watch Thor swing his big hammer around over the years.
Anyone who appreciates the theme and straightforward design of Thunderstruck should have no real issues with the game, as it works well, with entertaining animations and some decent wins possible, especially in the free spins round.