Creature from the Black Lagoon Pokie Machine
Online games developer Net Ent have a range of classic monster-themed games and one of the biggest releases in the series is the Creature From The Black Lagoon video pokie, based on the 1954 movie about intrepid explorers who stumble across a gooey bad-guy in the Amazon jungle. In the film, there’s plenty of brave guys rescuing damsels in distress and of course, an equally classic villain that’s just someone dressed on a monster suit, which is part of the charm of these old movies.
Back to the game now, and we have 5 reels, each containing 3 symbol positions, plus there’s 20 paylines and the option to stake from a low limit of 1.00 per spin, to a maximum of 100.00. Everything is beautifully drawn, although the images are not taken directly from the film, and Net Ent have placed the reels against a nice jungle background that sets the scene, complete with the lagoon sitting behind the control buttons.
To go with the nice design, there’s some pretty nice bonus features, such as respins with fixed wild symbols, a free spins round, during which players get to fight off the Creature, adding wild features with each successful hit.
Creature from the Black Lagoon
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Playing With The Creature
All symbols are related to the overall theme and when players land 3, 4 or 5 of the same type across any payline, on connected reels running from the left side, they win a prize. The smallest payouts come when the knife, camera, scuba tank or binoculars create a winning combination, with the top value symbols begin the various characters that the Creature is out to kill.
These are helpfully named by Net Ent as Lucas, Carl, David and Kay, with Kay returning real cash wins of 25, 250, or 750 times the line bet when she lands on 3, 4 or 5 reels of a line. All symbols become animated when they are part of a win, with Lucas brandishing a knife, and Kay screaming in terror for example. Although steady reliable wins can be created by the symbols, what players will really want is to trigger the bonus features, and during the normal run of the game, the wild symbol, which is simply the title, can turn up at random to help complete winlines.
Some wilds can spread across adjacent positions, while others will simply work in the standard way by substituting for other symbols if they can then fill in the gaps in a sequence, or stretch a win across extra reels. Any wilds will stay locked in place as other symbol positions spin once more, and if another wild turns up in the second spin, a further free game will be awarded and so on. This can result in lots of wild symbols being in place at once for the potential for big wins, and any time players get a decent prize, the creature pops up from below the reels to give them a scare.
Free Spins
The Free Spin symbol, complete with bubbles rising through it, awards 10, 15 or 20 bonus games when it lands in any 3, 4 or 5 positions respectively. This is no ordinary round however, as a target can appear on the reels at any point, and each time it turns up, players get to hit the Creature with a harpoon.
Each time he’s hit, the wild symbols become potentially more rewarding, with between 3 and 5 shots on target causing any wilds to spread sideways across 1 reel for another respin. Hit the Creature between 6 to 8 times and any further wilds will spread both left and right, staying locked in place for a free respin, while 9 shots will trigger another 10 bonus games, with wilds spreading left and right throughout.
Because each shot is bound to hit the poor beast, it’s actually easier to get these wild features activated than it would appear, although having 9 or more hits is far more likely if the full 20 free spins are triggered.
The Verdict
Although fans of the original movie will perhaps be a bit let down by the fact that images are drawn rather than being taken directly from the film, it’s probably for the best, as the movie is in black and white, which wouldn’t look great in an online pokie.
For the rest of us, there’s still some fun animations and nice symbols, plus the free respins and bonus games which can all add up to some decent payouts. Like all Net Ent games there’s a good return to player percentage, and a guarantee of fair play at all times. It isn’t mobile-optimised however, which could put some players off, while the relatively high 1.00 minimum stake could turn away quite a few others. Free Creature From The Black Lagoon video pokies are offered at most casinos however.