Black Knight II Pokie Machine
If there was any criticism that could be made against the Black Knight online casino pokie, it was the run of the mill styling of the symbols, which gave the game an old-fashioned appearance at odds with the fairly innovative bonus features. Now, the Black Knight II from WMS Gaming, has addressed this issue and players are now given a glossy, set of symbols to go along with the exciting free spins bonus round and wild substitutions that made the original so popular.
Black Knight II is a 5 reel pokie, where the symbols are in 4 rows and running from the left side, there’s 40 paylines, all of which are active, so the least that can be staked on a spin is 0.40, which may be a little high for some. The maximum high limit stake is 150.00 and players win by getting 3 or more of the same symbol across a payline on connected reels, although there’s wilds and feature symbols to mix things up a little.
The blue reels are set against a stone arched window looking out onto the castle and some mountains, although the view is obscured by the reels and is just there to create a little atmosphere. What we can see of the background is beautifully designed however, and off-sets the detailed symbols very effectively.
Playing Black Knight II
Traditional playing card symbols will make frequent appearances across the Black Knight II video pokie, as the J, Q, K and A will create the lower value wins, but there’s still plenty of picture symbols to give the game its high-quality appearance.
A royal sceptre surrounded by a red ribbon, a silver ring and the crown on a purple cushion are featured, but the Jester, a beautiful Princess and the rather stern-looking King are the highest value icons here. The wins are multiples of the coins bet per spin, and players should check out he pay table before spinning the reels, just so they know what payouts they can expect.
Black Knight II
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Bonus Features
There’s 2 more symbols here, each with special duties and both connected to the Black Knight himself. A picture of him on horseback is a wild symbol which can only appear on reels 2, 3 and 4, and this helps players to get additional wins by acting as any other, connecting up lines if possible. In an unusual step, he will also act as the feature symbol, making it easier to trigger the bonus round.
Free spins are awarded whenever 3 or more images of the knight’s shield stop in any positions on the reels at once. As the wild can also substitute for this symbol, players may find the spins triggered by 1 or 2 symbols and some wilds, but however they come about, 7 games will begin, during which our friendly knight helps even further.
Any time the wild appears on a reel, he will expand across all 4 positions of it and then stay in place for any remaining free games. It’s quite possible to get all 3 middle reels filled with the expanding wild before the spins have been completed, which is going to guarantee multiple 4 of a kind combinations with each.
The Verdict
Playable at mobile optimised and desktop sites, this game can be enjoyed in practice mode as well, with the free Black Knight II video pokie available at many casinos.
By retaining the excellent bonus features of the original pokie and throwing out the less than excellent graphics, WMS have breathed new life into this game. However, they have also added extra paylines and another row of symbols to the reels, making the minimum bet a relatively high 0.40 and in turn making it a little harder to get a winning combination, both changes that some would argue, were not really needed.
There’s no denying that the new graphics are a huge improvement though, with far more depth and detail, lifting the Black Knight II pokie out of Medieval times and bringing it right up to date. It’s still the bonus rounds that are the highlight, as those free spins with expanded and locked wilds are potentially very rewarding. Players will hope to get the wilds on the reels as soon as possible though, as with only 7 free games awarded, there’s not much time to collect some wins before the round ends.