Avengers Slots
The Avengers slots game is a 2012 release from online casino software provider Playtech. It's one of multiple slot machine games based around a Marvel Comics theme—other games in this series include games featuring The Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and the X-Men.
A few years ago, before the blockbuster movie, the general public might not have had a good idea about who The Avengers are. For those in our reading audience who are still out of touch with the characters, here's a brief explanation.
In 1960, DC Comics launched a superhero team called the Justice League of America. They took the biggest solo characters from their line of comic books—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, and Aquaman—and had them team up to fight a threat that was greater than any single hero could handle alone. The title was a huge success.
It was so successful, in fact, that Marvel Comics decided to create their own "greatest hits" version of a superhero team, The Avengers. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were the creators of the comic, which has featured a changing lineup over the last five decades. The most iconic members of the team were featured in the 2012 movie and its sequel, and they're also featured in the slot machine game from Playtech, which is based more on the movie than the comic book.
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Introductory Video
The game opens with a short introductory video. It's animated, and when we first watched it, we thought we were going to be playing a game based more on the comic book than the movie. Boy, were we wrong.
The animated video, which has no plot, introduces us to the game's villain, Loki. Then we're treated to some nice images of New York City in a state of chaos as the battle rages around. We're then introduced to the main heroes featured in the game, in the following order:
There's a quick shot of all the Avengers together, including the characters who weren't featured one at a time, and that's followed with the iconic phrase "Avengers Assemble". We were then taken to a screen where we could play the game. By the way, this opening video can be skipped by clicking on the text link ("Skip Intro") underneath it. It's a fun video to watch once, but we wouldn't want to have to sit through it every time we play the game.
Playing The Avengers Slot
The game is a 5 reel, 20 payline slot machine with several bonus features. Here's a detailed description of the various aspects of the game play.
The game rules for The Avengers slots are similar to the game rules for most slot machine games:
- Only the highest win applies on each payline. You don't win multiple wins, regardless of the symbol combination.
- Winning combinations are made from left to right unless you have a scatter symbol. The scatter symbols pays regardless of where it is on the reels and paylines.
- All of your winnings are based on how much you've bet per line.
- Any game malfunction voids your winnings.
The following payouts apply to the following reel symbols:
- Captain America
Get 5 Captain Americas in a row on the payline, and you get a 1000 to 1 payout. Get 4, and you get a 250 to 1 payout. Get 3, and you get a 60 to 1 payout.
- Thor and Iron Man
Either of these characters offer the same payouts. 5 of them are good for 500 to 1, 4 of them are good for 150 to 1, and 3 of them are good for 40 to 1.
- The Hulk
He's only slightly less valuable than Thor and/or Iron Man. 5 of the Hulk symbols pay out at 400 to 1, 4 of them pay out at 125 to 1, and 3 of them pay out at 30 to 1.
- The S.H.I.E.L.D. Symbol
This is the big payout for the game, and it also acts as a wild symbol, substituting for all symbols except the Avengers scatter symbol. Get 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. symbols on a payline, and you win a jackpot of 10,000 to 1. Get 4, and you win 3000 to 1. Get 3, and you win 400 to 1. You even get a payout if you only get 2 S.H.I.E.L.D. symbols—50 to 1.
- The Avengers Scatter Symbol
They call this the "Wall of Heroes" bonus. Get 5 of these, and you get a 100 to 1 payout. 4 of them are good for a 10 to 1 payout. 3 of them are good for a 3 to 1 payout. And since this is a scatter symbol, it doesn't matter where it appears on the screen. It doesn't have to be on a payline in order to trigger a payout.
- Nick Fury and Black Widow
These are the Samuel Jackson and Scarlett Johansson versions of the characters, for sure. 5 of either of them are good for a 300 to 1 payout. 4 are good for a 100 to 1 payout. And 3 of them are good for a 25 to 1 payout.
- Hawkeye
He's always been one of the more interesting characters on the team, as he has no powers. He's just really good at shooting arrows from his bow and arrow, kinda like Robin Hood. And his payouts are the lowest of any of the character symbols. 5 Hawkeyes are good for 250 to 1, 4 are good for 75 to 1, and 2 are worth 20 to 1.
- A, K, Q
These are the ubiquitous symbols based on playing card ranks. They're all worth the same in this game—5 are good for a 150 to 1 payout, 4 are good for a 50 to 1 payout, and 3 are good for a 12 to 1 payout.
When the following 5 Avengers appear in any order on an active payline, the the Avengers are considered to have assembled:
- Captain America
- Iron Man
- Thor
- The Hulk
- Nick Fury
Nick Fury seems like an odd choice for this feature, as he's never really been an Avenger at all. Why not include Hawkeye as the #5 instead? We couldn't find an interview with the designers, so we'll probably never know what the logic was behind this decision. At any rate, this bonus pays out at 200 to 1.
The Wall of Heroes Bonus game is triggered by the Avengers scatter symbol. When 3 or more of these symbols appear in the main game, you get to go to a bonus screen where you pick random Avengers icons. If you match 3 of the same of the following Avengers:
- The Hulk
- Iron Man
- Thor
- Captain America
You get to play an appropriate free game based on which character you got the match on.
On the other hand, if and when you pick the icon with Loki behind it, the bonus round ends. You're then returned to the main game.
This game is triggered by revealing 3 Captain America symbols during the Wall of Heroes bonus round. It's good for 9 free spins, and before each spin, you get a random multiplier applied to your winnings. This multiplier can be as low as 2X or as high as 5X.
The Iron Man Free GameThis one is also good for 9 free spins, but the multiplier starts at 1X, and then goes up by +1 every 3 spins.
The Thor Free GameAlso good for 9 free spins, but the multiplier is determined randomly by Thor's lightning bolt. It could be anywhere from 0X to 5X.
The Hulk Free GameLike all the other free game, The Hulk free game is good for 9 free spins, but this time The Hulk is stacked wild on the third reel. He substitutes for any symbols besides the Avengers scatter symbol.
Progressive Jackpot
ll Marvel slots feature the same progressive jackpot feature, and it's linked across all their games. It's called "The Marvel Multi-Level Mystery Progressive Jackpot".
These jackpots are "mystery jackpots", each of which is designated as a kind of "power". Any and all of these jackpots are won completely at random.
The four jackpots have the following names:
- Power
- Extra Power
- Super Power
- Ultimate Power
The jackpot game is triggered completely at random, and you're taken to a bonus game screen. It's a grid consisting of 20 squares in a 4x5 layout. You click on the squares, and jackpot symbols are revealed underneath. When you match 3 of them, you win the corresponding jackpot.
Conclusion
When we tried the game, it seemed a little tight. It took us 5 spins before we saw our first winning result, and that result was only a $3 win on a $5 bet. It only took another 2 spins to get another win, but it was the same amount--$3 on a $5 bet. On our 7the spin, we finally got a profitable win at $6.25 on a $5 bet. So it seems as if the hit frequency for the game is about 50%, which isn't terribly boring.
The graphics and sound effects are good but not great. The bonus rounds and opportunities are cool, as are the mystery jackpot amounts. And of course, if you're a fan of the movies and/or the comic books, you'll almost certainly be interested in playing The Avengers slots.
One final word of caution—if you're from the United States, don't get too excited about this game. Playtech has a blanket ban on real money play from United States citizens, so you can't play this game for real money. You can find free versions to play, but we're not big fans of free slot machines. After all, what good is a slot machine if you can't win money playing it?