Thor Slot Machines

Playtech, one of the leading creators of online casino games, has inked a deal with Marvel Comics to adapt their properties into virtual slots. This has resulted in options such as the FantasticFour and Captain America, as well as the Thor slot machines that are the subject of this article.

While the true origin of the Norse god Thor dates back multiple centuries, the character from Marvel Comics debuted in the pages of Journey into Mystery #83 in August of 1962. This comicwas eventually retitled Thor following his rise in popularity, and he was also included as a founding member of The Avengers.

In the first origin of the character, Thor is a god who lacks humility. In order to punish his son and teach a lesson, Odin gives him amnesia and makes him believe that he’s a disabled medicalstudent named Donald Blake. This rather bizarre plan works, and Thor slowly transforms into a more responsible being over the course of his comic book appearances.

This artifact allows him to channel lighting, fly at faster-than-light speeds, and even teleport to other dimensions. It also comes in handy when facing supervillains who need to be pounded inthe head.

Due to a magical spell placed on the hammer by Odin, only those deemed worthy may lift Mjolnir. In addition to Thor, the following individuals have wielded the enchanted weapon:

• Beta Ray Bill
• Thunderstrike
• Vision (in the movies)
• Superman
• Storm
• Captain America
• Wonder Woman
• Jane Foster

This section examines the various symbols and payouts available during the base game of the Thor slot machine. If you want to know more about the bonus features, please check the next section ofthe article.

• Thor

  The Norse god of thunder acts as the wild symbol, and he stacks on reels two and four in the main game. When part of a winning combination, this icon pays 100 credits for three matches, 250for four, and 5000 for five.

• Heimdall

  The imposing and ever-vigilant guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, this Asgardian pays the following when part of a winning combo: 20 credits for three matches, 50 for four, and 250 for five.

• Thor’s Hammer

  This is the game’s scatter icon, and it depicts Thor’s enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. Crackling with mystical lighting, it pays the following when part of a winning combination: five credits forthree matches, 25 for four, and 100 for five.

• Odin

  Thor’s no-nonsense father, Odin is also the ruler of Asgard and the Norse pantheon. He pays the following for a winning combo: 50 for three matches, 100 for four, and 1000 for five.

• Loki

  The Norse god of mischief, Loki is the adopted son of Odin and brother to Thor. He pays 25 credits for three matches, 75 for four, and 500 for five.

• Sif and the Warriors Three

  Sif is a fierce Asgardian warrioress who serves as Thor’s companion in his adventures. She’s smitten with him, but he has eyes for a mortal scientist. Meanwhile, the Warriors Three are a trioof Asgardians who enjoy fighting and womanizing across the dimensions of the Marvel Universe. Both symbols offer the same payout, including 15 credits for three matches, 25 for four, 150 forfive.

• Ace and King

  These poker symbols are used as filler to complete the selection of game icons. When either one makes up a winning combination, they offer the following payouts: 10 credits for three matches,15 for four, and 100 for five.

• Queen, Jack, and Ten

  These playing card values round out the symbols in the main game. When one of them makes up a winning combination, it pays the following: five credits for three matches, 10 for four, and 50for five.

While the Thor slot machines have a number of payouts on the main game, they also offer prizes through a series of bonuses. In this section, we’ll look at how to activate these levels, as well aswhat payouts you can expect to receive.

• Thunderstorm Respin

  This feature is unlocked when the Thor wild symbol covers reel two in the main game. The player is awarded a single respin, and reel two is frozen and covered with wilds. During this phase,no other features can be triggered.

• Lightning Free Spin

  If the Thor wild covers the fourth reel in the main game, then this feature is unlocked. A single free spin is awarded to the player, and two to five wilds are distributed randomly onto thereels. When the complimentary spin takes place, no additional features can be triggered.

• Rainbow Bridge Feature

  This feature is activated when the Heimdall symbol covers reel three during the main or free games. At this point, the player is asked to choose either Earth or Jotunheim as theirdestination. Either choice teleports the gamer to another planet, awarding them free spins in the process and activating another bonus round.

• Jotunheim Free Games

  Activated from the Rainbow Bridge Feature, this series of free games take place in Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants. Heimdall and Thor are the only symbols that appear on the thirdreel during these games, and the spins continue indefinitely until Heimdall covers all of the third reel. At this point, you’ll be transported back to the Rainbow Bridge. The icon for Thor’shammer does not appear during the free games, but a Laufey symbol is added as an additional wild.

• Wild Laufey Feature

  This symbol appears during the Jotunheim Free Games phase and depicts the lord of the frost giants, Laufey. If this symbol is part of any winning combination, it freezes that combination inplace for the next spin. This guarantees the player of getting a win of at least the same size, although they might also receive a larger payout.

• Earth Free Games

  If the player chooses Earth (known to the Asgardians as “Midgard”) during the Rainbow Bridge Feature, then this bonus round is activated. Only the Thor and Heimdall icons appear on the thirdreel, and a symbol representing the Destroyer is added to reel five. Thor’s hammer icon does not appear during this round, and the free games continue indefinitely until Heimdall covers allof the third reel. At this point, the player is returned to the Rainbow Bridge Feature.

• Scorching Multiplier Feature

  This feature is activated when the Destroyer icon appears anywhere on reel five during the Earth Free Games phase. The lethal automaton known as the Destroyer blasts fire across reels onethrough four, hitting two to six symbol positions in the process. The symbols that are struck burn for one to four spins, and their participation in a winning combination multiples the normalpayout by either x2, x4, x8, or x16.

All the Marvel slots designed by Playtech feature multi-level mystery progressive jackpots. This is a major boon for players, as these prizes are triggered at random and can pay anywhere from afew hundred dollars to more than a million.

When the progressive round is randomly activated, the player is taken to a new screen that features 20 covered squares on a 4×5 grid. Just getting to this point assures the player of winning aprogressive, so now it’s just a matter of determining how much.

The player is then asked to click on a concealed square. When this happens, a symbol for one of the following four jackpots is revealed: Power, Extra Power, Super Power, and Ultimate Power.

This selection process continues until the player has uncovered three identical symbols for one of the jackpots. When this happen, the player is awarded the current dollar value associated withthe progressive and then returned to the main screen.

If you’ve read any of my other reviews of Marvel slots from Playtech, then you’ll know that I have a rather low opinion of their overall quality when it comes to sound and visual quality. I wishI could report that the Thor game breaks from tradition, but unfortunately it also proves to be something of a disappointment.

The game’s symbols are certainly distinctive, and the character images look similar to the actual actors from the motion pictures. This marks a major improvement from games like Blade, where thecharacters were deliberately altered to avoid paying actors for the rights to use their likenesses.

On the negative side, there’s not much action taking place on the reels during any given spin. Some of the icons have a few moments of animation when they’re part of a winning combination, butit’s all too brief. Business does pick up a bit during some of the bonus rounds and the arrival of characters such as Laufey and the Destroyer, but it’s just not enough to warrant arecommendation from yours truly.

At least the main game does have some semblance of music, which is an improvement over other Marvel releases such as Captain America. The best music, however, is reserved for the informationsection, which is an odd quirk shared by almost all the titles from this Playtech line.

I realize that most players aren’t going to view these elements as a deal breaker, but playing a slot with superior sound and graphics can make a big difference over hundreds or thousands ofspins. Before you open an account at an online casino and start pumping money into one of these superhero slots, just keep the above information in mind.

Whether you’re playing the base game or one of the bonus rounds, the Thor slot machine has a number of options on the main screen’s control panel. Below, we’ll examine each of these to get you asprepared as possible.

• Info

  Clicking this button takes you to a series of 11 different pages where the pay table and bonus information is discussed in detail. The same information is included in our article, so there’sno reason to check out this section (unless you’re suffering from boredom on an epic scale).

• Lines

  Displays the number of active paylines for the upcoming spin. The game appears to be constantly set on 30, which means the player isn’t able to adjust the number.

• Line Bet Plus

  Increases the size of the wager per payline. The largest possible amount is $20.00, which would work out to $600 per spin.

• Line Bet Minus

  Decreases the size of the wager per payline. The smallest possible amount is $0.01, which would work out to $0.30 per spin.

• Line Bet

  Displays the amount of money being wagered on each payline.

• Total Bet

  Shows the player’s total wager for the upcoming spin, based on the size of the line bet multiplied by the active paylines.

• Win

  If the player is fortunate enough to put together a winning combination, this section displays how much money they can expect to see added to their account.

• Spin

  Pressing this button sets the reels in motion. About three seconds before the reels come to a halt, “spin” changes to “stop” and allows the player to prematurely end the spin (withoutaltering the outcome).

• Auto Play

  By using this option, the player allows the slot to automatically spin the reels without their involvement. The duration of this feature includes 10, 25, 50, and 99. At any point during theauto spin phase, the player can click the button again to return to the traditional manual style of play.

The Thor slot machines from Playtech are mediocre when it comes to their audio and visual presentation, but the game makes up for this by offering generous payouts, a wide range of bettingoptions, and four random progressives. Whether you’re a hardcore slots fan, or just a curious comic book geek, this release should have something to capture your imagination and fill your bankaccount.