Naval Battle Slot
Back in the day before missiles, tanks, bombs and the like, all major wars and battles took place on the seas. In this beautifully designed naval game, will you be more of a Horatio Nelson or a Jonah?
Plenty to ‘Sea’ Here
It is worth emphasising just how majestic the layout is. That’s obvious even before the game starts and you see the ships, water and smoke appear. The classical music starts up as the smoke and mist fade away and the reels come down with the new picture emerging. It seems like the start of a movie.
If that feels like the big screen, the background gives the sense of a piece of art. The seas have different colours, dimensions and reflections. The ships are magnificently sketched, with true artistic talent. And as you’d expect for a game about navy warfare, these aren’t calm seas and clear skies. It’s so well designed you’ll wish you could move the Credits and Win boxes as they cover the detail within one of the ships.
The name of the game is not included on the screen. The three jackpots have a golden colour, and the lettering for all the buttons around the screen have the same shade. Indeed, the lines on the reels connect through golden ropes. You can change the volume level and mute it on screen, but that covers both the musical theme and sound effects when you play.
Getting up to Speed
Though it is easy to change settings, the game sadly isn’t too flexible in terms of betting possibilities. While the line options go up to 50, you can only play for 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50. The Bet Per Line offers 0.01. 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1.2. Going straight for Bet Max gives a bet of 60.
You can Auto Spin with either 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or infinite spins. There are no speed settings, which is a shame as the game does go a bit slow. This is especially noticeable when playing for long periods as winning lines take longer than you’d like to be calculated.
There are 8 regular symbols, made up of a barrel, telescope, sketch, and the five golden symbols representing Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. It’s usually extra pleasant to see all the symbols related to the theme of the game but here it doesn’t seem so important, as the colour matches the dominant visual tone. Rather curiously on the Paytable, they are ranked in reverse order, with the least valuable 10 and Jack at the top. The sketch is worth the most with 200 credits for 5. There is nothing for 2 of any kind and there is only a difference of 2 credits in whether you get 3 of a high ranked icon or lower one.
Fire Away with the Bonuses
The book with pictures inside is the Wildcard which replaces everything except for the bonus, free spins and jackpot cards. It also has an extra of giving you 150 credits if you get 5 in one spin. There is a Scatter of a treasure chest filled with gold coins, which additionally gives up to 100 credits with 5 lines. There are an extra 5, 10 or 15 free spins available depending if you get 3, 4 or 5 of the knight’s upper body armour.
The cannon which flashes up with Bonus Game offers an extra game. While it does appear on the first 2 reels, it only gives the Bonus Game if you get it on either reels 3, 4 or 5. If this happens, then the screen changes to a set of moving enemy warships which you have to shoot down for extra credits. While not riveting, it does have an element of skill and time pressure.
The bonuses continue with the option of three possible jackpots, all offered if you get the correct 5 of a kind. The Minor Jackpot is a wheel, the Mini Jackpot is a magnifying glass and scripts and the Mega Jackpot is a lifebelt. You can see what each jackpot is worth by looking at the top of the main screen.
Gaze at Your Naval!
This isn’t the most flexible or quickest of games, or one with the highest reward for ordinary gameplay. But is it superbly designed, with a range of neat bonuses encouraging further gameplay. If you give this game a chance, you’ll be far from all at sea.
