The Ante Engine Slots
How many of you are familiar with the steampunk aesthetic. Picture life at the turn of the 20th century, automobiles and airplanes had only just been invented, trains connected the world, zeppelins, and aristocratic fashion were still in vogue. It basically consists of a contemporary take on a Victorian-era idea of what the world would look like in the 21st century. Steam engines and shiny, polished metal everywhere!
When you open up The Ante Engine for the first time, you are immediately hit by the retro-futuristic design of the slot machine; designed as though it were produced by some ingenious blacksmith in the late 1800s, the mechanistic manifestation of this marvelous machine immediately draws you in with its wonderfully creative design.
Odobo’s initial presentation leaves nothing to be desired, but how does the rest of the game stack up in comparison?
Victorian Style Meets 21st Century Slots
The Ante Engine goes in a different direction with its theme. The steampunk setting of this game is certainly a refreshing change from the hordes of ill-distinguished nature/money/animal-themed video slots games out there. The presentation when you open the game up is incredible, as the great soundtrack accompanied by the way the brief tutorial is presented makes you feel as though you were about to venture out into an epic journey. The music that plays when you are spinning the reels is equally catchy too.
In addition to the really neat background that looks as though it were taking place inside of a well-lit machine, the interface and menu itself looks incredibly clean and detailed. The use of bronze artwork in the reels adds a nice touch, as does the lighting in the modifier buttons to the right. The sound effects and music used in the game tie everything together. The Ante Engine really goes all out in its presentation to the player, and if nothing else the game is very pretty to look at.
Like a Runaway Steam Train
The game’s design at first glance looks like standard free slot games, albeit with a slightly less-than intuitive interface. The game utilises a standard 5x3 reel with 15 paylines made available to you (they cannot be adjusted, unlike most games).
The buttons on the right perform a number of tasks. The lower-right button opens up the menu where you can adjust the bet sizes and coin denomination (from 0.1 to 10 units of currency). You can also adjust the duration of the auto-spinner. The middle button initiates one spin, and the top button initiates the auto-spinner – the number in the middle is how many times it will spin for. The button in the upper-left corner allows you to modify the graphics and sound settings, as well as access the game’s help menu.
The Ante Engine makes use of a really cool feature in the use of “modifier bulbs”. These take the place of traditional scatter and wild symbols on the reels. They appear at random on the side and give you either a wild symbol or a multiplier to your wins (from 2x to 10x). They last for three spins and disappear if you change your bet size while they are still there. If you manage to get three at once, you trigger the free spin round (see below).
All Puffed Out
The Ante Engine doesn’t feature a progressive slots jackpot, nor does it have a traditional bonus game. But that doesn’t really matter, because the free spin round makes the wins rack up so quickly you don’t even need any extras on top of it.
Should you gather three modifier bulbs at once, you’ll get as many as 18 free spins (contingent upon the brightness of the modifier bulbs). During this time you’ll not only still have various modifiers pop in to multiply your wins, but you’ll double the number of paylines in play to a whopping 30 – again, all free of charge! This is where you’ll see the winnings roll in.
Serious Steampunk Slots Action!
In all seriousness, The Ante Engine is one of the most gorgeous and well-designed slots games we’ve ever played. We are not exaggerating, as even a person who doesn’t gamble would be impressed by the production values presented in this game.
The maximum bet of 150 units of currency coupled with the tons of modifiers and free spins available mean that you have the potential to make some serious bank while playing. There is plenty of customisation in your bet sizes, so even casual gamblers can play this game without emptying their bank accounts. Odobo has hit a home run with this game, as it is by far one of the best games they have ever produced.
