Elementals Slots
Ever thought modernity was overrated? Isle of Man-based software developer Microgaming seem to agree, since they continue to release fruit-themed video slots into the market. However, it should be said that Elementals, which came into existence in 2010, is superior to the vast majority of them. The technicolour 5-reel slot features the four classical elements of earthly life, including air, earth, fire and water, and it also offers gamers the chance to win an enticing 5,000 credit jackpot.
Elementals is played on 20 configurable paylines, meaning the player is free to choose how many he wishes to activate. The game also features a helpfully wide betting range, with coin sizes starting at just 0.01 and rising to 0.50. Choose to play on a single line and bet just 0.01 per spin, or activate all 20 – plus the maximum of 10 coins per line – to stake 100 credits on a single roll. The choice is entirely yours.
Elements Everywhere
Elementals takes place on a purple 5x3 grid. It’s the standard layout, but the cartoonish symbols stand out brightly on the reels and there are a few special ones to watch out for. Icons include cherries, raspberries, limes, watermelons and oranges. The four elements are niftily represented. The ‘fire’ symbol, for instance, resembles the Daredevil action hero, while the ‘water’ icon is represented by a powerful female emerging from the deep. ‘Earth’ is a brawny goliath or golem holding a massive rock and ‘air’ is a floating purple wraith. All wins pay left to right except scatters, which pay any.
In addition to the fruit and character symbols, there is a wild and a scatter. The wild replaces other symbols to help you form wins, and it also doubles the prizes of combinations it helps to form. Not only that, but the wild is specially linked with its own values in the pay-table. Indeed, it awards the 5,000 jackpot for five in a line. It also pays 1,000 for four, 100 for three and 15 for two, when playing at max bet. The wild cannot stand in for the scatter, or the Free Spins icon, though.
Scatter wins, as usual, are multiplied by the total number of credits staked. They are as follows: 200 for five, 15 for four, two for three and one for two. The scatter does not generate free spins, but the Free Spins ‘Sun’ symbol does. This one needs to land on both reels one and five, and when it does, you’ll win an allocation of free ones: specifically 20. All wins during free spins are also doubled, and the round can be reactivated during the feature itself. All bets and lines played are the same as the game that started the feature.
While the fruit symbols offer pretty modest pay-outs, the four character icons are more lucrative. At the top end, you can win 300 for five ‘fire’ icons or 250 for five water symbols. It’s also 250 for five earths, and 200 for five airs. Only the highest-paying characters symbols – fire and water – offer pay-outs for combinations of two matching icons, although they are quite trifling in any case (two for two, in the case of the water; three for two, in the case of fire).
Care to gamble?
As if there weren’t enough features condensed into this slot, what with the free spins and generous multipliers, Elementals includes a gamble mode. This becomes available after every single line win, and gives you a 50:50 chance of doubling up your winnings. You don’t have to play it, though it will appeal to those with a sense of daring. The gamble mode lets you gamble up to five times before returning you to the base game.
Braving the Elements
Elementals is a solid offering from Microgaming, a slot that doesn’t abandon the old-school fruit ethos, but also brings it up to date with the inclusion of some cartoonish, superhero-like characters. The slot is packed with outstanding features including wilds, scatters and free spins bonuses, and there’s also multipliers to look forward to. The inclusion of a bespoke bonus round would have strengthened the game even further, but in truth, there’s not a lot to complain about here. Elementals may not reinvent the wheel, but it certainly keeps that bad boy spinning. Give it a go and see if you can win big.
