Tiger Slayer Slot Machine
From an ethical perspective, the name Tiger Slayer sounds extremely dubious, but as a title for a 5-reel slot, it’s a bona fide beauty. Who wouldn’t relish being known as Tiger Slayer? Evoking images of all things alpha, Toptrend Gaming’s Asian-themed video slot sounds like a total beast.
The development team behind Tiger Slayer have a penchant for releasing historical Asian-themed slots characterized by haunting music, gorgeous graphics and amazing animations. In Tiger Slayer, they’ve replicated those attributes complete with butterflies that flit across the screen and Chinese lanterns that swing gently in the breeze – and that’s all before you’ve so much as spun a reel. When the game begins in earnest, things get very tasty.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Scatter
Because tigers are regarded as magnificent endangered beasts, the notion of killing one is highly taboo. Tiger Slayer is talking figuratively then presumably. You’re not meant to murder actual tigers, right? Oh, wait, you are? Um...awkward.
If it’s any consolation, the game is set sometime in the 16th century when tigers were more numerous and people had no hang-ups about murdering them, for self-preservation if nothing else. (Their beautiful fur and uses in Chinese medicine were just a happy bonus). Assuming you’re not a fully fledged member of PETA, you should have no qualms about playing Tiger Slayer however; after all, it’s just a game, remember.
Controls and Layout
As usual, Toptrend Gaming have kept all the primary control settings below the reels. The only option you’ll find at the top of the screen is a Main Menu link. Clicking on this will open a gaming guide, enable you to toggle sound effects and ambient sound on or off, and also to select a few other features such as high quality graphics and full animations. Unless you’re running a low-spec computer or have patchy WiFi, keep these turned on so you can experience the game in its full HD glory.
On the bottom left of the screen, arrows allow you to adjust the coin value between 0.02 and 3.00. The game’s 25 pay lines are always activated, but the value of the bet multiplier accompanying each one can vary between 1 and 10. A Bet Max button allows you to ramp everything up to the highest settings and crack on with the game. Don’t forget the Auto Spin option either, which can be set at anywhere from 10 to 100 spins or until you activate the feature.
Ways to Win
While many – arguably most – slots oblige you to do little more than spin reels interminably, Tiger Slayer has more nuances to it, and more importantly, more features. Toptrend Gaming are masters at adding features that other developers are too lazy or too disinterested to use. There’s nothing revolutionary going on here: simply some well-designed scatters and wilds which serve to significantly enhance the playing experience.
Wild Tigers
The wild symbol is played by the Chinese warrior who’s on a mission to slay the tiger. He’ll surface solely on reels 2-4 and will substitute for any symbol except for scatter. Scatter is the game’s bonus symbol and it’s played by the tiger himself, but Toptrend Gaming haven’t deployed just one scatter in Tiger Slayer – the game in fact has 2.
Land 3 or more tiger symbols on the reels during the base game to trigger the game’s first bonus feature. To activate the second bonus feature, you’ll need to land 3 or more of the other scatter symbol, known as the Tiger Slayer Scatter. In each instance, there are free games to be won, with a multiplier of 3-8 regardless of which bonus you land.
Tiger Slayer Summed Up
Tiger Slayer is an extremely enjoyable game from Toptrend Gaming, one that plays every bit as nicely as it looks. There’s more to a successful video slot than awesome animations, but the ones present in this game certainly set the scene for the action that’s to follow.
When a software company can lavish so much attention on such subtle details, it’s a good indication that the remainder of the game is going to be equally thoughtfully designed.
So it proves to be, with some great features and bonuses that distract from the realization that you’re killing the last of China’s beautiful tigers.
