The Simpsons Slot Machine
It's actually incredible when you consider that the Simpsons has been running for nearly 30 years now that no game manufacturer has yet attempted a proper official collaboration slot for it, that is, until now. Branded slots are all the rage in recent years and with new technologies waiting to be showcased, industry frontrunners WMS have finally decided to take on the world's biggest TV show with what they say will be their best ever casino game.
They really have gone big for this game too, with a roaming location scene structure reminiscent of IGT's Avatar slots, a brand new cabinet with a whole host of new features and next generation gaming technologies such as motion sensing player interaction. Don't worry though slot fans, the traditional free spins, wilds and pick win bonuses are all still going to make an appearance, albeit enhanced and flavoured by audiovisuals from all the great Simpsons cast.
Theme
The history of the Simpsons started back in 1987 as a series of shorts on the Tracy Ullman show, no one, even the show's creator could possibly have dreamed that rebel Bart and his dysfunctional suburban American family could be so integral a part of our modern culture some 3 decades later.
With more awards than most shows have episodes and with its own fair share of controversy the show and its characters have become as much a part of mainstream culture as real life celebrities, indeed, many actors vie to get a guest slot on the show, it is almost a must have on the CV of anyone wishing to become a modern day celebrity legend.
The game itself represents the theme amazingly well, WMS released a new cabinet called 'gamescape' specifically for this new Vegas game, with no less than 5x 4k LCD screens bringing a level of graphics experience never before seen on the casino floor. A central, left and right screen is matched by a giant overhead monitor to envelop the player seat in the game experience, whilst the use of a soundbar allows full 3D sound in all four directions without a bulky sound chair and a 10" tablet replaces the old button controls.
Gameplay occurs in various zones around the TV shows iconic set locations, Homer at the power plant, Apu's Kwik-E-Mart and Moe's tavern being the most famous and popular as voted by viewers. All spins take place on the same 5x5 reel set which is filled with Simpsons themed pay symbols which include all the main characters and extra Simpsons essentials such as Duff beer and Homer's pink sprinkled doughnuts. Wilds can alter with each spin as a random bonus linked symbol, so you can have anything from Itchy and Scratchy to Marge giving you a wild symbol in addition to the main wild which is the show's logo.
The music is of course derived from the show's famous theme tune and the audio effects and sound bites are all either drawn from previous episode footage or in some cases recorded specifically for the show, just as with the successful Ellen slots a key thing which makes this collaboration work is the fact that the brand has really contributed with content for the game rather than leaving the game designers only stock footage or stills to work with.
Features
Aside from the roaming location footage, cut scenes and character interaction, WMS have offered a number of gameplay focused ideas aimed at ensuring that the slot is as enjoyable to play as the TV series is to watch, by far the biggest of these is the motion sensing player interaction.
When in the base game round you are looking for four doughnuts to land to trigger the interactive free spins, one doughnut each on the corner of the 5x5 reel set, if you manage this the doughnut wheel bonus engages, and you now get to play as Homer, attempting to catch four coloured sprinkles as they fall from above the reels. Blue sprinkles will add extra spins to the initial allowance, green sprinkles will add a multiplier, red will add sticky wilds and white will allow linked symbols for every spin. At the end of the sprinkle fall, the doughnut wheel engages and Homer takes a huge bite to allocate your number of spins.
The other bonus round of note takes place at Moe's tavern, where you get to choose which of the catchphrases Bart will use on his latest prank call for credit prizes. There is also an instant pick win style bonus which can be scratched using the motion sensor, it's worth noting this isn't skill based it's simply an interactive random bonus and you can choose to play without the sensor on autoplay if you wish.
Summary
WMS haven't finalised the game structure or bet values yet though we expect wager saver, bonus guarantee and ways to win to carry over from their existing catalogue. From what we have seen so far, we really hope they don't remove anything at all from the current format as this is one of the most entertaining and enveloping slots we've ever played, it's also set to feature a wide area progressive jackpot for serious win potential.
