Maximum Slots
Maximum is a rich tapestry of tiles, retelling the stories and allowing you to relive the glory of the days when gladiators fought to the death - we’ve all seen the film depictions but now we can experience it for ourselves.
Laid out in a conventional 3x5 grid, consisting of 5-reels, this game from WorldMatch has all the markings of their most popular titles - it has a great theme, dramatic sound effects, easy controls, and a low pay-in rate.
This is probably the closest you’ll ever be able to get to sampling the thrills and dangers of the arena, unless you somehow manage to discover or create a time machine, so let's take a look at those bonus tiles and free spins galore. There’s also a substantial 2,500 credits should you live to the end of each round, which is something the fighters of old Rome wouldn’t have had as part of their victory.
Entering the Arena
As many of you will know, being the experienced gladiators that you are, there is a minimum amount you need to bet if you intend to play with money. That amount in Maximum is 0.01, although you can steadily increase up to the full amount of 25 coins if bravery grips you. For those foolhardy among you, or those who simply know the drill, there’s a Max Bet option available to you.
There are 25 paylines at work here, however you can choose whether you play with them all or whether you start much smaller – sometimes being cautious is what will keep you alive against those brutal opponents.
Your arsenal of weapons also has Spin Stop, Autoplay and Fast Play for those who want total control over their slot machines, though a novice could easily figure out these features to help speed everything up. The battles in the real arenas weren’t slow and steady, they were manic, violent and unforgiving, so if you want to keep that momentum up than these staple options from WorldMatch are going to be your saviours.
Should you be a social gamer (who doesn’t enjoy boasting about their wins?) there is a share widget to the right hand side of the screen that will post on your Facebook and Twitter.
Understanding Who You’re up Against
Going in blind isn’t going to help you win, so it’s wise to know what each of the icons on those reels stands for, and whether they bring in the big money or the smaller prizes. There are 10 symbols in total, one less than the norm for this brand.
Each of the icons are related in some way to the maiming and battling that would have taken place all those centuries ago – shields, bloody helmets, emblems, and the fighters themselves are waiting for you to match them up and take home your prize. The personality of all these images is almost tangible, allowing you to soak up the atmosphere as you roll, spin and bet your way to the top.
The sun shield crossed with a sword, as well as silver pointed helmet are your two weaker tiles here, with them both sharing the exact same values: 3 in a line will give you 10 credits, 4 a slightly increased 20, and then finally 5 icons will herald in a larger 100 coins. Funnily enough, the free spins icon equals the same, however there are 10 spins added to each match.
This is all well and good, and they’ll all add up towards that final prize, but it’s the crossed bent swords that will be the most beneficial to you, although for that to happen you’ll need 5 of them, otherwise you’ll not get very close to that big jackpot.
Target Practice
If you discover 3 of the bonus tiles you will be taken to the mini round inside the base game, which looks like a target range with varied heights for each of them. As you would expect from this setup you need to hit six out of the nine stands in order to win, but first of course you need to select your weapon of choice. This is your training room, so make the most of sharpening up those skills, you never know what may happen to you out there!
You Are Victorious… Aren’t You?
This slot machine has some good features for gamers to savour as they play, most obviously being the bonus round you can unlock. However, while the free spins and wilds alongside this prove useful, the variance of the title is still relatively limited. If you’re someone who likes to unlock multiple special levels and many more special features other than that of extra spins and wilds, then it may be worth you seeking out other activities from this brand.
That being said, the graphics and the soundtrack of this game is among some of the best you’ll find across video slots, which helps give some depth to what the icons offer you.
