Sidewinder Slot
Written By
Last Updated
As a classic Slots provider, Microgaming lives up to its reputation by delivering yet another classic slot. This time round, though, it comes with a twist in Sidewinder Slot. Teaming up again with Just For The Win. The studio that delivered such retro classics as Deco Diamonds and Lucky Links, Microgaming’s Sidewinder slot combines retro slots action with modern slot mechanics. Our pay-lines can increase from an already generous 243 to a mouth watering 1,125, set against familiar symbols of Bars and Bells. Old and new worlds collide to forge explosive game-play.
Gameplay
Sidewinder begins with 243 Ways to Win, which already provides plenty of opportunities to line up the Spades, Stars, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Bars, Horseshoes, Golden Bells and Lucky Sevens into winning combinations. Depicted in 8-bit style graphics, this takes away the old “classic” feel and brings it firmly into retro status.
The reel set is made up in a 3x5x5x5x3 layout, almost appearing as if an old fruit machine decided to turn into a jigsaw puzzle. The symbols come whizzing across the reels, each important high symbol featuring a cheeky glisten. So keep an eye out for the Horse Shoes, Sevens and Bars, flashing smiles as they form part of a winning combination. Crank up the volume, enjoy the multitude of colours and the Sidewinder slot reveals a world of promise.
Bonuses
The main focus of Sidewinder is the Wild feature. In fact, it’s such a focus there are three of them, the Regular Wild, the Top Wild and the Bottom Wild. They function like a traditional Wild except the Regular Wild only appears on horizontal reels, the Top Wild appears on the second reel and the Bottom Wild appears on the fourth reel. They all act together to help create winning combinations but when the Sidewinder feature is triggered, they really come into their own. This is triggered when either the Top or Bottom (or both) Wild comes into play.
All of a sudden, we’re given 576 Ways to Win. If we have both Wilds in play then the pay-lines increase to 1,125 Ways to Win, further increasing our winning chances. How else can they be increased? With Free Spins, which are activated when three or four Sidewinder Scatters appear on the second and fourth reels. But wait, it gets better. If a Wild stops on the same position on both horizontal reels, they merge beautifully together to create an Expanding Wild. Epic.
Summary
The word sidewinder may not conjure up images of classic slots, and may instead bring MTV videos of R.E.M. to the forefront of our minds. But no matter. When we play Microgaming and JFTW’s Sidewinder slot we easily get lost in the impressive visuals and expanding Ways to Win. And with the chance to win 2,720 times our stake on every free spin, the images we conjure up are of us diving into a pool of coins a la Scrooge McDuck.