Megaways Jack: Overview
Megaways Jack is the second slot from Iron Dog Studio after
Pirate Kingdom Megaways to use Big Time👄 Gaming's ubiquitous game engine. The first
wasn’t a bad debut, a little unadventurous perhaps, but with a decent bonus game
👄 capable of dishing out spectacular wins (as has been proven since its release). If you
liked that one, then you👄 will probably appreciate Megaways Jack as well because Iron
Dog has recycled many of the features. The final product is👄 a reasonably good looking
game that lets players relive their youth via the fairy tale theme and setting. For the
👄 real degenerates, on the other hand, it might bring back memories of spinning the reels
to NetEnt's iconic Jack and👄 the Beanstalk slot.
It’s not all fantasy land though, one
of Megaways Jack’s selling points is a huge potential that can👄 make wading through its
treacly sweet landscape worth the trouble. Like its predecessor, Megaways Jack uses the
6 reel Megaways👄 template with 2-7 symbols possible on each. However, there is no
horizontal bonus reel across the top, but the game👄 still takes advantage of the full
117,649 win ways possible.
Helping bring Jack’s story to life, the background uses
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from👄 the tale such as his house, which doesn’t look poor at all, and of course,
the beanstalk weaving its way👄 to the clouds on the right. A dreamy soundtrack completes
the scene as you spin its reels. As ever, this👄 begins with bet selection by hitting the
coins icon. Stakes can be selected as low as 20 p/c per spin👄 or moved up toR$/€20 at
the most. Manual or auto-spins are available via the neat wee UI Iron Dog has👄 designed
to minimise space and let the reels use most of the screen.
All this space leaves
plenty of room for👄 the big, bold symbols to do their thing. Initially, this means a
cascade feature. Here, chain reactions of wins are👄 made possible due to winning symbols
exploding off the reels to let new ones cascade into the gaps for more👄 chances. This is
handy during the base game as ever, and boosted during the features as we’ll see. The
symbols👄 themselves have been well designed and have a jolly fairy tale look to them.
That includes the low 9-A royals,👄 but more so the high pays which are the cow, the
golden goose, jacks mum, the giant and jack as👄 the premium symbol who pays 25 times the
stake for six of a kind. He also only needs 2 of👄 a kind to payout while all others need
at least 3. The last regular symbol is the wild which appears👄 on reels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
during base and bonus games. As per usual, it can substitute for👄 any other regular
symbol.
Some things have stayed the same, some things have changed since Pirate
Kingdom. The default RTP hasn’t👄 budged an inch and remains 96.20%. This, however,
changes when the bonus buy is activated to between 95.79% - 96.12%.👄 Players who prefer
a rougher ride to the smooth sailing of Pirate Kingdom will appreciate the extra
volatility Iron Dog👄 has squeezed in which pushes Megaways Jack firmly into ‘high’
territory.
Megaways Jack: Features
Like the mechanics, some features have been changed,
👄 some not. One glaringly obvious addition is the magic harp that hangs on the left side
of the reels. In👄 the base game, the harp can randomly award:
Up to 4 extra wilds on
tumbles.
on tumbles. A multiplier of up to👄 x5 on the winnings.
of up to x5 on the
winnings. Up to three extra positions on the beanstalk or the👄 cloud.
on the beanstalk
or the cloud. Trigger a respin without losing the beanstalk position.
Those magic beans
also play a part👄 during the base game. Up to 3 can appear on tumbles, and each bean
adds 1-3 positions to the beanstalk.👄 The beanstalk lights up a leaf with each cascade
(or with features), and 8 or more positions trigger free spins👄 like so:
8 - 9 positions
award 8 or 9 free spins.
award 8 or 9 free spins. 10 - 11 positions👄 award 10 or 11 free
spins with a starting x2 multiplier.
award 10 or 11 free spins with a starting x2
👄 multiplier. 12 positions award 12 free spins and a starting x3 multiplier.
award 12
free spins and a starting x3 multiplier.👄 13 positions award 12 free spins, an x3
starting multiplier, and a greater chance of getting harp modifiers.
Free Spins come
👄 with an unlimited win multiplier that increases by +1 with each cascade and starts at
x1 unless stated above. Another👄 feature to make the shift from Pirate Kingdom Megaways
is when 7 symbols land on a reel, that reel is👄 locked 7 rows high for the duration.
Also, four consecutive tumbles award +2 free spins, and every tumble over 4👄 adds one
more free spin up to a maximum of 4. During free spins, the harp still sings out and
👄 can award up to 4 more wilds on tumbles, or up to 4 free spins, or up to x3 added👄 to
the unlimited win multiplier.
The last extra, where available, is the Bonus Buy option.
Players can select between 6-10 free👄 spins with or without a locked reel already in
place. Prices vary between options from 30x the bet up to👄 130x with all the bells and
whistles.
Megaways Jack: Verdict
In some ways Megaways Jack is more or less a fairy
tale👄 version of Pirates Kingdom since beneath the gloss, the two slots are quite
similar. They aren’t all out clones though,👄 as the extra features and more volatile
math model see to. But in essence, if you liked one, there is👄 a good chance the other
will appeal as well. The graphical standard is comparable, though Megaways Jack looks
slightly more👄 refined and easy on the eyes (in our opinion at least). The best part is
that those surface improvements have👄 seeped through the veneer to grease the machinery
behind the scenes.
Before fairy tales were watered down and neutered in an👄 attempt to
keep modern kids pure, the originals had a darker underside. The same is true of
Megaways Jack. It👄 might look cheerful on the outside, but lurking beneath the surface
is a highly volatile math model that can stomp👄 like a giant’s boot, or lay golden eggs,
depending on its mood.
Almost every aspect of Megaways Jack has been dialled👄 up since
Pirates Kingdom. That means not just a more volatile game, but more features and far
greater potential. Where👄 the pirates squabbled over treasure in the region of 10,000x,
Megaways Jack has more than doubled that for wins up👄 to 25,000 times the stake. We are
talking actual golden goose laying abilities here.
As it is, Megaways Jack feels more
👄 like a step sideways rather than a step up from Pirates Kingdom. It's not a bad game by
any stretch,👄 but as a Megaways slot it doesn't stand out as very original which might
bore parts of the audience rather👄 quickly. Its high volatility and huge potential,
however, certainly overshadows any aversion you might have to spinning fairy tale
characters👄 for sure.
