May 28, 2022 Casino Slots
The word ‘PowerPoint’ is probably not something office workers, or anyone else, wants to see in a game title. Consider a team meeting slot that starts with an icebreaker, then moves on through a presentation before failing to reach a suitable end and being forced to reschedule for another day. Fortunately, we’re talking about an online slot from NetEnt called Space Wars 2 Powerpoints (there’s an’s’ there, you see). When Evolution Gaming unveiled the game in February, it elicited a few chuckles and, to be honest, it sounded stiff, as if dubbed by a group of business suits.
It may have taken a few years, but the company has reunited a group of adorable aliens in a game that is vastly different from the original. Though their mega-hit Starburst tends to outshine others, NetEnt was one of the early pioneers of slot-based space exploration. Space Wars 2 Powerpoints replaces the original’s normal reels, rows, and payways with a 666 cluster paying slot with a plethora of bonuses to discover.
Betting and Prizes
NetEnt has increased the volatility to ‘high’ for this trip to the stars, while lowering the RTP to the highest default value of 96.05 percent – whether you buy free spins or not. On any device, players can start spinning for as little as 20p/c or as much as £/€100 every spin. Potential is far greater than it was previously, and the journey to get there is more varied than ever.
When it comes to the symbols, winning combinations consist of three or more symbols in horizontal or vertical lines. Green, blue, yellow, orange, and purple rocks appear at the bottom of the paytable, followed by green, blue, yellow, orange, and purple aliens as the mids, and finally a high-pay crystal. Winning combinations are removed from the grid, allowing new symbols to fall into place and potentially lead to additional wins. Different winning combination sizes can result in a variety of impacts; let’s have a look at what we can do.
Slot Features
Powerpoints are created when winning combinations are discovered. Players progress through the levels as Powerpoints are added to the metre, raising the win multiplier.
Blaster for Columns and Rows: A Column Blaster symbol is awarded when a 4-symbol horizontal winning line is formed in the base or bonus game. This removes all symbols from the corresponding row except wilds and feature symbols and adds Powerpoints to the metre. When a 4 symbol vertical win occurs, the same thing happens, however this time the applicable symbols in a reel are eliminated.
Zapper: A Zapper tile is created when you win with 5 or 6 symbols in the main game. Zappers delete 1 to 4 types of symbols when a 5-symbol match is made, or 3 to 4 types of symbols when a 6-symbol match is made. When a 5, 6, 7, or 8 symbol match occurs during free spins, Zappers are given.
Bomb: When a victory consists of vertical and horizontal matching symbols, a special Bomb symbol is added to the grid. After wins are paid, bombs explode, destroying themselves and all symbols in their vicinity while contributing points to the Powerpoints metre. If the Bomb hits a Multiplier Wild, the number of Powerpoints awarded is multiplied.
Wild + Multiplier Wild is a combination of wild and multiplier wild.
A wild symbol is inserted in one of the empty positions in a three-symbol match in the base or bonus game. These extra wilds may also have a multiplier of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, or x25 during free spins. When Multiplier Wilds are used in a win, the number of Powerpoints granted is multiplied.
Combos
Column/Row Blasters, Zappers, and Bombs that are adjacent to one other during the game combine, enhancing their potency.
Combo 1 is triggered when a Bomb is placed next to a Blaster. Three reels of symbols are deleted if it’s a Column Blaster (not wilds or feature symbols). Three rows of symbols are deleted if it’s a Row Blaster (not wilds or feature symbols).
When a Bomb lands close to a Zapper, Combo 2 is triggered. When this happens, 1 to 3 sorts of symbols, as well as the Zapper, turn into Bombs, which then detonate.
Combo 3 – place a Zapper next to a Blaster to activate this combo, which transforms 1-3 symbol kinds into Column or Row Blaster symbols.
Bonus Spins: If you gather at least 1,000 Powerpoints, you’ll be granted free spins based on how many points you have. The grid increases to 8 rows high during free spins, and players can win more free spins from within the feature.
Theme and Design
Many of the elements interconnect to greater effect when the proper symbols land near to each other, which is not just interesting. Of course, we’re talking about Combos, a basic yet inventive concept that you don’t see every day. The effects themselves aren’t particularly unique, consisting mostly of symbol deletions or wild/multiplier wild placements. When all of the unique quirks are taken into account, such as different winning combo sizes triggering different feature symbols and Space Wars 2, the result is a creative slot that should draw interested grid slot specialists in for a spin or two.
The icing on the cake for Space Wars 2 is its massive winning potential of 10,020 times the stake, easily outperforming slots like Reactoonz and Reactoonz 2, for example.
Conclusion
NetEnt had been quiet of late, but Space Wars 2 managed to remind us of the studio’s inventiveness as well as how long they’ve been producing pleasantly enjoyable slots. Space Wars 2 isn’t exactly an epochal event, but it should satisfy anyone searching for a high-performance grid slot with a plethora of features.