Superman Slots

Review of Superman Slots

Most young girls who read comic books probably dream of being Lois Lane, I know that I did. She’s smart, pretty, has a great career and also gets to fly around the world in the arms of one of the sexiest superheroes of all time. Her only fault is not being able to see past one of the weakest disguises of all time – a pair of reading glasses. We’re all still waiting for the issue that properly explains that one.

Regardless, there is no denying that Clark Kent is one of the most wholesome characters of all time. He has manners, charm, humility, and is basically the definition of the man that you want to bring home to meet the parents. I wish my first husband was half the man that he is!

So how does someone review something that was based on one of the most beloved comic book heroes of all time? Well, perhaps it’s by admitting right from the start that Superman can do no wrong in your eyes and that you’ve been a fan since childhood. That ought to make your position crystal clear.

The “Man of Steel” is definitely one of my favorites but this expert review of Superman Slots isn’t going to be drenched in bias. Luckily this release from NextGen produces on a lot of levels and fans will really have some fun with it.

Screenshots

This machine was created in 2011 so it is definitely showing a few signs of age as you can see from the screenshots below. There’s just no denying that it’s starting to look a little dated.

However, since this game was based on the comic books and not a movie, most would argue that the look is somewhat timeless. Click the images below and decide for yourself.

Storyline

Before he was Clark Kent on planet Earth, Superman was Kal-El from Krypton. His father, Jor-El, sent him to our planet in an escape pod to save his life before Krypton was destroyed by evildoers. The superhuman baby was then raised by Ma and Pa Kent, the Kansas couple who owned the farm that his pod crashed into. Throughout his childhood Clark realized that he’s not like other children and enjoyed hobbies such as racing trains and boiling water with his laser vision.

When Clark became of age he moved to the city of Metropolis and got a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet where he met the beautiful Lois Lane. Clark then struggles to balance his identities of bumbling journalist and world’s strongest superhero, with an ordinary pair of reading glasses being his only disguise.

This title focuses on Superman’s battle with Lex Luthor – the rich, intelligent philanthropist who constantly tries to improve the city of Metropolis through strange and controversial methods. Born poor in Metropolis’ “Suicide Slum District” he battled through poverty and abuse to get into MIT and eventually built the hugely successful company, LexCorp.

Lex generally claims that Superman interferes with his efforts to make the city a better place and should therefore be considered a criminal. The two have battled each other in many of the storylines throughout the years, with neither one striking a decisive blow. Luthor is somewhat unique in the comic book universe as he doesn’t have an alter-ego and doesn’t wear a disguise.

Unique Symbols

It’s fantastic that these DC gambling games from NextGen do not have symbols of the traditional 10, Jack, Queen, King or Ace. They stayed true to the comic and its legacy, and created imagery that will resonate to anyone familiar with the story. They even snuck a partial image of Doomsday onto the reels, one of Superman’s occasional foes.

• Clark Kent’s Glasses
• Exploding Tank
• Lois Lane
• Lex Luthor
• Lex’s Smashed Crate
• Doomsday
• Nugget of Kryptonite
• Daily Planet Globe
• Superman Flying with a Train Car
• Superman’s Fist
• Superman Logo (Scatter)
• Superman (Wild)

Of course the Superman Wild is the highest-paying, dishing out the generous amount of 10,000 coins for 5 of a kind. However, the payouts then drop off dramatically with Lex Luthor awarding 500 coins for five in a result and Lois Lane giving you 250 for the same number across the board.

Jackpots

As is the rule with all DC titles made by NextGen, there is no available jackpot in this game. This won’t offend too many people though because the free spins come often and the bonus round is pretty entertaining so there are plenty of opportunities to stack up cash and build your bankroll.

Bonus Rounds

Besides NextGen not offering jackpots in their DC Comics machines, the only other guaranteed wager you can make is that they’ll have installed their famous “Bonus Bet” button into the interface. This costs you an extra 10 coins every time but it gives you the opportunity to access all of the special features. This also increases the Return to Player (RTP) percentage from 92.36% to 96.75%, so anyone looking for a gambling advantage should be sure to activate it.

If you’ve engaged the Bonus Bet button and hit 3 or more Superman Scatters you will enter the “Save the World” area. This is where the software developers did an excellent job of disguising traditional Pick Em’ areas as an action-packed mini movie where you are shooting and smashing your way through the universe. You advance through different areas and have options to choose the exact item that you want to shoot, which are all hiding different prize amounts.

Part of the action has Superman scrambling through a meteor shower and blowing up asteroids with his laser vision. Some may find this stage a little hard to do because the meteors fly by so quickly, but those with good reflexes should shoot just fine. You will then run into Lex Luthor’s spaceship where you will have to shoot down missiles to win cash. Each meteor and missile you blow up will reveal a random prize that will be added to your total winnings.

Once Superman finally makes it to this crazy planet called Earth, you must help him choose between three lead-lined doors. One door will take you right into a pile of kryptonite and as you can imagine, this immediately kills both Superman and your round. Another door will take you to a room full of panic-stricken hostages that Superman will free in exchange for a bankroll boost. The last option is a door hiding Lex Luthor, who Superman easily captures, earning you 100x your original wager amount. Thanks Lexy!

Even though there is not much extra action during the regular mode these extras are definitely exciting. It’s basically 3 features in 1 and it can be quite lucrative if you get lucky with your picks.

Free Spins

You can win 10 free spins when playing Superman Slots by having the Wild fall on Reels #2, #3, and #4. Once in free games mode Expanding Wilds will drop randomly and if they activate any paylines the extra money is multiplied by five.

In addition to the opportunity to enjoy 5x multipliers, you are also transported to the “Fortress of Solitude” ice hideout, which is the background during free spins. It’s quite the cool place! (pun intended)

Things here really get turned up a notch due to the normal Wilds mixing with Expanding ones, as this obviously causes the payline wins to increase and stacks of cash getting added to your balance.

Graphics

The graphics in this machine are very good in general and especially considering how long ago it was released. The Superman Expanding Wild animations are fluid as he flies onto the screen and they help to build the excitement of entering the special feature. Also, when Wilds are activated on the board, the visual of him taking off and going up, up and away will immediately remind you of why you love this superhero in the first place.

During free spins when you hit a big win and Mr. Kent flies across the screen it really gets you pumped up to go and grab some extra moolah. There’s just something about the visual of The Man of Steel’s cape flowing in the wind as gold coins shoot all over your screen like a fountain and it’s definitely one of the best graphics in the game.

Other visual highlights are the classic “S” logos lighting on fire and twirling when they land on the reels to give you extra loot and payline wins highlighted by x-ray vision, which is a perfect laser beam that cuts through the symbols.

Lastly, activating the Bonus Bet takes you from Metropolis to Krypton and both backgrounds look quite sharp. However, at the end of the day, pickier players might end up feeling like NextGen could have done a bit more from a visual effects point of view.

Audio & Soundtrack

The song during the special feature has 3 out of the 6 notes of the classic Superman theme, which is obviously quite perplexing. It’s like they paid for half of the rights to the original song and then thought, “meh… good enough…no need to pay for the full thing.” Needless to say, this lack of a full song is quite frustrating.

As this is an older machine, there’s not really much else to discuss regarding the audios. It’s just as well though because many fans will probably play this game with all the sounds muted to avoid the disappointment of not hearing his full theme song.

Like most release from NextGen, the whirling of the reels has the “horse galloping” sound effect, with all of the standard control panel audios that they include every time.

Conclusion

As far as DC Comics Slots go, Superman is definitely one of the better titles, if only because it’s about one of the most beloved superheroes ever written about. However, serious players who aren’t as connected to the story might be turned off by the aging graphics, dated audios, and the fact that they have to bet extra to enjoy everything that it has to offer.

That said, true fans will easily look past the flaws and find a solid release that they will enjoy coming back to time and time again. Casual observers should get a kick out of it for at least an hour or two, but others will want to simply play a new slots game that has lots of special features that keeps things exciting.

In any event, those who like DC superheroes will definitely want to give this one a try. Just go in remembering that “age” is this machine’s kryptonite – manage your expectations accordingly.

Random Video of Superman

By now you’ll already know that we love these funny videos from CinemaSins about “Everything that’s wrong with a movie.” It hurts a lot, but it’s hard to disagree with many of their criticisms – you have to appreciate their honesty.

So here’s everything wrong with the original Superman movie in 5 minutes. Enjoy! (Or not!)