Wilds of Africa Slot
Leopard-spotted playing card symbols and unique pictures of elephants, giraffes and zebras are all herded together on the 5 reels of the Wilds of Africa video slot from GamingSoft. Those reels are crossed by 50 paylines and while lining examples of the same symbol across a line on adjacent reels from the left side will create a standard winning combination, it’s filled with bonus features as well.
If the right bonus symbols appear, gamblers are rewarded with wild substitutions, free spins and the real Big Game is a progressive jackpot round, where a percentage of a prize is guaranteed. Wildlife themed online casino slots are nothing new of course, but this is a good-looking game that has realistic images, plus a suitably African drum style soundtrack to go along with the spins and bells of the reels.
That realism, which is a common feature across the GamingSoft slots collection, extends to an atmospheric image of tree silhouetted against the sunset on the plains of Africa, and there’s examples of art from the continent dotted around the screen, including behind the control buttons.
Getting Started on an African Adventure
All 50 lines are in play, so the least that can be staked per spin is 0.50, although free Wilds of Africa video slots can be found and there’s a good return to player percentage in a game that’s fully certified for fairness by the independent iTech Labs testing authority.
Not only are the playing card symbols 9, 10, J, Q, K and A designed to look like multi-coloured leopards, but some are decorated with shields, necklaces and diamonds to add even more to the African theme. Payouts from these lower-value symbols range from 10x, 20x and 200x the line bet when the 9 stops on 3, 4, or 5 reels of a payline, through to 20x, 50x, or 400x when the A lands in place.
The Big 5 here are a giraffe and zebra, which are both valued at 20x, 100x, or 400x the line stake, then it’s a water buffalo and elephant, either of which only has to be on 2 reels to pay out 4x, and full lines are worth 500x. The best prizes belong to the King of the Jungle, as anyone landing the roaring lion symbol on a payline wins anything from 10x to 1,000x back.
Wild Diamonds
A big blue diamond isn’t really connected to the African wildlife theme, but no worries, as it’s a wild symbol that can replace anything other than scatter and jackpot icons, helping players to more winning combinations when it’s in the right places.
But there’s no rewards for even a full line of the diamond symbol and unlike some other slot machines from GamingSoft, no multipliers are attached to any winning lines completed by the wild.
Free Spins Bonus Round
If the attractive picture of an elephant and giraffe next to a tree at sunset appears on reels 1, 2 and 3 at once, players are granted 10 free spins. If 3 more appear during any bonus spin, and extra 5 games will be added on to the end of any still left to play out, although the Wilds of Africa video slot doesn’t pay out any scatter awards, so spinners will have to hope that they land a few winning lines before the bonus round ends.
Hunting Down a Jackpot
A treasure chest landing on reels 1, 2 and 3 at once is a very welcome sight, as anyone who has this combination in view is certain to cash out at least a percentage of either the Mini, Minor, Major, or Grand progressive jackpots that are displayed above the reels.
Once triggered, a second screen opens up, where a wheel of fortune is set spinning. The different jackpots are shown next to the wheel and each time a level stops against a pointer, a gemstone appears next to the relevant jackpot.
Once 3 of a kind have been collected, the prize is paid out, with gamblers on the lowest bet levels winning 10% of any award, and only those at the high limit stakes claiming 100%.
Other African Wildlife-Themed Slots
This is a popular topic, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see a number of very similar games on the market. The King of Africa online slot machine by WMS Gaming has most of the same creatures on the reels, while ‘Africa’ is the simple title of a quality slot from Betsense, where wild animals spin up rewards such as triple-value free spins and a 10,000x maximum win multiplier.
The Verdict on Wilds of Africa
Because of the theme and high-quality design of the Wilds of Africa video slot, it’s sure to be a big success at online casinos where the GamingSoft range can be found, and there’s no denying that it looks good.
We couldn’t help being a little let down by the bonus features however, and while there’s nothing really wrong with them there’s nothing particularly special about them either. Standard symbols in the 10 free spins and the chance to add only 5 extra games on the end is fairly limiting, and unlike many other games, there’s no value to the wild symbol.
But let’s put these aside and just enjoy some very attractive symbols that spin up reliable wins in what is overall, a good slot machine.
