Gladiator Slot Thrills; Call Of The Colosseum
The wealth of imperial Rome is a popular theme for slot games at casino mate nz, and the gladiatorial combat in the arena, with lives hanging on an emperor’s whim, is a great fit for dedicated gamblers chancing their luck. Developer NextGen recognised the parallels and created the Call Of The Colosseum title from the gladiator’s perspective, with everything to play for and nothing to lose.
The five reels, with 25 pay lines, are supported by vine-covered marble columns in the centre of the Colosseum, and all the symbols relate to the arena. In base play, however, there is little to mirror the tension of these life-or-death struggles. There’s no soundtrack apart from a couple of beeps to start the spin, a weird hum accompanying the spin, and brief fanfares to signal the arrival of special symbols or celebrate wins.
All Symbols are Theme-Related
A lack of any all-too-common poker symbols helps to pique the interest in Call Of The Colosseum. Instead, all symbols relate to the Roman inspiration. In ascending order of value, they are a bunch of grapes and a trio of Roman coins, which win the same prizes for identical matches, a pair of gladiator sandals and a moneybag, which also win equal-value prizes, a gladiator helmet that wins the same as the soldier’s shield and spears, and a golden chariot of the same value as the Colosseum itself.
These last two icons have the highest value of the paired symbols, paying 200 coins for five of a kind. All the lower-value symbols require matches of three or better on a pay line to win prizes. There are two more symbols with unique values; a chained tiger and a beautiful Roman lady holding a rose for the gladiator. These icons win prizes for two matches or better; the tiger is worth 2,000 coins for five of kind, and the lady scores 5,000 coins for the same combo.
Animated Wild and Scatter Symbols
The Call Of The Colosseum Wild is the emperor, and like the Scatter, his icon is outlined in a gold frame and heralded by its own fanfare whenever it appears. The Wild occurs only on Reels 2, 3 and 4, so it can’t win any prizes for combinations with itself, as all winning lines must start on Reel 1. It has a substitution role only, and the emperor acknowledges any wins he helps to create with a regal wave.
The Scatter symbol, a gladiator’s shield, does pay for combos of two or more, scattered anywhere across the reels. The prize is a multiple of the total bet for the spin, and the Scatter wins 2X, 5X, 15X and 100X the spin bet for combinations of two, three, four or five. A flash of light over the shield and a ringing clash of arms accompany these wins.
Gladiator Action Takes Off in Bonus Round
It is in the bonus round that Call Of The Colosseum really lives up to its gladiator theme, as impressive martial music wells up to accompany the action. If three or more Scatters appear, they activate a round of 10 free spins. These cannot be reactivated during the bonus round, but they can be increased.
Whenever a Wild appears, the emperor is animated, making a random choice with his thumb. Thumb down means the free spins continue as before. A thumbs-up, however, will reward the player with between 1 and 3 extra free spins, extending the bonus round. As all wins are doubled during free spins, this can be a profitable bonus.