Ramses 2 Slot
There’s something about Ancient Egypt that casino software developers love. No sooner has one Egypt-themed slot rolled off the production line than another is following quickly in its wake. Novomatic is responsible for quite a few: Book of Ra, Book of Ra Deluxe, Egyptian Experience, Pharaoh’s Tomb, Pharaoh’s Ring… and now Ramses II.
Ramses II takes players back to the time of Egypt’s eponymous pharaoh, widely regarded as the greatest ruler of the Egyptian Empire. The player assumes the role of villager and must break into the pyramids to purloin the emperor’s treasure. In order to escape scot-free, you must achieve this feat while evading Ramses’ loyal lieutenants.
Ramses Rules
This particular Egypt-themed video slot features three rows, five reels and nine pay-lines. Not at all dissimilar, then, from the majority of Novomatic’s other titles. Still, if you enjoy Novomatic slots in general, you can be assured you’ll get to grips with this one pretty quickly.
Ramses II is made to suit a variety of players, as one is able to stake 100 credits per line. You can also choose how many pay-lines you want to play; in other words, you needn’t risk more cash by opting in on all 20. The bets, meanwhile, are in the 0.02 to 5 range, while the maximum jackpot is $9,000.
Symbols And Playing The Game
As you might expect, symbols in the game stick closely to the Ancient Egypt theme. Thus, we see the proud eponymous pharaoh, a golden sphinx, a muscle-bound figure wearing an Egyptian headdress and the Giza pyramids at sundown. Other symbols include a camel, a scarab, a golden eagle and playing cards from 9 to Ace.
The animation is solid if unspectacular; the symbols stand out on the reels, bright and gaudy as they are, and the backdrop is designed to resemble a stone tablet scored with many hieroglyphics. The sound effects, on the other hand, have nothing to do with Ancient Egypt; rather, they’re indistinguishable from regular fruit machine audio.
Winnings are paid out on combinations formed on active pay-lines, with players able to win by matching just two symbols. Standard slots fare then, and nothing to get excited about in and of itself. Still, a word on the high-paying symbols is necessary. The pyramid and sphinx symbols sit in the middle of the pay-table, yielding 250 coins for a combination five. The camel symbol is also somewhat valuable, worth 400 coins for five-in-a-row.
The muscle-bound Egyptian and golden eagle symbols, meanwhile, are worth 125 coins for four and 750 coins for five. One of the biggest winners on the board, though, is the symbol of Ramses himself, which also happens to be the game’s wild. Four of these will net you 1,000 coins, while five is worth 2,000 coins.
Wilds And Scatters
As mentioned, the Ramses symbol acts as the game’s wild. As such, it can substitute for all other symbols – except the scarab scatter – to produce winning combinations. Considering it’s also the highest-paying symbol, you’ll be praying it floods the reels during your game. And that’s to say nothing of the x2 multiplier on every win that uses a wild.
All wins in Ramses II pay from left to right, except the scarab scatter; scatters yield wins wherever they happen to land on the screen. Land two, three or four and you’ll be given 40, 100 and 500. Five scatters in a line yields a massive 3,000.
Three or more scatters triggers 15 free spins, into the bargain. What’s more, while you’re using up your freebies you’ll be given the added bonus of a 3x multiplier, increasing the chances of you bolstering your coinage. One must note that it’s not the norm to receive multipliers during free spins, so this fact is certainly a feather in the cap of the Ramses II game.
Worth A Gamble?
It’s hardly worth shouting about, but Ramses II – like other Novomatic games – includes a Gamble feature. Essentially this allows you to double up on your winnings by choosing the colour of a playing card drawn randomly from the deck. Guess right and you double your winnings; guess wrong and you flush them down the toilet.
Winning Formula
You have to concede that casinos are really on to something with these Egypt-themed slot games. Considering its free spins and multipliers, Ramses II is certainly one of the better options.