El Cartel Slot
If you're trawling through online casinos looking for something new to play, then take a look at one of the most recent online slots from Spanish developer MGA. The free El Cartel slot machine is an exciting game that will entertain as the prizes roll in. Its backstory is based in trying to intercept dodgy dealings and grab smuggled packages before they fall into the wrong hands. It plays over separate play areas that are a base game and upper game. It also has added wilds, bonus games and a gamble feature to take a risk on any prizes won.
It has great sounds and with being a Spanish company, some of those sounds contain phrases that remain in its native tongue. This adds greatly to the game's unique charm and you may even find yourself picking up language skills you didn’t know you had! Although there is a lot of information to take in for this 3 reel online slot game, it doesn’t appear overly busy on the screen which is an added bonus in itself. It nicely avoids that tendency of some game developers to overdo it with crazy colours or flashing lights everywhere when creating a retro themed slot.
The Top and Bottom of It
The base game takes on the scene of outside a building where the deals are to take place. The male protagonist waits at the side of the reels with his briefcase filled with cash to exchange for a package. On the reels of both games are some typical fruit machine symbols. For the base game, there are diamonds, bells and assorted fruit. For the upper game, the lucky 7s dominate with the highest payouts. The only way to play this upper game is by collecting payments from taking a risk or from cash symbols. Betting has pre-set values between 5 and 75 coins to keep things simple.
Although the base game only has 1 payline, it is possible to play up to 8 though bonus items for the upper game. In the upper game, it has a female protagonist waiting by the reels for the exchange to be made. On occasions during both games, there is almost a match along the payline and this can spark the nudge and hold features into life. A number of nudges can be awarded to push reels forward to seek a successful match. Using the buttons to hold, will keep up to two reels in place, to spin the other to try and land a full line.
Pick and Win
El Cartel plays with a medium variance and playing the higher stakes will mean bigger prizes, but a lot of money and patience will be needed if playing with real cash. There are also mini bonus rounds that can be triggered. The base game only has one mini game and this is the jeep game to pick a jeep and win the prize. It can be a cash prize or a payment to use to play the upper game.
The 3 other mini games are unlocked in the upper game and involve a plane drop, a girl game to match the sassy ladies, or the picking a briefcase to hopefully reveal the one with the money. Any symbols on the reels that have a pistol on them will collect a bonus to play extra lines on the upper reels. Picking up the bundles as they fall in the upper game will also give an extra reward. At higher stakes the 7s play in different combinations and grant random prizes.
Reels of Fun
Retro games are a popular choice online and many die hard gamers prefer the nostalgia of 3 reel play. Microgaming is one of the leaders when it comes to themes and designs and knows just what players want from a game. There isn’t much that they haven’t covered and Rock the Boat video slot is one of those that has a ton of retro threaded through the subject and the design.
It's one to try with its sharp 3D graphics and nostalgic sounds of arcade machine play, with the occasional burst of Elvis thrown in. He plays as the wild and his guitar is on the reels with the BARS and lighthouse symbols. Its layout is like a land based slot machine with reels, controls and pay table all sharing the same space. It's a 2 coin machine with betting from 0.25 to 100. Easy to play, it shows that when it comes to retro gaming it can be stripped right back to basics.
Show Me the Money
When compared to many other 3 reel games, El Cartel has a lot packed into its reels to provide some great entertainment that doesn’t get boring to look at. The changes of scenery see to that quite nicely. It has fruit, nudges and holds to please the traditional gamblers, with mini games to keep the new generation of players happy. The cartoon style fits the theme for this crime caper and the subtle animations are a good mix to keep the game from being too flashy with the amount of content it has.
This online slot looks great on a small screen too as it's mobile optimised so you can watch the deals go down from wherever you are. MGA have a few games that take on a similar style. If you’ve never come across their games before, this one is a great one to start with.