Atlantean Treasures vs Starburst: Which is the top 10 payline slot?

For a long time, the Starburst slot from Net Entertainment was arguably the most popular 10 pay line win both ways slot. The game-play, even without a Free Spins bonus round, was part of the attraction for so many players who played it in their droves and made it one of the most popular non-progressive slots of its age.

Although there have been a number of other slots released that have followed the 10 pay line, win both ways formula, none have really captured the excitement of Starburst, or that was the case until February 2020. That was because this was the month that Microgaming shattered the mould when it came to this particular type of game.

During that month, the company released the Atlantean Treasures slot, which not only offered 10 pay lines and the ability to win both ways across the reels, but which also offered players a shot at the incredible Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prize. Starburst now had some serious competition, so let's take a look at whether Atlantean Treasures matches up to the task.

In this article, we are going to compare both slots, their presentation, game-play, features and potential jackpot prizes and to do that, we are going to start with a tale of the tape, which looks at the different features each slot has as a comparison.

Tale of the Tape

Now we are going to take a look at how each game compares by looking at a number of the key details of the game, starting with the presentation of the slot.

Presentation

One of the most exciting things about the original Starburst when it was first released was the space-age look and design of the slot. The music reflected this, combining elements of techno, trance and dance music into a very enjoyable sonic backdrop. This was reflected in the futuristic and simple design of the different symbols on the reels, although the Lucky 7 and Bar symbols linked back to the glory days of slot gaming. In short, for it's day and even for now. Starburst's presentation was excellent.

However, in almost very respect, the Atlantean Treasures slot equals Starburst. Admittedly, it is a very different pace of game, being set underwater in the kingdom of Atlantis, but the symbols used on the reels also fit this theme particularly well and the musical accompaniment to the game and the sound effects used are every bit as effective as the Starburst slot. The Expanding Mermaid Wilds are equally as fitting as the Starburst symbol Expanding Wild and the fact you also have to collect those Gold Pearls for a shot at the Mega Jackpot prize even adds an element to the Atlantean Treasures slot that Starburst does not have.

In the end, both slots are superb examples of how to match your theme to the game and make it extremely playable so it would be fairest to award them both the same mark here, and it is a high one to boot.

• Starburst - 9/10
• Atlantean Treasures - 9/10

Game-play

With two slots that have such similar set ups, you would expect Starburst and Atlantean Treasures to have very similar game-play and that is very much the case. Both slots are generally lower variance games, although Atlantean Treasures has a slightly lower RTP due to the fact that it is also a progressive jackpot slot.

In truth though, it doesn't feel like Atlantean Treasures is any different to Starburst when you play the games and compare them. You tend to win roughly as often in both games and also win roughly the same amounts in both games. I do feel that you probably earn a few more better value base game wins in Starburst than Atlantean Treasures, but there is one huge factor that swings the game-play slightly in Atlantean Treasures favour.

Of course, that is the progressive jackpot prize which adds a huge element of extra excitement when playing Atlantean Treasures that even Starburst cannot get anywhere near matching. The knowledge that on any spin, if you collect a golden pearl, you could be walking away with a jackpot prize of millions, often more than ten million, is a dimension that Starburst cannot match.

• Starburst - 9/10
• Atlantean Treasures - 10/10

Win Frequency

As you can probably tell with the RTP of each slot, I do feel that the Starburst slot does offer slightly more pays in the base game than Atlantean Treasures, but not by so much as to make it a fantastically better value option for players. The RTP on Atlantean Treasures is smaller, but even so, you do hit wins regularly and it is entirely possible to finish a session in profit (as I have shown in a number of videos on the game).

There does have to be a tradeoff between offering a Progressive Jackpot prize like Mega Moolah and the size and number of base game spins and as such, Atlantean Treasures doesn't quite offer as many of those bigger value cash prizes, or as large a base game jackpot prize, as Starburst, and for that reason and the fact Starburst does produce just a couple more winners over the same number of spins, I have just edged this one in Starbursts favour, In truth, when playing both games, you would likely not even notice the difference in a typical session though.

• Starburst - 10/10
• Atlantean Treasures - 9/10

Features

Both slot games have pretty much exactly the same features. The Win Both Ways option is a fantastic value option as it effectively doubles your chances of winning on every spin and that makes each spin on both games very exciting as you could win right up to how the fourth and fifth reels resolve themselves. That doesn't happen on a standard 5x3 reel slot where you can win just one way across the reels.

Also the fact that there are 10 pay lines both ways across the reels gives you essentially 20 different pay lines for the same price. This also makes both games excellent value for money.

Both games also have their main bonus feature, the Expanding Wild symbol, which comes with a Free Respin of the other reels with that Wild held in place. You can also add other Expanding Wilds to the one you already land to trigger additional Respins (up to a maximum of three).

However, Atlantean Treasures also has the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot feature, which is why you collect the small Gold Pears overlaid across the reels on spins. This added feature and those progressive jackpot prize just give this slot the added wow-factor and hand it a victory here too.

• Starburst - 8/10
• Atlantean Treasures - 9/10

Win Potential

When you see Starburst's maximum jackpot being 500x your bet, you think that is much better than Atlantean Treasures 250x your bet, but it is worth noting, especially for higher rollers, you can bet double the amount on Atlantean Treasures than Starburst, which means that the actual maximum cash value win on both slots, in the base game at least is still the same.

All other wins in the base game are generally comparable with each other, so the real difference make here, once again, is the Mega Moolah jackpot prize. Starburst has nothing which can rival the chance to win one of the four Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prizes including the Mega prize which can amount to many millions, while the Major jackpot can be worth many tens of thousands, even in the hundreds of thousand.

Quite simply, this is an easy win for the Atlantean Treasures slot thanks to its link to Mega Moolah.

• Starburst - 8/10
• Atlantean Treasures - 10/10

Conclusion

As you would expect between two similarly structured slots, it is a close run thing, but I think the time has come to take the crown from Starburst and hand it to Atlantean Treasures. For me, Atlantean Treasures is a slot game that has it all. It has the playability, enjoyment and excitement of Starburst, all the key elements that made that game so great and then on top of that, it adds a shot at the Mega Moolah jackpot prize, all for the same price per spin as you can get on Starburst. In terms of value for money too, Atlantean Treasures just pips Starburst.

• Atlantean Treasures - 47/50
• Starburst - 44/50

Whatever way you look at it, these are two exceptionally good slot games and ones well worth a closer look, but for me, Atlantean Treasures is the new king of the 10 pay line, Win Both Ways slots and it is going to take a hell of a game to even get close to challenging its superiority in future, or offer a bigger jackpot than that of the Mega Moolah.