Gladiator Arena slot's Pick an Opponent Bonus offers excellent cash rewards

Do you remember the Ridley Scott epic film Gladiator? Which starred Russell Crowe in the title role and Joaquin Phoenix as his nemesis Commodus, the evil, incestuous son of Marcus Aurielus. The film also saw Oliver Reed in his last ever film role as Proximo, the trainer of Gladiators and one of very few to win their freedom in the coliseum.

Well in the new Gladiator Arena you will venture forth onto that battlefield to take on a number of opponents to see if you could be a big cash winner. This lower variance slot from Booming Games, part of the Microgaming Content Aggregator Platform, offers a number of innovative bonus features and some rather impressive graphics.

We decided to take a closer look at the game to see what it played like and here is what we discovered.

Overview

• Game: Gladiator Arena
• Developer: Booming Games (for Microgaming)
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 20 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.20
• Maximum Bet: 100.00
• Jackpot: 250x in base game, 1,000x in Pick an Opponent Round
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Low

Presentation

The presentation of the Gladiator Arena slot is very nicely done. Set in a large coliseum, who knows it may even be the famous one in Rome at the height of its powers, the red-speckled floor of the coliseum lies at the foot of the screen, with the gaping stands surrounding the reels and just the merest hint of a relentless sun above.

There are five reels in the game with three symbols on each and there are 20 non-selectable pay lines in play. The music that accompanies the game is somewhat unusual and strikes a balance between sounding somewhat powerful and dramatic, with being a little out of kilter with what is happening on screen. This is a lower variance slot, despite

What is on the reels?

There are 12 symbols on the reels in total, two Scatters, a Wild and a combination of Minor and Major symbols. There are five minor symbols, and these are the playing card symbols from the 10 through to the Ace. Wins start from just 0.25x your bet but increase up to 7.5x your bet for five aces across the reel. However, I would have preferred to see them use something like Roman Numerals on this slot to make it fit in more with the game.

There are four Major symbols on the reels, and these include the fierce lion, as well as an older gladiator and two powerful looking gladiators ready for combat. Wins on these symbols start at 1x your bet and increase up to 25x your bet. You can also land these symbols stacked up to three high on the reels and when you do it is easier to win with them across multiple winning lines.

Wild features

There are two Wild symbols on the reel, although both are essentially the same symbol, just slightly different in how many there are on screen. The standard Wild can be landed as a single symbol and if you can land that symbol across the reels on all five reels on a pay line, then you can win the base game jackpot of 250x your bet.

The other Wild is the Walking Wild which is a symbol that covers the entire reel when landed. When this symbol lands it will move across the reels on successive spins, moving from right to the left, until it reaches the first reel after which it will fall from the reels. You can land more than one Walking Wild on the reels at any given time to give yourself a better chance of a win.

Free Spins features

There is one Free Spin feature on the slot which is the Pick a Door bonus. This is triggered when you land three or more of the Gladiator Arena Scatter symbols anywhere across the reels. When you do, you will get a chance to pick from one of three doors, behind which you will receive either 8, 10 or 12 Free Spins depending on which door you pick. During Free Spins all Major symbols are 3x1 symbols high on the reels, with no single Major symbols in play.

Once nice touch that Booming Games have added to this game is the Pick an Opponent bonus. Unlike the Pick a Door bonus which results in Free Spins, this bonus will allow you to take on an opponent in battle. The more difficult the opponent you face, as designated by the stars shown on the door of your opponent, the greater the potential cash rewards are for you, but also the greater the chance that you may not win a cash prize.

To win, you need to win at least one round against your opponent. Three Rounds are played in total and the more rounds you win, the greater your cash prize will be (based on a multiplier of your bet). Wins can range from 15x your bet up to 1,000x your bet.

Best feature of the Gladiator Arena slot

I think the Pick an Opponent Bonus is the best feature of the Gladiator Arena slot. The fact that there is some combat-based element to the game really fits in with the slot theme and adds an extra dimension to the game that goes beyond the usual Free Spins and Wild bonuses. The Marching Wilds too are a nice touch, but I think in terms of game design and innovativeness, the Pick an Opponent bonus is a winner.

Conclusion

Boomng Games are a relatively new company to me having become part of the Microgaming Content Aggregator platform only recently, but I have to say that I am very impressed with the Gladiator Arena offering. The bonus features are superbly done and fit the game very nicely as well as offering some excellent cash rewards. The slot is nicely designed and has some nice touches throughout. All in all, this is a very impressive offering and well worth digging out to see if you enjoy the game as much as I did.

Where can you play the Gladiator Arena slot?

You can play the Gladiator Arena slot at any of the Mega Moolah casinos on the Where to Play page, Bonus page, Rewards page or Country page.