Take a bite out of the classic Jurassic Park slot from Microgaming

I remember the huge rush of anticipation that there was in the 1990s when Steven Spielberg's latest film, Jurassic Park, promised to bring dinosaurs to life like never before. Sure we'd had some cheesy 1960s dinosaur films in the past (often starring Doug McClure) but you could always tell these creatures were models.

The technical innovations and engaging story line of Jurassic Park saw it become a huge hit with cinema fans across the world and it has spawned a number of sequels, many of which are still a hit with fans today.

However, it took several years to pass before the first slot game of the film was made after Microgaming snapped up the rights. Jurassic Park was released back in 2014 and was the first slot to feature Parallax Scrolling, as well as a bumper number of bonuses and other features. So does it still hold up as a slot game today?

We decided to brave the dinosaurs and venture forth to find out for ourselves.

Overview

• Game: Jurassic Park
• Developer: Microgaming
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 243 Ways to Win
• Minimum Bet: 0.30
• Maximum Bet: 6.00
• Jackpot: 38,000 coins
• Free Spins Bonus: Yes
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: Medium

Presentation

The presentation of the Jurassic Park slot is absolutely sensational and it remains one of the best presented slots you will play anywhere online. The Parallax Scrolling (which makes the background of the slot move at a different pace to the foreground) gives the slot added depth and makes the backdrop (of the jungle) come alive.

However, it is the execution of the game itself and the cinematic soundtrack and sound effects, many taken directly from the film, that make it so memorable. This is a gorgeous looking and sounding slot game and even when you compare it to some other slots about films that have similar features, Jurassic Park stands out from the crowd.

As slots go, Jurassic Park still remains the standard bearer in how to present a slot.

What is on the reels?

There are two types of standard symbols on the reels. The first are the dinosaurs and there are five different types of these including the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Triceratops, the Brachiosaurus and of course the scary Velociraptors. Wins range from just a single coin up to 5x your total bet with these lower value symbols.

The higher value symbols are the four characters from the film Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and lastly John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and the size of wins these offer ranges from a small amount 2/3 of your total bet, up to around 14 times your total bet.

Alongside these symbols there are also the Wild symbol and the Scatter, which leads us into the main bonus features of the slot.

Wild features

The Jurassic Park logo, which was made very famous by the film, is the highest paying symbol on the reels offering a sizeable win for five across the reels. However, it is its ability to substitute for other symbols that is its most useful feature as it can be used to create multiple wins and increase the size of wins.

The Wilds are also stacked on the reels in the base game which makes it possible to land more than one symbol across the reels.

In the base game, you also have the randomly triggered T-Rex Alert bonus, which if triggered will add 35 additional Wilds to the reels for a total of six spins.

Free Spins features

The mosquito encased in amber is the Scatter symbol in the game and this offers a number of prizes based on your total bet ranging from 1x and 2x your bet for 2 or 3 of theses symbols landed across the reels, up to 100x your bet for five.

If you land three or more of the Scatter symbols then you will trigger the Free Spins bonus. There are several bonus games here that players can unlock as they trigger Free Spins repeatedly in the game.

The bonuses are:

• Dilophosaurus Free Spins - 12 Free Spins with Winning Wilds
• Brachiosaurus Free Spins - 12 Free Spins with a Mystery Multiplier
• Triceratops Free Spins - 12 Free Spins with Running Wilds
• Velociraptor Free Spins - 12 Free Spins with Multiplier Wilds and Split Wilds
• Tyrannosaurus Rex Free Spins - 12 Free Spins with Wild Reels

Once you have unlocked each of the bonuses and played them a total of 25 times in total, you are then able to pick which of the bonuses you would like to play each time you trigger Free Spins after this bonus round. Of course, your progress in the slot will be saved so you can continue your game in the next session, which is another great touch.

Best feature of the Jurassic Park slot

There are so many features of the Jurassic Park slot that are absolutely top notch. The presentation, as we have said previously, is about the best you will find on any slot game anywhere in the world today and that is high praise indeed. However, even though the presentation is so outstanding, I feel the bonus games in the Free Spins section of the slot are what makes this game so playable. The quest element adds excitement to the game and the different bonuses each offer something special and the chance of a big value win.

Conclusion

Quite simply, the Jurassic Park slot is about as good as it gets when it comes to modern slot games. The design, look, sound and playability of the slot are off the charts and it is easy to see why Microgaming have come back to this slot to use it as the inspiration for sequel games. That said, I still feel Jurassic Park outranks them all and this, along with the likes of Mega Moolah and Thunderstruck II is one of the truly great Microgaming slots of all time.

You can play the Jurassic Park slot at any of our Mega Moolah casinos.