Unlike most software developers, who release one new game per month, Microgaming have always been dedicated to offering their players more. That’s why almost every month the team release two brand new slots. For July, we’ve already seen the launch of Six Acrobats and Sugar Parade, but hot off their heels the brand have already announced news of two more titles.
This August, Emoticoins and Oink Country Love will hit your screens. Although each has a very different theme than the other, the good news is that both are packed full of bonus features and chances to win big. Read on for the full details of both new slots.
Emoticoins Mobile Slot
Emoticoins is a 5 reel, 35 payline slot which will be available across all devices. The game is playable from as little as 30p per spin, all the way up to £300.
Visually, the game is bright and bold, however we can’t say we’re 100% sold on the theme. Emoticoins, as the name suggests, is based around those little smiley faces you may send in a text message. Symbols include the ‘cool’ emoticon (wearing sunglasses), the winky face, a grinning face, one pulling it’s tongue out and one blowing a kiss. In addition, the slot features the traditional 10 to Ace playing card symbols.
This kind of theme has been tried before and, in fact, NetEnt will also be releasing their emoticon inspired slot, ‘Emoji Planet’ this year too. The problem is, however, that no matter who’s producing the slot, the theme feels like a poor attempt at tapping into pop culture. We already know that software developers are always looking to persuade younger people to try out online gaming, but this feels cheap and transparent.
Graphics aside, Emoticoins does benefit from two bonus features. First of all, the Wild Blast feature is triggered randomly and will reward you with up to five extra wilds added to your reels. This increases your chance at creating a winning combination, as wilds in this game work as they usually do; they substitute for any other symbol apart from the scatters.
Scatters are illustrated by the acronym LOL (groan…) and if you and three or more anywhere on the reels, they’ll unlock a free spins round. Players will be rewarded with 10 free spins, and added sticky wilds. This is definitely where the big wins of the game will happen, and luckily the feature triggers quite regularly.
Oink Country Love Mobile Slot
Oink Country Love is the second Microgaming release of the month, and it’s a 5 reel slot with 45 paylines. Like Emoticoins, Oink Country Love will be available across all devices, and it can be played for as little as 50p per spin.
This game is based around pigs, which would seem weirder if there wasn’t already a bunch of porcine slots around. We don’t know if it’s because they add a nice shade of pink to the reels, or because they give way to nicely illustrated farmyard backdrops, but software developers seem to love pigs.
The game focuses around two musical pigs, Willy and Chancho, and their quest to impress Miss Southern Charm — a female pig who wears pigtails (ha ha) and a cowboy hat. Symbols include these three main characters, a lamb, a cow, a rooster and the traditional 10 to Ace playing card symbols.
Willy and Chancho are the game’s wilds, whilst the scatter is illustrated by a golden ticket. Land three or more scatters on the reels and you’ll trigger the Barnyard Bash Free Spins feature. How many free spins you will be awarded is dependent on how many scatters you collected in the base game.
Three scatters will give you five spins, four scatters gives you 10 spins, and five scatters gives you a huge 20 free spins. What’s more, if you land a stacked scatter symbol (which can appear on reels two and three), you’re spins will be doubled. In addition, the feature can be re-triggered up to three more times, which means there a grand total of 160 free spins up for grabs!
