Expert review by Lucas Collins
NetEnt released their first Dead or Alive slot back in 2009 and, to this very day, it has remained one of their most popular slots. It was a hit due to its exciting gameplay and fantastic graphics, and now they are hoping to recreate the success that it had by launching Dead or Alive 2. This 5-reel, 3-row, 9-payline slot is, like the original, set in the Wild West, but the graphics are more comic book-like. Will it live up to the hype? Keep reading to find out!
Nowadays, more and more slot games are being produced with more bonus features than you can shake a stick at. This is a good thing as it helps to keep things very entertaining while giving you more of a chance to win big sums of cash. Dead or Alive 2 is one such slot. For example, there are three different free spin modes (Train Heist, Old Saloon and High Noon) and five different wilds that can help improve your chances of winning. More information about these features is provided below.
NetEnt is well known for its fantastic graphics, and this slot is no exception. In fact, one of the first things that you will notice is how much effort has been made when it comes to the design of this slot. We don’t think that it is an exaggeration to say that you will be hard pushed to find better-looking symbols elsewhere. As with the majority of slot games nowadays, the lowest paying symbols in this one are the playing cards 10 through to Ace.
On the other hand, the higher paying symbols, and the ones you want to land the most are the gun, the sheriff’s badge, the cowboy hat, the cowboy boots, the gun and the bottle of whisky. All of the five characters in the slot act as a wild (they can replace all other symbols apart from the scatter to help form a winning combination), with the notorious Billy the Kid being the highest rewarding one. The scatter, which activates free spins, is represented by a bull’s skull, two guns and the word scatter written underneath.
Three free spin rounds are activated by landing three scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. When this occurs, you must choose what free spin feature you want – but you will always receive at least 12 free spins. Train Heist: When a wild appears, the multipliers start to increase by 1x, and another free spin is awarded. Reach a 16x multiplier to get 5 more free spins. Old Saloon: Every win is multiplied by 2x, and sticky wilds can happen. High Noon: Similar to Old Saloon, but every time a wild appears, it will multiply.
More and more slot games are coming equipped with progressive and standard jackpots, but Dead or Alive 2 doesn’t happen to be one of them. However, don’t get upset just yet as there is still the possibility of winning 100,000x your stake. So, since the maximum stake that you can place on this slot is £18.00, if Lady Luck happens to be smiling down upon you, you could find yourself walking away with a whopping £1.8 million. Just imagine how that would change your life!
When it comes down to betting lines (often referred to as paylines), the more there are, the better it is for the player. This is obviously because your chances of winning some cash will be much improved if you have a lot of betting lines in action. However, unfortunately, Dead or Alive 2 comes equipped with just nine betting lines. This isn’t very good, but it is one of the only negative things about this slot, so you shouldn’t let it put you off from giving it a go.
When slot players come across a new game, one of the first things that they want to know is its return to player or RTP rate. The reason for this is because it gives them a good idea as to how much, theoretically speaking, they will win back over a period of time. The RTP of this slot is 96.8%, which is very generous. This means that if you were to spend £100 on this slot, you should expect to get back at least £96.80.
The volatility of a slot is another thing that players are always curious to know about as this gives them an idea as to how much they stand to win and how often. The volatility of Dead or Alive 2 is high, which means that wins won’t come around that often, but when they do, they will have been well worth the wait. All you have to do is keep spinning and wait for Lady Luck to smile on you. Therefore, this type of slot game is more suited to those with a bigger bank balance.
NetEnt has stated that this is going to be a slot game of epic proportions and, having had a look at the array of bonus features that it will offer its players, we think it is safe to say that they are definitely not lying about that. If you loved the first Dead or Alive (who didn’t?), then you are going to love the sequel. NetEnt wanted to create a slot that was better than the original, and we think that they knocked it out of the park!
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