Aero Slots
Sweet-toothed gamers may be disappointed to hear that this game has nothing whatsoever to do with the somewhat legendary chocolate bar with all the holes. Nevertheless, it offers plenty by way of tasty treats, albeit in this instance they aren’t edible so much as bankable.
Aero Slots is a 5-reel, 5-payline game that takes its inspiration from one of mankind’s greatest achievements – flight. After millennia spent desperately trying to master this skill, in the 21st Century we see boarding a plane like riding the bus, but after a couple of minutes on this machine you’ll rediscover the appreciation for the wonder of being airborne people used to have during the earliest days of planes and choppers.
Sadly, the first impressions of this particularly offering aren’t the best. The graphics look a little basic, perhaps even roughly sketched, and while that may have worked with a little more attention to detail and aesthetics, it just comes across as slightly slapdash. Oftentimes, though, when the looks are this ugly the gameplay more than compensates, so we should probably lift the hood, oil the propellers, and take a look at exactly how much fun this promises players.
The Miracle of Flight
When the screen first loads up you’ll see 5 reels, each with three pictures on. The pictures include a hot air balloon, helicopter, airliner, biplane, and seaplane. Each corresponds to a different value of winning, and perhaps surprisingly the balloon is actually the symbol that pays out the most.
But then Aero Slots is all about celebrating the romantic side of air travel, and what’s more romantic than cruising the air in a giant balloon, ideally champagne and love of your life in hand? Nothing, that’s what.
As with all 5-reel games, the idea is to match up threes, fours and fives of like pictures, which will signify a win if landed on an active payline. Sounds simple enough? Whoa, there, you need to learn the controls before you take to the skies. There are, after all, other flights up there and nobody likes a menace at 15,000feet.
Pilot’s License
So, there are two different ways you can improve your chances of winning Aero Slots. First up, adjust the number of paylines in play. To do this, hit the All Lines button at the bottom of the screen, and then adjust the number of lines – from one to five – that are in play by clicking the arrows to the left of the reels, on or off. The more paylines in play, the more chances you have of winning.
You can also change the amount you want to bet, albeit within pre-determined limits. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see some poker chips – 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 – the higher the number the more money you are placing on a bet, which in turn means the more money you are likely to pick up from the table when you win.
Easy as Riding a Bike
That’s pretty much all there is to say about this one. At the paytable, which is at the top of the screen above the actual reels, you’ll see that there are very few pictures involved, and absolutely no sign of any Bonus, Scatter or Wild cards. This means all you need to do is focus down on spinning the same five pictures into combinations that will see you walking away with some decent winnings. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Got the Experience?
This is definitely aimed at the more mature and experienced home-gambler, someone who has seen so many themes and styles on the reels, so many over-the-top bonus games and special cards to look out for, but they have learned that ultimately none of that really makes a game good. Instead, what’s important is the ability to place quick bets, leading to quick wins, raising the stakes when you like the keeping the adrenaline pumping.
On all counts Aero Slots delivers, and then some, making for a truly compelling experience that makes you want to stick about and have another bash. It’s just a shame more work wasn’t put into the aesthetics, really, otherwise this one would get close to full marks.
