5ive Liner Slots
Already one of the biggest slot machine providers in the land-based casino industry, in recent years JPM Interactive have tried to bring their brand to a new audience by taking their products online.
The result is that classic games such as 5ive Liner now offer all of the fun and functionality of a traditional casino slot cabinet, albeit with the added accessibility that you’d expect from an online fruit machine. This mix means that fans of retro reels now have an easier way to play the games they love, while today’s new breed of slot player also get the chance to try a design icon from the past.
Gimme Five
As a traditional land-based slot machine that has simply been ported online, the game mechanics of 5ive Liner are very straightforward. The slot’s five paylines are fixed at all times, meaning players need only choose a bet amount that they’re comfortable with each spin by using the arrow buttons.
Whatever level of investment they choose to make, players will be chasing a regular base game win of 70x their stake for matching three lucky seven symbols, with even the lowest value three-of-a-kind combination ensuring that they at least get their money back. Hold buttons can also be used to lock certain reels in place, allowing players to set up favourable boards for prizes and bonus wins.
Wins in 5ive Liner will automatically transport players to the bonus board, where their prize amount can be gambled up to 12 times in a higher or lower picking round. Wins can be collected at any time during this feature, but an incorrect answer will result in all previous prize money being forfeited.
Casino Classic
As you’d expect from what is essentially a pub fruit machine turned loose online, 5ive Liner features retro graphics and a range of classic slot machine symbols. The game itself appears on a red and orange console with all paylines and the trail feature (more on that later) clearly displayed, while the buttons for changing bet sizes and starting a spin look just like the ones you’d find on a real machine.
In terms of the symbols that are used to award prizes in 5ive Liner, players will find staple pieces of slot machine iconography like cherries, grapes, watermelons, BAR logos and the aforementioned lucky sevens. The JPM Interactive logo features as the game’s second-highest value symbol, while random icons also feature upwards arrow to denote that they will help trigger the trail feature.
As far as sound and animation is concerned, all effects used in 5ive Liner have been taken from the original machine, which helps the game maintain its retro feel. While this means the overall package is not particularly breathtaking, it does at least make the game feel like an authentic fruit machine.
Trail Blazers
In addition to the gamble feature that is activated whenever players land a winning combination, a jackpot board can also be triggered during the base game for collecting upwards arrows. With players needing to land seven of these to launch the feature, players can use their hold buttons to improve their chances, with an arrow anywhere on the reels counting towards the trail bonus metre.
Should they successfully fill the trail metre, players will be transported to a similar looking screen to the gamble feature, albeit with a few modifications. Players now get to pick from a special prize grid before each higher or lower pick, with saving bonuses such as extra lives and “no lose” spins up for grabs. A key icon is also present on this grid, and landing three of these will trigger a further feature.
When this is achieved, players will be moved to a bonus wheel, where wins of up to 10x their total bet are up for grabs. Spins on this bonus wheel continue indefinitely until players land on a space that has already been activated, meaning a maximum win of 60x your bet is potentially on offer.
Old School Fun?
5ive Liner manages to pack in a lot of cool features for what is essentially a classic pub fruit machine, making it far more enjoyable than other retro titles out there. The one negative, however, is that the prizes are not particularly big, meaning that even prolonged runs in the feature will not build payouts that can significantly boost your bankroll in the long run.
