Viking Conquest Slot Machine
You never know what you’ll get when first loading up a Viaden slot title. Some have amazing graphics, multiple bonus games and animations on the reels. Others are plain, with rows of fruit or other blocky symbols, and just a free spins round to keep you entertained. I was happy to find that Viking Conquest has some of the best graphics Viaden offer – with the setting a Viking longboat against the backdrop of a dramatic snow-capped mountain. There is a break-out bonus game, where you need to shoot targets. Like in many slots by this software house the real reason to play is the possibility of turning a small stake into a big win. In this case the top line prize is 9000 coins.
The reels on this slot are transparent, which means the background (a billowing sail of the longboat) comes into view when they spin. Symbols are detailed too, though some of this was lost on a smaller screen. I was wondering whether a symbol was a Viking with an extra-long nose for a moment, before realizing that this was the arm of a woman. Other symbols in include a scary looking mask, shield, longboat and Viking with an impressive giant sized ginger beard. Music in the background is also dramatic; this is movie-score type music – rather than a tune you could hum. There is also the use of arrow sound effects and animations in play.
While this is a great looking slot, there is not too much going on. The only break out feature is a simple click to shoot and arrow game. This is billed as ‘lucrative’ in the pay table – and I did get a decent sized win on a couple of occasions from it.
Setup and Play for Viking Conquest
This game uses a 9 win-line setup over 5 reels and 3 rows of symbols. The smallest coin is 10c, or 90c to spin the full lines – you can go up to $4.50c a spin if you wish. Auto-play is the standard Viaden configurable setup, which allows you to choose ‘when to stop’ scenarios as well as the number of spins. You’ll find plenty more options in the settings tab, including a super-fast version with no reel spinning involved.
As is usual, it is the wild symbol which has the out-sized big win in this game. This simply says wild in a decorated symbol. If you land 5 of these on a line, you’ll be paid 9000 coins, 4 are worth 2500, 3 get you 250 and even 2 wilds are worth 10 coins. Any win which is created with this wild and one of the regular (non-bonus) symbols is doubled.
The mask and shield are the regular symbols with the biggest prizes. These are worth 750 coins for 5 and 125 for 4 on a line. Longboats come next at 400 coins for 5, and then the Viking man and woman, which are worth 250 for 5. The playing cards symbols, which are nicely styled in this game, make up the smaller wins.
Bonus symbols not only trigger the break-out bonus game with 3+ on the reels – they also pay as ‘scatters’. This means that seeing 3+ anywhere on the reels gets you a prize. This prize is given as a multiple of your total bet, rather than your line bet. If you are lucky enough to hit 5, this is 500 times your total bet, for 4 you get 50x and 15x for 3.
Viking Conquest – Bonus Game
When you trigger the bonus, you’ll go to a break out screen where you have the first person perspective as the shooter of a longbow. There are 3 targets ahead, and you’ll start with the middle one. You wait until the ‘sight’ is over the middle of the target, and click the ‘shoot’ button. You then see a close up of how your shot does, are awarded some coins and either shoot again or go back to the main game to collect your win.
Graphically, this is an excellent bonus – after the first couple of times I can see it becoming a little dull. This depends on just how ‘lucrative’ it is for you.
Viking Conquest – Conclusion
An amazing looking slot, which is worth taking for a spin just to see the dramatic and detailed graphics. The game-play was smooth and the promise that a huge win can occur at any time definitely adds to the appeal. Only having the single bonus game is a bit of a drawback for me. Even a free spins round or some interesting in-reel behaviour would make a big difference to the game.
