Play The Heat Is On for Free

Now we know a lot of you won’t care, but for those that prefer gender neutral or less sexist gaming, the issue surrounding the imagery here is going to be of importance. Slot machines have been around for years, and so there’s many staple sexualised images used of women. However, we’ve come a long way since then, with the community now including many female gamers. So to still see a brand continuing this type of aesthetic seems a tad backwards. Some may feel it doesn’t take away from the game, but we feel it does.

Instead of presenting tiny waists and huge boobs, Microgaming could have gone for a more neutral style, like that seen in Loaded PI or Bobby 7s. There’s no need to slap some breasts on the interface to make it more appealing, for the content should already be appealing enough as it is. All we ask is that some unisex content be introduced back into the aesthetic, rather than making this a ‘boys only’ title. It would mean greater success for The Heat Is On in the long run.

We could now move onto the main feature of the game, the free spins, but we wanted to draw your attention to a smaller element: the two wild icons. The reason being is that it’s less predictable than the bonus extra spins seen here. Microgaming has utilised two women as their wilds, and in doing so cover the bases of good and evil in the image of the cop and the image of the bad guy.

Both of these symbols appear to do the same job, and so all that you’ve given here is double the chance of landing a substituting win. However, that in itself shouldn’t be overlooked, seeing as wild payouts can be quite large, as much as 2,500 credits. The thing is, gamers won’t get that amount unless they bet the full 125 credits of the game, and so you have to ask yourself whether a 10 credits return for a min bet of 0.50 is worth it.

We’ve already mentioned two titles before now, and so you should be sorted in terms of other slot machines, but just in case here’s Jack Hammer 2. This slot machine is from NetEnt, bringing you a gangster oriented aesthetic rather than a modern day crime fighting one. As a result, you get a film noir aesthetic inside a comic book strip style, two elements that shouldn’t work together but actually do. We love the visuals, and can’t commend the brand enough.

In terms of variance, there are free games and wilds, just like in The Heat Is On, and so it comes down to which is the more interesting to play. And for that, dear players, we have to leave the conclusion up to your lovely selves, for it’s a subjective experience. Why not play them one after the other and see which one tickles your fancy more?

The Heat Is On may deliver sexy lifestyles and the such, but let’s face it, the world of crime isn’t a sexy one, and nor is it one that holds our interests for very long. Microgaming could have done something special here, but they chose to limit their creativity and develop a lacklustre title instead. It’s okay for a low value punt, but for anything else we’d suggest seeking slot machines from further afield.