Play New Year for Free

What we love about Drive Media is the fact that they don’t make any false pretence with the games they create. It’s pretty much a case of what you see is what you get with any release from this developer, with New Year being absolutely no different. The game blasts you with all things festive from the moment you load it up, while the winter fireplace backdrop being a real treat for the eyes.

On the reels of New Year you’ll find that it is very much the same story, with cakes, snowflakes, gloves, bells, and baubles making up the symbols. Every aspect of the game’s design ties into Christmas and as such New Year proves to be a real festive treat.

It’s also worth noting that the sounds and audio within this game are top notch, as it features a very familiar Christmas tune, which is sure to help you get swept up in the action on the reels.

It has become the bugbear of many, us included, as when it comes to gameplay Drive Media refuses to switch things up. Sadly, New Year once again follows the exact same gameplay layout of prior releases from the developer. This means that the game makes use of 5-reels, 9-paylines, a minimum bet of 9.00, a maximum bet of 450.00, and a medium variance approach to payouts.

Familiarity is one thing, but lack of originality is another, and we think when it comes to gameplay Drive Media could have been much more creative with New Year.

New Year is a rather basic game when it comes to bonus features, but we don’t think that players would expect much more from a game that has a very limited shelf life. Bonus rounds are pretty much non-existent, but there a few additional symbols on the reels that give the game a little extra zip.

Free spins are probably the biggest “pull” of New Years, as three scatter symbols will land you 10 free game rounds. The free spins in the game are only furthered by the wild symbols in play, which ensure from some fairly lofty payouts.

Calling it how it is, New Year doesn’t have the power to blow anyone away with its bonuses, but there are a nice couple additions that make the game slightly more enjoyable.

When it comes to controls (more specifically control panels), Drive Media is a name that really does need to wake up. Time and time again they use the same old clunky looking graphics and button combinations that weigh games down. Sadly, that’s another issue that New Year has to contend with, the blocky looking silver does very little to tie in within the rest of the title.

Christmas themed slot games are what they are for the most part, so players seldom play them with great expectations in mind. In this instance, that’s probably for the best, as while New Year looks pretty good, the rest of the game has nothing special to offer. The bonuses are middle of the road, the payouts are three in number yet low in value, and the controls are a little on the clunky side, so New Year may very well go down as one to miss.