Hulkmania Online Slot Machine Review
I was expecting a bold, brash slot with some shouting – what I was not expecting is that this slot would be so professionally produced and entertaining to play. Hulk Hogan is the star of the game. He is instantly familiar – even to people who are not fans of the sport. You will see Hulk in front of the reels at several intervals in the game, as well as on the reels themselves. There are 2 separate feature rounds, as well as a nice in-reel feature with random wilds.
Symbols are linked by chains on this 5-reel, 3 row slot and spin over a translucent background with a metallic looking mesh behind. Everything from the Hulkmania logo at the top to the symbols is bright and in your face. The symbols include the winners belt, money, the Hulk’s famous sunglasses, a gold coins and the letters H, U, L and K. The Hulk appears to introduce the bonus games, and to tell you when the extra wilds are about to arrive. Bonus games themselves are like retro video games with cartoon animations.
While you are playing a rock riff fades in and out. I like the way they have varied this, sometimes the guitar, sometimes the bass notes. There are more traditional computer noises for wins, and to accompany the speeding up of the reels when two bonus symbols appear.
Setup and Play for Hulkmania
The basis is a 20 line slot with 5 reels and 3 rows. You can choose how many lines to play, and your coin amount, £0.20p was the smallest spin amount with £200 per spin also possible. There is an auto-play function, though I found this a little slow as the slot cycles through each of the smaller line wins between spins.
Of the regular symbols, Hulk himself has the biggest prizes. The picture where he is pointing upwards is worth 1000 coins for 5, and the one where he is listening to the crowd is worth 400. Sunglasses, gold bars, a gold coin and then money come next. Instead of the playing card symbols the letters making up ‘HULK’ contribute the smaller prizes – there is no extra bonus for spelling ‘Hulk’ across the reels.
Wild symbols pay the biggest prize of all. This is Hulk again, this time with the word ‘Wild’ in front of him. You will get 2500 coins for 5 of these on a win-line. The usual rules about substituting for any symbol except for the bonus or scatters apply to this slot.
There are 3 special symbols. First a golden wild, which only occurs in the middle reel. When this lands, Hulk appears in front of the reels, and announces that ‘Hulkmania has gone wild!’ At this point 4 more wilds appear randomly on the screen, and the golden wild symbol also becomes a wild. This can lead to some reasonably big wins.
There is a Hulkmania Belt symbol. If you land 3 of these you will trigger the Big Fight bonus game. There is also an arm wrestling symbol. 3 of those kicks of the free-spins game, which is preceded by an arm-wrestle.
Hulkmania Bonus Games
Bonuses in this slot put a lot of the bigger slot makers to shame with their detail and complexity. The ‘Big Fight’ is a full-blown wrestling match between Hulk and ‘the Punk’. You’ll see them in the ring, and then click to choose (randomly) a wrestling move. This will either be for Hulk or the Punk. Each competitor has a life-meter at the top of the screen, and different moves take different amounts of energy from these bars. The names of many moves were a too small to see – think slams and scissor kicks and you will be on the right track. You get money for each move Hulk makes; and a bonus amount at the end if he wins.
The other game starts with an arm wrestle. The twist here is that you have to beat the Hulk. You see the Hulk and another arm, and then choose from boxes underneath to see who wins. The first opponent to 3 wins takes the match. Each time you select a move, you accumulate more free spins – with bonus spins if you win, and more bonus spins if you win quickly. After that you go to the reels and the game runs through your free spins. A nice touch is that the golden wilds are active during the free spins rounds.
Hulkmania – Conclusion
I’ll admit that I did not actually expect to enjoy this slot – and ended up thinking it was excellent. The theme might be a little brash and loud for my tastes, though it is very professionally produced – and has enough features to keep you entertained long after other slots would have lost their allure. The Big Fight bonus was particularly impressive, feeling like a lightly retro video game that kept on paying out money.
Whether you are a fan of the Hulk or not, this slot is recommended – if only to hear the shout of ‘Hulkmania goes Wild!’
