When there's something strange, in the neighborhood, who are you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Since this classic 80s film was recently part of Hollywood's agenda to repeatedly reboot already beloved and successful franchises, this Ghostbusters virtual video slot was well-timed and represents all your favorite characters from the classic 80s movie - who knew you would be playing a slot with bill Murray's face on it! I mean, perhaps you aren't surprised - but I was pleasantly surprised to finally stumble on a video slot themed after a movie I like! And this slot brings in all the hilarious, supernatural 80s comedy greatness you're familiar with. The moment you load this game, it takes you to a clear instructional screen, complete with square images and a tab highlighting the basic features, bonuses, and other great game content this movie-themed slot can offer the user. This includes payback bonuses, features to unlock, instructions, promises of level-up bonuses It also points out instantly for the user how valuable the wilds are, the scatters, and the ultimate goal of beating zuul. Be careful or this game might spray some bright green ectoplasm on you! This is definitely worth your betting time
Gameplay, Layout, and Navigation, and More
With the number of bonuses, and levels you'd think this is almost as good as a game you'd play completely for fun. Let's not forget the true purpose of slots is to win money back - it's about the thrill of winning or losing with every spin of the board. That being said, you can play this game in free mode first, then shift from the free mode and operate the game in cash mode. I would suggest playing in free mode to get the flow of the game, plus estimate how much you'd be willing to bet in terms of how frequently this slot puts out wins. However, this slot is by IGT, which is a reliable and great gaming software company. They are usually very good at what they do, exceptional even. The board is highly animated with distinct accuracy to the movie and is played against the streets of New York where the movie takes place. On the right side is an open garage with the ghostbusters car peering out, and even features a 3D blinking animation. The rest of the background is nothing but paved streets, parked cars, and a subtle spotlight. The street is empty, similar to various scenes within this movie. Most of the valuable controls are available at the bottom of the screen in this game. On the furtherestfurthermost left corner of the screen is the coins section, to the left of that is the individual coin value. Towards the middle is a button displaying your total bet, which can be easily adjusted using the plus and minus arrows on both sides. Now towards the right side of the screen on the bottom, we have a window that displays your wins, a definite window to keep an eye on. Next to that window, as we travel to the right, is the balance window, and finally in the corner is the familiar auto spin and spin buttons, which are blue and white with c arrows. The bigger one is manual spin, and the smaller one is the auto spin button. The navigation is pretty standard for IGT, so there's not much to say about it especially if you're used to this kind of game.
Symbols Paylines and More
This slot is perfect for low rollers because the maximum bet is a small sum of 30 dollars. There are 30 available pay lines to place your bets on in this game, and it ranges from 0.10 cents to one dollar per line. The symbols in this game include all the iconic imagery from the ghostbusters movies, including the climber bonus symbol, the Stay Puff bonus symbol, the stay puff marshmallow man, Venkman, Stantz, Spengler, Barrett, zeddemore, climber, and an old ghost lady. You get all your favorite ghostbusters within this board, plus your traditional poker symbols like 10, 9, J (jack) A (ace) Q (queen), and K (king) There is a very distinctive color scheme throughout this board, with red, yellow, blue or green. The board itself is transparent besides the actual icons.
The Stay Puff Bonus Feature
Since this game is more aimed at low rollers - which is unusual for IGT as most boards I've played by them usually have a great range - you probably shouldn't expect huge payouts, after all the amount you put it depends on your payout. It's still fun, though, and perfect for those who don't want to bet big. The best money feature is the Stay Puff bonus. During this bonus, you can trigger free spins, and hand out sticky wilds. Sticky wilds are wilds that stay on the board once you've triggered them, giving you a higher chance to score winning combinations. If you can land some sticky wilds towards the beginning of your free spins round, you definitely will trigger a decent payout. You do have to be lucky enough to trigger the Stay Puff bonus, however. Marshmallows fall from the sky in a fantastic and funny animation.
Other bonuses
However, there isn't just one bonus in this game, however - there are multiple. If you don't get lucky enough to trigger the Stay Puff bonus, you might likely trigger The Bathroom Bonus or the Psychic bonus, because these bonuses hit pretty frequently. Sometimes an animation of a ghost appears on the screen, and he will leave wilds in his wake, which is wonderful. Who would have thought as a ghostbuster you'd be wanting a ghost to appear? It's ironic and funny. The sticky wilds can accumulate payout for you if you are lucky enough to trigger this. If you trigger these bonus symbols and trigger the first two, the board will make a large and exciting noise, and the reels will speed up. The ghostbuster soundtrack plays in the background - and users will be fond of the animation, music, and fast spin combination.
Payouts and the 4 Mystery Bonus
As you can probably guess, the highest-paying symbol is the wild symbol. It will increase winning combinations, but won't substitute for any of the ghosts, the slimer, the stay puff marshmallow man or the scary lady. If you land any ghost symbols on the middle reels, you'll trigger a ghost battle. During the base game, you might trigger the 4 mystery feature. Slimer literally farts as wins are paid out, and the pay can be as high as 50 to 50,000 times your stake. The multiplier however is pretty low, so can be between x2 and x5. It does offer an extra wilds feature where up to 4 icons can be turned wild. The wild reels feature means 1 to 3 reels become slimed.
The Ballroom Buster Bonus
During the Ballroom Buster bonus, you strap on a proton pack and you shoot at the ghosts, making them explode. You have 5 chances to find the hidden ghosts. For each ghost you bust, you are rewarded. Some ghosts offer multipliers and double payouts.
The Psychic and The Jackpot
Whether you believe in the spirit world or not, you have to pick a card that matches Dr Venkman's. It's a card identical to whatever he's holding up on the screen. During the game, there is also a jackpot. You have to follow slimer and pick five green clouds. Within the cloud is prizes and progressives. If you capture three ghostbuster icons on the middle reel, you might win both the progressive jackpot and the bonus game. The only thing I didn't care for, was that I wished the progressive jackpot was visible at the top of the screen, I just think it might be more motivating and increase the allure of the game.
Conclusion and Would I Play This Game Again
To be honest, I think the movie-based slots are some of the best slots usually, especially if it is a beloved movie like Ghostbusters. It's sort of like the world of pinball - the basis of the game usually stays somewhat the same, but it's about how creative you are theming both the features and the animation. Besides the fact this game offers multiple rewarding bonuses, the theme is so fun I might just come back to this game in the future. Overall, I think IGT did a great job designing a fun game for low rollers especially. The maximum bet won't break your bank should you suffer from a string of bad luck. Instead, it offers gamblers of all financial ranges a chance to immerse themselves in one of their favorite movies, and enjoy the magic that is the ghostbusters series. I do recommend low rollers to make sure to play it in free mode first, just to ensure the game runs smoothly and the animation doesn't glitch in any horrible way, but I'm pretty sure IGT is a solid software company regardless.
