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Aloha! Cluster Pays – NetEnt

score: 7 / 10

After NetEnt launched the long-awaited, official Guns’ N Roses slot, which won the award for the best slot in 2016, one might think they would take a little rest. It would be conceivable that the designers and developers could need a well-deserved break, but not at NetEnt. 

Just after the launch of the formidable Guns’ N Roses machine, they dropped Aloha! Cluster Pays, a slot that seems to have been dreamed up on a sandy beach in Hawaii. The slot, like so many others from NetEnt, is both beautifully designed and unique. The slot was one of the very first grid slots and many will claim that NetEt was the inventor, as Gonzo’s Quest and Aloha! Cluster Pays paved the way with their unique cascading reels and cluster pays function. 

Gone are the traditional reels and paylines, and as soon as you spin the symbols fall down on the screen a bit like on the old games Tetris and Candy Crush. In order to win, the symbols, which are all related to Hawaii and the culture there of course, must gather in clusters on the screen. The bigger the cluster, the bigger the win.

Aloha! Cluster Pays – Free Spins and Features

The slot looks fabulous with six reels, five rows and a theme that rings out summer fun. The slot has very low volatility and an RTP of 96,42%, that’s combined with a massive max win of 10.000 x wager. The slot looks just as good on any unit and is absolutely perfect for playing on your phone. 

As for special features, Aloha! Cluster Pays doesn’t have all that many, which is sort of the norm when it comes to grid slots. Cascading reels and symbol drop ensures plenty of action on their own, so slots like this don’t really need many features. NetEnt have however given Aloha! Cluster Pays Sticky Win Re-Spins and Free Spins with only high paying symbols active. 

The Free Spins symbol is a postage stamp that you must land minimum three of on the same spin to win free spins. During free spins, all low value symbols are removed for guaranteed big wins! Three free spin symbols give you nine free spins, four symbols give 10 free spins, five symbols give 11 free spins and six symbols give you 12 free spins.

Sticky win re-spins

When a winning cluster occurs, the Sticky win re-spins feature can be triggered completely randomly. All the symbols in the cluster remain fixed before a new round of symbol drops. If new symbols are added to the cluster, they will also get stuck before another symbol drops. As long as you keep adding symbols to the cluster, the re-spin feature keeps going.

Wild symbol

A wooden box with a big question mark on it is the game’s wild symbol and it will not only be able to replace all other winning symbols, it can also choose to change itself to the most valuable symbol near it so as to create as large and valuable a cluster as possible. The symbol can land on all six reels, but is not active during free spins.

Design & graphics

The second you load Aloha! Cluster Pays, you are transported to the tropical island known as the 50th American state. Crisp, beautiful colors set against a background of chalk white beaches, blue sea, palm trees and the mighty national volcano park in the background makes it easy to let your mind wander.

The graphics are great and the dancing Tiki statue adds a lot of humor to the slot. During the game, the statue jumps, laughs, plays the guitar and puts on cool shades when your winnings get really big. The reels themselves (which are not actual reels on Aloha! Cluster Pays) take up much less space than what one usually sees on a slot machine today.

The layout gives the designers far more room to play with when it comes to the background and they have used it very well. The colorful background and the smiling Tiki statue are not there just there as fillers, but play an important part when it comes to the gaming experience, which is fantastic.

Aloha! Cluster Pays may not be as modern and up to date as the latest grid slots, but it still holds its ground very well.

Where to play Aloha! Cluster Pays

NetEnt is one of the biggest slot developers and their slots can be found at more than 400 online casinos.

Dead Or Alive  – NetEnt

Dead Or Alive – NetEnt

score: 9 / 10
Danger High Voltage – Big Time Gaming

Danger High Voltage – Big Time Gaming

score: 10 / 10
Mega Moolah – Microgaming

Mega Moolah – Microgaming

score: 1 / 10
Dragon’s Fire Megaways – Red Tiger Gaming

Dragon’s Fire Megaways – Red Tiger Gaming

score: 8 / 10
Multifly – Yggdrasil

Multifly – Yggdrasil

score: 8 / 10
Jack and the Beanstalk – NetEnt

Jack and the Beanstalk – NetEnt

score: 9 / 10
Jammin Jars – Pushgaming

Jammin Jars – Pushgaming

score: 7 / 10
Gonzo’s Quest – NetEnt

Gonzo’s Quest – NetEnt

score: 8 / 10
Hall of Gods – NetEnt

Hall of Gods – NetEnt

score: 8 / 10
Victorious MAX – NetEnt

Victorious MAX – NetEnt

score: 8 / 10
Jammin Jars – Pushgaming

Jammin Jars – Pushgaming

score: 7 / 10
Gonzo’s Quest – NetEnt

Gonzo’s Quest – NetEnt

score: 8 / 10

What’s happened to good old slot machines?

Our spinning tin of joy has come a long way indeed; from chrome, gears, and levers, to lightning-fast buttons, reels, and pay lines – all masterfully blown into life thanks to some real state of the art video graphics. Many new video slots sport up to 5 reels. When it comes to how many pay lines a video slot can have these days, the numbers are as easy to predict as the winning numbers of a jackpot, they’re simply up in the air. Some games come with fixed pay lines, while other slots give you the possibility to bet on paylines. New paylines can suddenly pop up and offer something fun and exciting while playing, like free spins, for example, all video slots are a bit different, just like the number of pay lines and your gaming options. At Casino Hacks we think this is just great, because players are different, and we all favor different games and features. Just remember, before you spin away, go a little easy on the betting. If you’re new to the online casino and slot games, a free spin run is a smart way to start, just so you get the knack of the game and different features.

New slots = new options

Options and new chances really are the name of the game here, so naturally, slot providers are constantly working on finding new smart ways to add surprising and fun bonus features. We see this all the time when new popular slots hit the casinos, packed with new options – all there to give you as a player another chance to win for example via an extra free spin or an entertaining boost option, like a multiplier feature.

Classic slots & branded masterpieces

Truly great slots become classics, like Gonzo’s Quest, Starburst – and reviews are always a smart way to get more out of the games. Reviews of branded slots are especially smart to check out since the RTP – the return to player figures – for branded slots sometimes can be as generous as the Night King in the epic saga. This is not always the case for all branded slots of course, and we’re not saying here that this is the case for GOT either, just pointing out some facts. When it comes to quality and entertainment levels, we’ve seen some astonishing development in the last couple of years where some truly amazing movie and TV concepts have been crafted into epic video slots – Game of Thrones, Jurassic World, Gladiator, Planet of the Apes, Age of Spartans, Jumanji, Beowulf, Mighty Kong, Jungle Books, Emoji Planet and Beauty and the Beast, to name a few.

For “a list of branded slots/pokies list”, providers, RTP, and reviews – click here!

What we look for when reviewing slots

Let’s take an example, it’s much easier that way. Let’s take a great slot, one we really love, let’s go for Jammin’ Jars. Now, this is a pearl of a slot because of the potential it’s got, to be precise, the theoretical potential here is 20 000X. Volatility, on the other hand, can be brutal, so make sure you manage your bankroll. If you manage your bankroll, keep your cool and play this slot the smart way, it might just show you the way to some serious cash. But, like with all slots, you can never be sure, of course.

– RTP: Return to player figures are at 96.51, not bad at all.

– Volatility: High. You might want to stay calm and wait for the bonus game when that comes along, you can get lucky.

– Overall impression: A gem of a game. Stay cool and stick to your game plan and this can be a winner.

Watch a video slot review and get started by clicking here!