Original Release: 2011 (Playtech)
Spanning several different iterations since its original release, the most recent Kong 8th has impressive presentation and offers at least decent value for grinding
Review by: C. M0use
The Playtech slot family based on the 2005 Peter Jackson movie has a long and confusing history. The first release wasn’t until 2011, and from what I can see from remaining online demos and videos it’s a fairly standard 3×5 of the period that’s simple, basic, and possibly a bit tight with tons of dead spins.
It wouldn’t really be worthy of note if it wasn’t updated (much more recently), which as far as I can tell was at first an exclusive for PlayStudios’ POP!Slots … and then it appears there was ANOTHER update when the game made its debut on MyVegas a couple of years ago.
All of the versions have a fundamentally very similar 3×5 base game, but they differ greatly in their bonus rounds. Basically, the newer the version, the better the bonus round. POP!Slots added kind of an odd pachinko bonus round, but the most recent one in MyVegas is quite cool-looking and also appears to be the most generous of the bunch.
As always, it’s hard to find straight information about slot releases. The manufacturers aren’t very forthcoming, trade publications don’t like to have an online presence, the stuff you find through search engines is like 90%+ poorly written and inaccurate or just plain some sort of spam or scam site. The one thing I’m (pretty) sure of at this point is that these are all exclusive to online casinos, there is a Kong game available at land-based casinos but it’s nothing like any of these.
The most recent version is not only the most appealing, but seemingly the most favorable to play, so let’s focus on that one. The game sports three machine-specific progressive jackpots that simply tick up slowly but constantly as you play. You have to bet a certain minimum to qualify for all three, and then increasing bet totals beyond that will give them automatic boosts.
Between the bonuses appearing fairly often and the stacked symbols with respins that are also not uncommon, Kong seems pretty low-to-moderate volatility. My own experience messing around for a while saw me coming out slightly ahead at the end, but I wasn’t up or down by much the entire time. Wins are frequent but on the smaller side, based on the bonus game structure.
You’ll enter the bonus game by landing three symbols on any position, which plays a clip from the movie. If you land one or two bonus symbols on a spin, it contributes (a very small amount) to the base bonus you’re guaranteed to win in this game. The bonus round is all about two things: landing on multipliers to that base bonus, and working your way through a set of three wheels to the final wheel that contains the jackpots you qualify for (which you can hit repeatedly while the bonus game is going). The bonus fun is over when you land on three skull symbols, each of which takes a life from you, though you can also earn more lives during the bonus game.
So it’s kind of a bonus chaser, but since bonus wins aren’t usually earth-shaking (even if you hit minor or middle jackpots several times), and since bonuses and free spins pop fairly often, you sorta cruise along in Neutral World not really winning or losing a lot (unless you happen to run very bad). When you go into the bonus round the core bonus is usually quite a small amount, like well below one normal wager, and you need a whole pile of bonus multipliers to make it a significant win; you’ll get much more off making it up to the third wheel and landing a couple of jackpots before Kong boots you out.
Some serious effort on presentation really helps the experience along, with the updated version more resembling those tall and elaborate video slots on casino floors than the usual stuff you see on social casinos. The action is driven by well-done symphonic movie soundtrack loops and good resonating sound effects, a 3D animated Kong puts in appearances to keep you on your toes, overall it’s very slick and good-looking. The only knock against it might be that it’s a little TOO intense for extended play sessions, it might get a little grating after a while. Though you can always turn the sound off I suppose.
I haven’t done like in-depth mathematical analysis of it, but just from casual play this appears to be a fairly stable and lower-ish-volatility game that is suited to playing (and grinding points) for an extended period while keeping you entertained with good presentation. Albeit without much expectation of some sort of earth-shaking win.
Links
Peter Jackson movie
Movie soundtrack
Videos