Original Release: IGT, 2008 (?)
The sequel to one of IGT’s biggest slots looks very similar at a brief glance, but actually is a substantially different and more risky game
Cleopatra II (IGT, 2008?)
Review by: C. M0use
The sequel to IGT’s hit Cleopatra is decidedly more volatile, trading the frequent line wins of the first game for a more exciting (and potentially lucrative) bonus feature.
As with the previous game, the structure is kept very simple. You’re playing primarily to hit the bonus feature, which requires only landing three scatter symbols anywhere on the playfield (that your bet has covered). When that happens you get the standard 8 to 15 free spins, but with some unusual perks. First of all, the free spins can re-trigger if you land another three scatter symbols. And that seems to happen very often, as in my one run on the bonus spins I had it re-trigger five times for a grand total of over 60 free spins!
That’s not bad by itself, but the real heat of the meat is the fact that your win multiplier increases by 1x for each new spin. And I’m not sure what the cap is, if any, but on my 60+ spins it was up to 60-whatever by the time everything was said and done. This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that you’re still playing for the usual rare/crummy line wins during your free spin sequence, but once the multiplier gets into the double digits even the crummy wins can start getting substantial. Playing 20 cents per spin during my test run, the minimum to cover all lines, I ended up with a total of over $220 off my free spin sequence (most of that coming from a $100+ win late in the sequence). 100x your wager is about the best you can ask of a bonus feature that has a reasonable chance of popping each time you sit down!
That said, you’ll probably eat a lot of dead spins and crummy fractional wins in getting there. I got lucky and got to it within only about $10 of spins, but for that initial $10 it was starting to feel like the game was a big dud compared to its prequel. Aside from the crumbum and rare line wins, the only other thing to look for on the playfield is the Cleo II symbol. This acts as a wild, but also doubles the value of any payline it lands in. A screen packed with these might land you something like the potential 10,000x win you could get from the original Cleo with every spin, though I didn’t see a listed maximum for these.
So this isn’t a “grinder” like the original Cleo, something you could sit at for a long while with a small budget … if you don’t luck into a good bonus spin sequence you could see your money draining away pretty fast. However, it is another “true penny” (at least in its original cabinet) as you have the option of betting as little as 1 cent for just the center line or a nickel to cover 5 of the 20. So if you just wanna sit and chill for a while and maybe scoop a drink from the cocktail girl, it’s a choice. The other use case is the one I stumbled upon – deploying a small amount of free play that you don’t really care about losing for a shot at a very decent return if you luck out.
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