Nitropolis 2

Overview Nitropolis 2

Elk Studios takes players back to their favourite post-apocalyptic wasteland to engage once more in the day to day feuds between 4 distinctly recognisable gangs who desperately want to survive by any means necessary. These gangs include the Dirty Dawgs- headed by the scary-looking Doberman, the Gritty Kitties, the symbol of which is the Ninja Cat, the Pug Thugs – lead by the Pug with a tool belt and the Rouge Rats – symbolised by the rat wearing a policemen’s helmet. If this all sounds a bit like the premise for a strange new crossover movie between The Road and Max Fury with a bit of Animal Farm thrown in, it is because it is kind of like that.

The game dynamic that sets Nitropolis 2 apart from other games is its Nitro Reels feature. Due to this playing dynamic, the number of symbols which can appear in one reel can climb to 24. This is effectively an expanding reels mechanic, but it works by stacking symbols on top of each other. At the lowest level, there are 4,096-win ways available, however, this can grow to an incredible 191 million ways to win as symbols begin to stack. Other features for Nitropolis 2 include re-spins, sticky reels and a bonus free spins game as well as many new modifiers.

Theme and Symbols

As mentioned, for this game players are slung into a future where some massive global catastrophe has left the world devasted and at constant war with itself for the remaining few resources. Inhabiting this world are the four gangs mentioned in the introduction, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses. The aesthetic Elk Studios seem to be going for is a kind of light graphic novel which could be sold to kids due to its cartoon style. As a quick tip, I wouldn’t have the music playing unless you like very loud screaming and robotic death noises.

When we assess the background for the slot, it looks very similar to the post-apocalyptic idea that was envisioned in The Matrix, where technology has taken over. All you can see on both side of the playing board is towering metal structures and electric cables. This whole setting is lorded over by a robot dog equivalent of big brother from George Orwell’s 1964. There is no sign of life apart from one defecating dog to the right of the reels, which implies that the characters in the game live a somewhat underground existence, which fits with the story. All around the board is a kind of haze, that could be the left-over pollution from the explosion which ended the world as we knew it.

The board itself has been made to look like it was made of scrap metal and largely improvised in that pieced together way that devices usually are in post-apocalyptic movies. There are batteries, cables and all sorts of circuitry on display, giving it a futuristic look. Usefully, the current number of pay lines open is labelled at the top of the board. The massive nitrous canister dominates the top half of the screen which has a function that we will explain when we come to look at the features.
Low-value symbols for this game are A to J symbols in a graffiti style. Up from these in terms of value are the various gang wanted posters. Up again from these are the Pug, Kitty and Dawg Boss symbols. The Pest Sergeant, the serious-looking dog cyborg with a yellow cap, is the most valuable symbol, paying 1x your stake for landing 6 on a pay line. The no dog fouling symbol is the wild. The Rat Rod car is the scatter symbol.

Game Play

Nitropolis 2 starts on a 6-reel, 4-row board with 4,096 ways to win. However, as explained the pay lines are liable to grow much larger. To create a win, players must land 3 or more of the same symbols in a paying formation across the reels from left to right.
The betting range for Nitropolis 2 is between 20p and £100 per spin. To change your current bet level, you can use the tool in the menu which is located through the three stripes symbol. Both the normal spin and auto spins buttons are clearly labelled on the playing window. The paytable and all the slots information are found in the main menu.

The return to payer percentage for Nitropolis 2 is 95%, a little lower than average and 1% lower than the previous game. The slot is highly volatile and has a maximum win from one spin of 10,000 x your total stake.

Features

There are a lot of bonus features for this game, however, the key to finding the bigger payouts is the Nitro Reels feature. You don’t need to do anything specific to trigger this bonus, it will just happen organically on any spin. When it is triggered it expands the number of symbols which can occupy a position. You can stack up to 12 symbols in these positions. In this way each reel can contain as many as 24 symbols, giving players a maximum of 191,102,976 ways to win. Unbelievable.

However, this game isn’t just about the Nitro reels, there is also the fantastic Booster features, these are new to this franchise. These bonuses involve the feature reel above the regular reels (the nitrous canister). 8 different booster symbols can land here and influence the reel below them. These are explained below:

The Respin feature: All of the Nitro Reels and bonus symbols freeze in position and the Nitro Booster (the bonus reel) and all reels respin once.
The Both Ways feature: Every win is paid from left to right and right to left.
The All Wild feature: Every sticky symbol and landing Nitro Reels only contain wild symbols.
The Nitro Wild feature: The Nitro Reels landing in the same column only contain wilds.
The All Premium feature: All Nitro Reels landing will contain only high-value symbols.
The All Match feature: All Nitro Reels landing match up with a symbol on the reel to the left.
The Nitro Match feature: Nitro Reels landing match up with a symbol on the reel to the left.
The Nitro Upgrade feature: Same column Nitro Reels upgrade and add extra symbols to the Nitro Reels.

The next feature is the Free Spins round or Bonus game feature. To trigger this feature, you have to land 3 or more of the scatter symbols. The more scatters you trigger the bonus game with, the more free spins you are awarded to take through to the bonus round.
3 scatters = 10 free spins
4 scatters = 15 free spins
5 scatters = 20 free spins
6 scatters = 25 free spins
Before starting the feature, all of the Nitro reels are frozen in place for the duration of the free spins. All of the Nitro Booster modifeir features mentioned above can also fall in the free spins round, making for some amazing winning combinations.
There is also a bonus buy feature, but it is not available in the UK.

Conclusion

In a word, this game is intense. The visuals explode into your eyes with searing colours. The music is unique and earsplittingly overwhelming in places. Then there are the huge range of Nitrous boosted features. The whole game feels like an advert for an energy drink marketed at teenage boys. This being said, the ridiculous number of pay lines and 10,000x top stake is mightily impressive. Shame about the drop in RTP from the last game though.