They started out making slot machines and wagering games in the 1950’s for clubs in Australia. However, they really took off when land based casinos started introducing video slots in the 80’s and 90’s. Their slot machines took off in a big way and can now be found all around the world from Asia to South America.
This slot combines 4 of the most popular video slots in the Aristocrat range into one intensive game. When I first saw this machine, I assumed that it simply allowed multiple play of Pompeii, Buffalo, 5 Dragons and Wicked Winnings 2.
Once you start to play you will find out that there are additional features built in – which will kick in during the free spin bonus games of the different slots. These not only allow you to hit wins on up to 6 sets of reels at once, multipliers now get randomly awarded to your wins.
The first thing to note is that all 4 different games are played in the ‘reel power’ format. This is an all-ways system, where as long as symbols are on consecutive reels from the left hand side, they will always trigger a win. This means there are 243 winning combinations on a 5×3 slot and 1024 on a 5×4 grid. You pay one amount and each of the games will spin at the same time. These are sat one above the other on a tall thin cabinet which maximizes the space in crowded slot halls.
Individual wins depend on the games, as do special on reel features. I have covered each of the different games below – highlighting what makes them popular and their key bonus features. Below that the special Wonder 4 Tower bonus feature is covered.
Buffalo: This is a hugely popular game themed on the native wildlife of North America. There are wolves, cougars and of course buffalo on the reels. There are two key features for this game. The first is that you will win big prizes by hitting a lot of buffalo scatter symbols on the reels. If you get 12 or more anywhere in view these wins can be very big. There is also a ‘super free spins’ bonus game.
Wicked Winnings II: This slot has a slightly cartoon-like witches and goblins type theme. There are stacked wild symbols in play (the witch) that can cover entire reels are trigger multiple wins at the same time. While there is a free spins game the main feature for this slot is the respin after win. What happens is that your win sticks in place, and the remaining symbols all respin – giving you the chance of improving to a bigger win.
5 Dragons: This one is Asian themed, with Chinese style dragons and golden carps on the reels. The main feature is a free spins game which can come with huge win multipliers. You get to select from 5 different combinations of the number of free spins and the potential multipliers for wins that include dragons. The more spins you take, the lower the multiplier.
Pompeii: The final game on Wonder 4 Tower is based on the historical city of Pompeii, which is famously preserved in volcanic ash. The symbols are very much Roman, and the volcano Vesuvius will trigger 20 free spins for 3+ on the reels. The stand out feature for this slot is that you can hit wilds with a 3x or 5x multiplier. If you are lucky enough to create a win with both of these at the same time, then your win will be multiplied by 15.
You will hit free spins games and the smaller features individually on any of the games as you play. In fact this extra action is the main draw of playing 4 games at once – a more intensive slot experience!
Hitting the free spins will kick off the ‘Super Free Spins’ game, where you will be given the opportunity to spin up to 6 sets of a single game at once. The game where you triggered the spins will show 2 colored versions at the bottom of the screen, and 4 darkened ones above. There is now a new symbol covering all 3 of the middle reels (this is gold and says ‘Wonder 4 Tower’ on it). When this hits the highest set of reels currently in play, then the next set up becomes colored and is now in play. If you make it all the way to the top, then you have an extra incentive.
Not only will you now be spinning 6 sets of reels per respin, but random multipliers (think 2x to 5x) will appear in circles at the side of some sets of reels. These apply to wins on that set of reels. Any extras like the respins in Wicked Winnings II will still occur individually.
This is certainly an intensive game – with the action from 4 popular all-ways slots all at once. Since each slot has features and bonus games of its own, you will see a lot of action on the reels. Of course, this will need to be balanced with the additional cost per spin. The special bonus feature with up to 6 sets of reels can be triggered for any of the games when they hit free spins mode – and those extra multipliers can make this round very profitable on occasion.