Extremely Hot Pokie
We’ve had casino pokie machines called Burning Hot and Extra Hot already, so developer EGT have turned the heat up to 11 and released their Extremely Hot video pokie. They haven’t just added extra flames to the 5 reels however, as this game comes with a special feature that multiplies wins by up to 5x when matching fruit symbols start to fill up the screen, while a star can pay out in any positions and a red 7 awards up to 5000 coins.
There’s no specific bonus rounds, but in common with all other EGT pokies, players are given the option to double wins over and over again, (or lose them), in a gamble game, plus there’s the Jackpot Cards progressive feature that is guaranteed to reward a big prize to whoever triggers it.
Fruit and red 7 symbols, with no bonus rounds can only mean one thing, and this is clearly a very traditional pokie, but players shouldn’t be put off by this, as the older style games can bring in lots of steady and reliable wins.
Playing Extremely Hot
A simple red background, and a blue shade to the reels helps to give this game that old fashioned fruit machine appearance, and a quick review of the pay table confirms that it’s going to be dominated by fruit symbols as the 5 reels are set spinning. 5 fixed paylines equals a minimum stake of just 0.05 per spin, but if that’s still too steep, free Extremely Hot video pokies can be tried at most casinos.
Landing just 2 cherry symbols on reels 1 and 2 across a payline will be enough to get paid a win of 5 coins, and if this symbol appears on 3, 4 or 5 connected reels across a line, the wins will be equal to 20, 50 or 200 coins. Although they pay nothing for just 2 examples, the orange, lemon and plum symbols are worth the same for getting 3, 4 or 5 across a line, while the bell pays out 5, 20 or 100 coins.
A gold BAR icon returns payouts of 50, 400 or 1000 coins when it stops on 3, 4 or 5 adjacent reels on a payline, but by far the best wins come from the red 7, as the wins are 100, 1000 or 5000 coins for the same combinations. Although it isn’t worth particularly much, the star is a scatter symbol so can land anywhere and if 3 turn up, players win 10 coins, while 4 or 5 are worth 50 and 250 respectively.
Extremely Hot
Unable to connect to MySQL: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory
Multiplier Feature
Although there’s no wild symbol or free spins round, Extremely Hot comes with a special multiplier feature that comes into effect if any symbol fills all 3 spots on at least reels 1, 2 and 3. If all of the first 3 reels are covered by any matching fruit symbol, the resulting win will be multiplied by 3x, while having the first 4 reels filled with a single type of fruit results in a 4x multiplier being applied to the win.
Having the entire 15 reel positions of the game covered with the same symbol will see a 5x multiplier, and as there are 5 winlines and therefor 5 winning combinations, all multiplied by 5x, this can add up to a decent sum.
Other Features
If a win was for less than 175 coins, it can be gambled, with players doubling it by correctly deciding if a playing card will be from a red or black suit. There’s a further option to go again if they were right, or they can collect the doubled prize, but if they get it wrong anywhere along the way, it’s a losing gamble and the triggering bet is forfeited.
Above the reels, players will have noticed 4 progressive jackpots, each rising in value as a small percentage of each wager made across all EGT pokies at all casinos is put aside. The Club, Heart, Diamond or Spade jackpots are guaranteed to be won when the round is randomly launched, and which prize is claimed depends on which suit is uncovered on 3 cards from the 12 shown in the Jackpot Cards bonus round.
The Verdict
This type of real money online pokie has never really gone out of favour, as it delivers steady wins, created by familiar symbols, and there’s little to get in the way of spinning the reels and seeing what combinations land. The Multiplier Feature is a nice touch, and as symbols are usually stacked several high on a reel, it’s not as difficult to fill 3 or more at a time as it first appears.
Players will either love or hate the theme and style, so if there’s any real downside, it’s just the fact that this pokie isn’t mobile-optimised.