Online casinos have no shortage of slots titles with a fictional superhero taking on an evil mastermind, but Jack Hammer from NetEnt is one of the nicest-looking. The simple comic-panel reels, hanging against the sunset skyline of Grand City, mirror the style of the comic book series on which Jack Hammer is based.
The playing action and the game symbols all relate to the plots of the comic book as well, with brave private eye Jack Hammer fighting his nemesis, the evil genius Dr Wuten. Each of the five reels display three panels, and the line bet can be adjusted from 1 to 500 coins. All 25 pay lines are fixed, though, as this allows the Sticky Wins feature to work.
No Poker; Just Comic Classics
Jack Hammer gives a welcome miss to the ubiquitous poker symbols, as all its icons are objects or characters from the comic. Three low-value symbols pay the same prize for three matches: the flask of acid, the telephone and the Daily Grand newspaper. They all pay 5 coins for three of a kind, but for five matches, their prizes are 40, 50 and 75 coins, respectively. Also for five matches, the PI firing shots out of his car pays 100 coins and the Dr Wuten zeppelin pays 125 coins.
Human characters make up the high-value symbols. The paperboy, the lady victim, Dr Wuten and Jack Hammer pay top prizes for five matches of 200, 250, 300 and 1,000 coins, respectively.
Free Spins Bomb Can Trigger Big Bonuses
There is one final symbol, also taken directly from the original comic book, in the Jack Hammer array. This is Dr Wuten’s steam-punk time bomb, and it also acts as a Scatter, so matching bombs can score the free spins bonus in any position; they do not have to be on the same pay line.
Free spins rounds get triggered when five or more Scatters appear after a spin. The number awarded increases with each additional icon: for five, six, seven or eight matches, the player gets 10, 15, 20 or 25 free spins. For nine or more Scatters, the player gets the maximum: 30 free spins. During free spins, all wins are multiplied by X3.
Wild and Sticky Wins Increase Prizes
An explosive comic-book effects bubble is the Jack Hammer Wild, and it can stand in for any other symbol except the Free Spins icon to create more pay line matches. Sticky Wins is the most attractive feature in Jack Hammer, however.
Whenever a spin results in one or more winning pay lines, the winning symbols stick in place for a free re-spin. If another winning combo forms, all the winning icons remain stuck and another free re-spin occurs.
This continues either until the re-spin creates no more wins, in which case the player is paid the total prize and normal play continues, or until the entire reel is filled with winning icons, which pays a lovely prize before play continues.