Mars Attacks!

We’ll admit, we didn’t find out about the movie this slot was based on until long after it came out. We ended up accidentally catching it on TV, and falling in love with the silliness of the whole thing.

So when we heard it received a game adaptation, we were over the moon! The 1996 Tim Burton classic didn’t receive the attention it deserved, unfortunately. Will Mars Attacks be able to wind back the clock of time and earn recognition with online gamblers in its stead?

Mars Attacks! Slot Review

The slot is played on a five reel board, with each reel being three symbols high. There are a total of 20 fixed paylines, which you cannot turn on or off. To win, simply collect three or more identical icons in adjacent positions, starting with the leftmost reel. All winning combinations must follow one of the active paylines, or else the cash prize won’t be awarded.

But where this game truly won us over are its special features! Drawing inspiration from King Kong Cash, there’s a wide variety of bonuses available to the player. Some only available during normal gameplay, while others require picking up Scatters to trigger. But the best of the bunch comes with the three progressive jackpots that are available to the most dedicated gamblers! If you plan on seeing everything this Blueprint release has to offer, you’ll be here for a while.

Theme & Symbols

Mars Attacks is a slot licensed from one of our favorite movies of all time. So it’s a given that we would love the theme! The developer goes out of their way to immerse the players as much as possible. We particularly like the Spin button being transformed into a radar, in particular! The soundtrack also does a good job at keeping you on edge.
President Dale’s White House dominates the background image, bathed in the unnatural light of an impending invasion. Flying saucers occasionally appear, soaring in the pinkish skies above the building itself. It’s the perfect blend of ordinary and alien, just like the movie itself.

We’re a bit mixed on the symbols. On one hand, we do like the higher value designs. They’re fun call-backs to the original movie. The icons we’re not so keen on are the playing card royals. While all other symbols do their best to blend into the theme, they’re very much so out of place. Tone down the colors and add a few alien elements onto the letters and numbers. Bam, problem solved!

How to Play Mars Attacks?

The game is played on a 5×3 reel with 20 fixed paylines. This is the board you will be using for the vast majority of the game, except during one special feature. Who knew shrinking the reels would increase the number of rows? We were also pleasantly surprised that it only has a medium variance. When progressive jackpots are involved, developers tend to make it too high for comfort. Fortunately, not here!

Medium volatility also works out wonderfully with all the special features! There’s a whole bunch of them: Ten in total, eleven if you count the one that triggers the progressive jackpot! If variance was too high, we’d be stuck for ages trying to activate every last one of them. Blueprint put the enjoyment of online gambling over profit, and tuned their release so it doesn’t take forever to see all the bonuses.

Your minimum stake is worth €0.10 per spin, which is quite generous considering Mars Attacks has 20 paylines. Casual players aren’t the only ones that should be cheering. High rollers will be able to stake as much as €200 on each spin, allowing them to land some great wins. Nothing quite like hitting the progressive jackpot, of course! But regular jackpots are just as important.

Bonus Features

There are a lot of special features in this slot. Ten in total, split into two categories. Ones that are randomly triggered, and ones that require a symbol activation. We’ll be taking a look at the random bonuses first.

Sub-Zero Lazer
After a winning spin, all symbols that were part of that win become sticky. From there, re-spins will start and continue, so long as new icons appear and are added to the winning combination. The bonus ends when no more symbols can appear on the board.
• Mega Shrink Ray

The reels shrink down, so now each one can fit five icons instead of just three. Furthermore, paylines are swapped out for the ways to win system! There are a total of 3125 available combinations to create a winning combination.

• Radiation Blaster

Wilds are placed in random positions on the playing field.

• Expansion Cannon

Mystery symbols appear on the board and start spreading to nearly positions. After they finish spreading, all mystery icons will transform into a single symbol from the paytable.

• Abduction Beam

Existing icons on the reels are swept away by the mothership! New ones will fall down to take their place, allowing you to land two wins from a single spin.

These special features are triggered when three or more Scatters are collected.

• Spy Hunter

Pick suspects from the board to reveal Martians or humans. Every Martian you unmask grants a cash multiplier, while finding the ambassador awards the Big Money boost! The bonus ends when you find three humans, or you come across the Martian ambassador.

• We Come in Peace

Gamblers pick from containers which then fill the banks on each side of the reels. One a bank is full, it will grant you a cash prize. On top of that, you can win a Big Money boost, a multiplier, or an upgrade arrow! All three are used to enhance the prize you’ve won. The special feature ends when the Martian Orb is revealed.

• D.N.A Analysis

Players get five free spins on 5×4 reels during which expanding D.N.A Wilds are active. These Wilds start off small, and increase their height by one icon after each spin.

• Martian Takeover

Gamblers win ten free spins on a 5×3 board with roaming Wilds. On each spin, there’s a chance the giant robot roaming Wild will land on the reels. The robot will occupy the entire reel, and will start moving one reel to the left with each spin.

• Final Stand

Players get an unlimited number of free spins on a 5×3 playing field. There are two progress bars: one for humans, and the other for Martians. When an advancement symbol lands on reel two (for humans) or reel four (for Martians), their respective meter increases. As the meter fills, humans will award multipliers, while Martians exterminate certain symbols from existence. When one meter is completed, free spins end. You’ll want the humans to win, since you then get the Big Money boost.

Payouts Mars Attacks!

Mars Attacks has a medium variance and three progressive jackpots! The slot has an RTP of 96.44%, which is above the current industry average.