Manufacturer: Bally Technologies
Platform: Alpha Elite; V32
Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot
Denominations: .01 through 25.00
Max Bet: 250
Top Award: 25,000 times line bet
Hit Frequency: 82.73%
Theoretical Hold: 4.03%—11.95%

Bally’s latest entry on the popular V32  cabinet—the 32-inch, vertical-monitor format first appearing on video roulette and later on the hit “Fireball”—carries a campy, retro-science fiction theme.

Bally employs a unique reel configuration on the 50-line video slot—five rows of symbols across the five reels, going beyond the standard three-by-five and even the rare four-by-five configurations of current games. The 50-line setup allows for low volatility and a very high hit frequency (nearly 83 percent).

The new game also employs an innovative game-play feature—spins can be initiated by swiping a finger across the touch-screen, instead of hitting the spin button. This causes a small rocket ship to appear which flips the individual reel spots—which spin independently in the direction the player swipes.

The game is available in all denominations but is recommended for a penny or 2-cent setup. The rocket-ship view screen symbol is wild, substituting for all but bonus-trigger symbols.

There are two separate bonus events, called “Rocket Rescue Bonus” and “What Does This Do?”

The Rocket Rescue bonus is triggered by “Rocket Pack” symbols scattered on the middle reels. A “holding cell” containing eight prisoners appears on the screen. The object is to release at least five of the prisoners by touching the doors to the cell. Cash flies into each door on the screen after it is touched, revealing a credit award.

One prisoner door has an extra bonus attached that will trigger a third screen, revealing three “Treasure Pods” which hide additional awards. The bonus ends when five prisoners are freed.

“What Does This Do?” is a comical take on a novice (the player) trying to operate a spaceship. An asteroid is sailing through space toward the rocket ship, and the player has to touch controls to activate five weapons to destroy it. Each weapon blast registers a bonus award. If the asteroid still has “energy” after five weapon zaps, a character called “Fang the Ferocious” is sent toward the asteroid in a “Space Yacht” to finish it off—and to reveal a multiplier amount for the bonus award.

By Frank Legato

Frank Legato is editor of Casino Connection and also editor of Global Gaming Business magazine. He has been writing on gaming topics since 1984, when he launched and served as editor of Casino Gaming magazine. Legato, a nationally recognized expert on slot machines, has served as editor and reporter for a variety of gaming publications, including Public Gaming, IGWB, Casino Journal, Casino Player, Strictly Slots and Atlantic City Insider. He has an B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the author of the recently published book on gaming, How To Win Millions Playing Slot Machines... Or Lose Trying.