Jurassic Park Wild Excursion Slot

Jurassic Park Wild Excursion Slot Machine

The worldwide success of the epic Jurassic Park movie adaptation of Michael Crichton’s bestselling novel in the early nineties was akin to the impact the first Harry Potter movie had on the current generation. It held the title of the most successful film until Titanic surpassed it four years later. The movie sparked a widespread fascination with dinosaurs and science, appealing to a diverse audience with its compelling plot and groundbreaking visual effects that still hold up over two decades later.

With the recent release of the fourth installment in the franchise, which garnered significant anticipation much like the original film, IGT saw fit to introduce a new official movie slot to replace its original but enduringly popular Jurassic Park game. Fans of both the movie series and the slot game are curious to see if the new slot lives up to the legacy of the original or falls short like the third film in the series!

The initial impression is promising – the slot features IGT’s innovative reel format with 5 reels arranged in a 5/4/3/4/5 row format and offers 1200 ways to win. Each of the three featured bonus rounds has its own unique reel structures with new symbols, and the expanded wild feature extends beyond the reels to increase the number of rows, particularly beneficial for those chasing the game’s progressive jackpot, although at times it might feel like you’re being pursued by a T-Rex!

Theme & Features

It’s evident that IGT’s game designers had a blast with this movie-themed game, and who wouldn’t? The enthusiasm shines through in the game design. The musical score practically writes itself, featuring the classic movie theme prominently. The game immerses players with an array of movie video cut scenes displayed on the large screen and dinosaur sound effects booming from the surround sound speaker system. I appreciate the choice to base the game on the plot and characters of the original film rather than its sequels; after all, the original still reigns supreme.

In a departure from the norm, the designers opted for dinosaur skulls as the low-paying symbols instead of conventional playing card icons. Meanwhile, the high-value icons feature the iconic characters from the film, with the red Jurassic Park logo serving as both the scatter and bonus trigger. The T-Rex takes on the role of the wild symbol, expanding beyond the reels upon appearing and substituting for all symbols except the scatter. Landing five T-Rex symbols in a row awards the game’s progressive jackpot.

Thanks to the unique reel structure of this new slot game, it accommodates both high and low rollers. Increasing your bet size triggers bet multipliers rather than adding extra lines, ensuring that players, regardless of their wager size, have access to all reels and bonus features without feeling disadvantaged.

The standout feature of this new Vegas game is the selectable bonus rounds. By landing three scatters anywhere on the reels, players can choose from three action-packed bonus rounds infused with movie cut scenes and audio-visual effects. The selection process itself is quite impressive – players drive up in one of the iconic green jeeps to the grand park gates, with Isla Nublar appearing on the Sat Nav for them to select one of the three bonus regions.

1. The main attraction is the Wild Excursion Free Spins bonus round, offering 10 free spins on a reel set similar to the base game. It’s a straightforward round where players essentially chase wilds as in the regular game or hope to land three more bonus symbols to retrigger the spins.
2. Next up is the Cryogenic Free Spins bonus, introduced by the delightful DNA worm character from the film. Players are presented with a standard 5×3 reel set in the cryo-laboratory, where vials hover above the reels and transform into wilds at random intervals during the spins. The vial from the final reel descends to award a multiplier. The low-paying dinosaur skull symbols are replaced by various DNA icons in this round.
3. One of the most sought-after bonus rounds and a favorite among players is the T-Rex Chase bonus. This exciting round begins with players reliving the iconic movie scene where the open-top jeep is pursued by the T-Rex. Players must make eight moves to outrun the T-Rex, who starts four moves behind. The screen displays DNA vial cases from which players select wins, earning moves for the T-Rex, a distracting flare, or additional moves for the jeep. Each pick also adds credits. If players reach the finish line before the T-Rex, they can choose a win multiplier for their accumulated picks. Even if caught by the T-Rex, players retain the credits amassed up to that point.

Summary

This game boasts a fantastic structure, engaging theme, rewarding bonuses, and appears to offer decent payouts with relatively low variance for a movie-themed slot. While the voice-overs featuring character actors instead of the original movie stars may slightly detract from the immersive experience compared to the Avatar slot, that minor issue is hardly a deal-breaker!

Jesse Miller iGaming Writer

Last Updated: December 11, 2024