Jack Hammer 4 Chasing The Dragon

Jack Hammer 4 Chasing the Dragon: Slot Overview

Way, way back in the digital dark ages of 2011, software provider NetEnt dropped Jack Hammer on gamblers, a pop art cartoon-style slot offering an innovative Sticky Wins feature. The team followed up a couple of years later with Jack Hammer 2, then let Jack lie fallow for more than a decade before springing Jack Hammer 3 on us. Now, here we are a year later about to stick stuff in a cluster pays version with a brand new (for the series) hold 'n' bonus round in the online slot Jack Hammer 4 Chasing the Dragon.

Law-breaking is a problem all over the place, but in this instance, Chinatown is 'where crime slithers like a dragon.' This means Jack Hammer 4 has a strong Asian feel to it, where lanterns are hung across a street, calligraphic writing adorns the gaming grid, and the backdrop may or may not have been inspired by San Francisco's famous Chinatown with the Bay Bridge in the distance. Maybe not, though, since NetEnt describes the setting as a 'noir-inspired Asian metropolis.' Whatever the location, Jack Hammer 4 carries the series' signature cartoon style, with Jack looking like he's just stepped out of a Dick Tracy comic book.

A 6x6 grid is where Jack Hammer 4 is played, and players are able to wager 20c to $/€40 per spin. Three RTP configurations accompany the release, where the most preferred return value is 96.01%, while the math model volatility is high.

Winning combinations are formed when 6 or more matching symbols are connected vertically and/or horizontally. The pay symbols include 3 Chinese characters (fortune, dragon, and peace), a pot, a dragon statue, and four character symbols – the femme fatale-style blonde Pearl, a mysterious raven-haired lady, a villainous elder named Dragon, and Detective Jack Hammer at the top. Hit a 6 OAK winning combination and the rewards range from 0.3x to 1x, while a full 36 OAK hit is worth 7.5x to 40x the bet.

Jack Hammer 4 Chasing the Dragon: Slot Features

The Sticky Wins feature is joined by a handful of wild features, a free spins hold 'n' win round, and Elevate feature buys.

Sticky Wins

A hallmark of the series, the Sticky Wins feature is activated when there is at least one cluster win on the reels. The winning symbols are held in place while others respin. If the win is improved, the new symbols are also held, and another respin takes place. This repeats until the win is not improved, then a payout is made on the final respin. Sticky Wins also act this way when at least 3 scatters are on the reels.

Wild Features

Each corner position of the grid can only be occupied by a Question symbol or wilds. Wilds substitute for all of the regular paying symbols. When a corner position is part of a win, the symbol activates:

• Multiplier Wild - carries a random value of x2 to x10.
• Upgrader Wild - upgrades the symbols in the winning cluster to a type with a higher value.
• Cash Prize Wild - randomly awards a prize of 0.5x to 2.5x the bet.
• Expander Wild - adds up to 4 symbols to the winning cluster that activated the feature.
• Question Symbol - transforms into a Multiplier Wild with a value of x30 or x50, an Upgrader Wild, a Super Upgrader Wild which transforms the winning cluster to the highest paying symbol, a Super Cash Wild awarding 10 or 25 times the bet, or a Super Expander Wild which adds up to 16 symbols to the winning cluster.

Free Spins

Landing 5 scatters anywhere on the reels awards 3 free spins. The free spins round is a hold 'n' win style feature that starts with 3 multiplier symbols on the play area. During the round, 1x to 100x multiplier symbols may land. Each time one lands, it sticks in place and resets the spin count. During the bonus, four different features randomly appear in the four corner positions, remaining in place till free spins end. These features are activated when at least one multiplier symbol lands adjacent to the corner position.

• Unlock - can be activated twice at most. The first activation adds a top row, the second activation adds a bottom row.
• Generate - places 3 multiplier symbols on random empty positions. It will fill all remaining positions if fewer than 3 are available. This feature can be triggered up to three times.
• Double - doubles the values of all multipliers that activate this feature, as well as multipliers adjacent to them. Can be activated up to three times until the Collect feature is activated.
• Collect - all multipliers on the reels have their values added up and are removed. The value of the added multipliers is shown by the Collect symbol.

Elevate Feature Buy

From the Elevate section, players can activate the Free Spins Hunt for 2x, which doubles the chance of triggering free spins. Wild Activator at 10x guarantees at least one feature activates, and the chance of triggering free spins is higher. Otherwise, players can buy free spins for 100x where 5 scatters land on a main game spin, super free spins for 300x, or a lucky draw for 150x. In super free spins, one main game spin is played that activates at least 3 wild features and 5 scatters land.

Jack Hammer 4 Chasing the Dragon: Slot Verdict

While there weren't enormous differences between the first Jack Hammer and the follow up, Jack Hammer 3 threw a modernising wrench in the works by its use of a scatter pays wins mechanic, and the gap between the two most recent titles is also a fairly wide one. Scatter pays has been removed, while cluster pays, an arguably less 'hot' gaming mechanic, is in. No matter the win evaluation method, one thing that has held the series together throughout the years is the Sticky Wins feature. Jack Hammer 4 makes as good a use of the mechanic as any, as clusters hit, are built upon until the win is no longer improved, then paid out. Having special symbols in each corner, activating them when they connect to winning symbols, is smart, and their effects might be quite potent.

Reactions to the free spins hold 'n' win round were mixed. It's alright, a bit plain. Sure, several special symbols may be triggered from the corner positions, and there's nothing wrong per se, but it lacked a major wow factor. Multipliers land and stick, the grid can be expanded, their values may be doubled or collected, it's fine. What was more shocking, considering Jack Hammer 3's disappointing top prize, is to see a 10,000x max win associated with Jack Hammer 4. Apparently, fighting crime in Chinatown can be rather profitable, and sizable potential gives Jack Hammer 4 the extra weight its predecessor severely lacked.

When the baddy chasing was done, Jack Hammer 4 made an overall positive impression, and is a burlier game than the previous release was. Sticky Wins get a chance to work with a different win system, NetEnt has, for better or for worse, included an alternative bonus round, and winning potential is significantly higher. For the most part, fans of Jack Hammer should be quite content fighting crime in this instalment.