Motörhead

Motörhead: Overview

Few bands rock as hard as the legendary British act Motörhead making it a perfect candidate to wrap up NetEnt's three-part Rocks series. It's an apt fit in more ways than one since lead singer Lemmy Kilmister was well known for his love affair with slot machines. Though the games he played in the band's heyday are light years away from what we have now. That's great news for players because alongside the vastly improved visuals, Motörhead the slot comes with several features to entertain fans of the band or casual players in general. In the immortal words of the band's hit song Ace of Spades, it's time to go 'with the flow; it's all a game to me.'

Motörhead is pretty old-school so here's a bit of background info if you need a primer. Formed in the UK in the 1970s the band has released dozens of albums and rocked stadiums for over 40 years. Mega-successful, selling over 30 million copies, the band famously lived the hard-rockin' lifestyle their music portrayed. In a nutshell, the band and their ethos are ideal for theming a slot.

Graphically the game has struck a great look. A 5-reel grid takes centre stage in a curious 3-3-4-4-5 row configuration. Either the concert has finished or is yet to begin, since instruments or amps litter the screen, while a backlit mist adds a touch of atmosphere. If you like it loud, hit Rock Mode in the bottom corner of the screen to have your eardrums blasted by Motörhead heaviness as you spin. If it all gets a bit too much, you can deactivate this setting to kill the music. Then the sounds you'll hear are spinning effects, winning effects, and the odd shout out from Lemmy himself.

Motörhead offers a wide range of stakes from 20 p/c up to $/€200 per spin, on any device you prefer. Stakes can be set by altering the bet level and the coin value. Potential isn't exactly stellar, but the rest of the stats paint a more positive picture. For one, the game's higher than usual RTP of 96.98% is one most players will get behind. Volatility, on the other hand, is a bit more divisive but should keep the more casual gambler spinning with its low/medium setting.

Due to the reel/row arrangement, there are 76 paylines to land winning combinations on. Combos form when three or more matching symbols line up from the first reel onwards. The symbols used have a touch of 'eavy metal to them but are basically all classic slot icons. Starting from the low side, there are clovers, cherries, horseshoes, sevens, bells and stars. The one exception is the top premium which depicts the man Lemmy himself, who is worth 150 coins for five of a kind. The faded gold Ace of Spades symbol helps here as the wild. This useful symbol can stand in for any other symbol in the game except the scatter.

Motörhead: Features

The best results of Motörhead the slot are produced by the extra features which include Mystery Reels, a Bomber Feature, and a round of free spins.

Mystery Stacks can appear on any spin in the main or bonus phase of the game. These stacks appear at random to cover a reel in Mystery Symbols which all turn into one common symbol. This could be anything except the scatter.

The Bomber Feature is similar but appears randomly only on a base game spin. When it triggers, up to five bombs appear creating up to 15 Mystery Symbols on the reels. As above, Mystery Symbols transform into anything except scatter symbol.

Finally, when three scatters land anywhere on reels 3, 4, or 5 then 10 free spins are awarded. During this feature, Mystery Reels may contain Mystery Symbols and Wilds for better wins. Make the most of free spins when you are able to since the round cannot be retriggered.

Motörhead: Verdict

Motörhead the slot looks good, sounds loud, and uses a great theme to drive the action. Motörhead is the ideal choice for NetEnt's Rocks series and one that could have been an absolute riot. The band is infamous for its hard living attitude, driving riffs, not to mention their reckless outlook on life. In short, the band possesses an attitude that could have driven a powerhouse of a game, yet what we got is one which feels a little undercooked. Considering Lemmy's penchant for slots, and there was a wealth of passion on hand which could have been tapped harder.

Unfortunately, Motörhead the game rarely hits full power. You might have thought NetEnt would have gone all out when wrapping up their Rocks series, but it seems they went for a softer approach. The math model is a little low for hardcores to fall for, and potential is limited. Motörhead the slot ends up feeling more like adult contemporary rock, say, Simply Red rather than the godfathers of hard rock.

There are a few positive points though. The looks are rather lush, and the features can be effective at times. Thanks to the booming soundtrack, the game also manages to kick pretty hard at times, and some players will no doubt find a level of entertainment value. Wins of up to 570 times the stake are available, so it's not exactly a massive money-spinner though.

At the end of the day, Motörhead the slot has its moments, providing fans with a good excuse to run Lemmy and the lads through their paces. There are moments of rock-filled adrenaline, but it's a shame NetEnt couldn't have pushed harder to blow the Rocks series right over the top.