Rise of Atlantis

Rise of Atlantis: Slot Overview

The story of Atlantis is a well-known one, put down in writing by Plato c. 360 BC; '… there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune … the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea.' Ancient lore might be quick to be dismissed in this day and age of reason, but claims of discovering the real lost Atlantis have been made a number of times, from the coast of Africa to Southern Spain. These discoveries are yet to be confirmed, but who knows, perhaps the prophecies of Atlantis rising aren't entirely off the mark? Let's wait and see.

Till then, why don't we have a bash at Rise of Atlantis, an online slot from software provider Blueprint Gaming? According to the official info, Rise of Atlantis is part of the Bison Bonanza family tree, which, if you recall, was a lot like the Pragmatic Play classic Sweet Bonanza - except with massive mammals rather than candy. Rise of Atlantis is a bit of an imitator as well. This time Blueprint Gaming may or may not, let's not point fingers, have found inspiration in another successful Pragmatic Play slot, namely Gates of Olympus. The two games certainly have a similar look and feel about them. Both are played on a 6-reel, 5-row game panel and have a deity-type figure located next to the game panel. Rise of Atlantis' also has a strong Ancient Greek flavour while this time leaning toward the aquatic side of things.

As you might have suspected, Rise of Atlantis also uses a scatter pays system to award wins. This happens when at least 8 identical symbols appear in view, which are then removed from the board by the cascade mechanic, allowing symbols to drop down and fill in any gaps. Cascades will keep flowing like this, building a winning total until no new scatter win appears. This it does via a medium/high volatile math model, available for play with a bet range of 20 p/c to $/€100 per paid game round.

It's not unusual when using a scatter pays system to forgo any wild symbols, and players will not find them in Rise of Atlantis. There is a scatter, though, leading to free spins when enough of them land, as well as regular paying symbols such as green, blue, red, and purple gems as the lows, and a crown, a pot, a column, a trident, and a male figure. Let's check out the extra bits.

Rise of Atlantis: Slot Features

As well as the cascading mechanic, other features in Rise of Atlantis are the Rising Multiplier, free spins, and, where available, bonus buys.

Rising Multiplier

Any spin can randomly see the Rising Multiplier trigger. When activated, the chap by the reels waves his trident, and one or more bubbles appear over the other symbols. These bubbles have multipliers of up to x500. If scatter wins are produced, the multiplier is applied to the total value at the end of the cascade sequence. On the next spin, the bubble multiplier rises one position, where it may be used again until leaving the grid after reaching the top row. As observed in the bonus round, when more than one bubble is present, the multiplier values are added together before being applied.

Free Spins

Hit 4 trident scatter symbols to be awarded 15 free spins. The rules of free spins are more or less the same as the main game, with an important difference. In the bonus round, when multiplier bubbles move up a position between free spins, their values actually increase – up to x500. The round ends when free spins have been used or the win cap has been achieved.

Bonus Buy

Where permitted, players looking to go straight to the bonus round have two ways of doing so. One is by buying regular free spins for the cost of 100x the bet or by buying Ultimate Rise Free Spins, costing 350x the bet. This latter option comes with enhanced multipliers.

Rise of Atlantis: Slot Verdict

It's interesting Blueprint Gaming went through a minor 'inspiration' phase not too long before Rise of Atlantis came out, releasing games like Viking Fall, which were suspiciously like other studios' work. Okay, okay, this is nothing particularly new in the online slot world, but it was curious to see all the same. Now they're back at it and suffice to say, if you liked what Pragmatic Play has previously done with scatter-paying games like Gates of Olympus or Sword of Ares, then Rise of Atlantis should be one to try out as well. It comes steeped in mythology, fires off scatter wins, and has the ability to pleasantly surprise with its multiplicative ability.

It's a good thing Rise of Atlantis is set beneath the water because where it differs from its competitors is in the way multiplier bubbles can stay on the screen between spins. Bubbles have a few positive qualities going for them. For one, they stay on the panel, moving up one row before flying off the top between spins, both in the base and bonus round; it's worth noting. Secondly, increasing their values as they move up a position in free spins is a nice touch too. This might be why Rise of Atlantis offers double the winning potential found in Gates of Olympus, or 10,000x the bet, to be precise.

And so, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it wouldn't be a major shock to find out Gates of Olympus is blushing by now or being a bit ticked off over Rise of Atlantis' arguably copycat nature. From a player's perspective, for those keen on a combination of scatter wins, cascades, and multipliers, Rise of Atlantis has the goods to bring all of those things together in one fun spot while mixing in a bubble multiplier-growing element during free spins to provide a twist.