If you've never seen the TV show, it centres on the last remaining fleet of humans sailing through space looking for a new home. At the same time they're trying to escape destruction from the alien Cylon empire. Battlestar Galactica is played in 3 randomly activated game modes, each of which offers a different selection of special features and bonuses.
First is the Normal mode where all winning paylines must feature a symbol in the leftmost column. The Ion Storm feature can be activated in Normal mode, turning up to 5 symbols into a wild reel. In Normal mode, free spins are triggered when 3 or more Colonial Vipers (Ships) appear on the reels. You'll be awarded an initial 15 free spins with all wins trebled (3x multiplier).
Next comes Run mode - if you hit one FLT symbol on reel 3 during this mode you'll trigger the Jump feature. In this feature, all the playing card symbols are removed from the reels and replaced by the FLT which will then transform into a random symbol and fill in all the spaces.
In the Fight mode, you'll be awarded with up to 5 extra wild symbols. During free spins, these can transform into Split Wilds, doubling the payout on a winning combo. Free spins are also on offer in Fight mode. 3 ship symbols anywhere on the reels will give you 5 free spins with a 1x multiplier. Extra free spins can be awarded in this feature when the Galactica's cannon shoot down advancing Cylon spacecraft. The number of ships downed is the number of free spins awarded.
Battlestar Galactica also comes with a Ranking Achievements feature. Starting as a lowly Civilian, the aim is to work your way up to Admiral. As you pass each rank, you'll be rewarded with access to video content from the show. You climb the rankings by playing. The more you play, the higher the rank.
Featuring many of the most popular characters from the show including Starbuck, Apollo, Colonel Tighe and the treacherous Gaius Baltar, Battlestar Galactica looks and sounds a treat. The graphics and animations are top drawer. Microgaming certainly hasn't scrimped on the look of this slot.
It's not a case of all style and no substance either as the gameplay is rather good too. The impressive selection of features offer plenty of opportunities to win. On the variance scale, Battlestar Galactica is in the medium range. If you enjoyed the TV show, you'll certainly love the slot. And even if sci-fi isn't your bag, there are enough bonuses and features on offer giving plenty of bang for your (Star) buck. If you like sci-fi inspired slots, IGT offers Star Trek and Net Entertainment offers you Starburst.