Just like the original, the design in Buster Hammer Carnival is superbly done. With a fairground in the background. you’ll see circus-style A to 9 symbols spinning around the reels. They’re joined by carnival tickets, hot dogs and an archery target. The moustachioed Buster is the best standard symbol, awarding 12 times your stake if you land 5 on a line.
The hammer is the game’s wild. Land 1 of these on a winning spin and the animated Buster to the side of the reels will strike the Test Your Strength hammer. He’ll make 1 strike for each reel that contains a wild. Up to 5 symbols on a reel can then turn wild. This is called the Wild Striker feature.
At standard stakes. hammer wilds can land on reel 3 only. Up your stakes to 75 or 100 coins per spin and you’ll be able to land hammers on reels 3 and 4 and reels 2, 3 and 4 respectively. This is known as the Buster Bet feature.
Land 3, 4 or 5 scatters on the same spin and you’ll win a payout equal to 2, 10 or 50 times your total stake. You’ll also trigger the Mighty Free Spins feature and with it, 10 free spins. During these free spins, the reels expand so that they are 8 rows high. The number of ways to win increases to a whopping 32,768.
The hammer wilds are in play during the feature too. Instead of up to 5 extra wilds you could get up to 8. In theory. it’s possible to fill all 3 reels and bring 24 extra wilds into play. This allows for top payouts of 8,704 times your stake on each free spin.
We enjoyed Buster Hammer’s encore performance. The 3D visuals are very nicely done and there’s a traditional circus soundtrack playing in the background. The features here aren’t bad either. Buster’s extra wilds can certainly move things along, especially in the Mighty Free Spins feature. This is a pretty volatile slot game with the variance in the medium to high range.
If you enjoyed the circus strongman’s first outing, Buster Hammer, you should enjoy this sequel. Get lucky with those extra wilds and a trip to the Buster Hammer Carnival could prove to be a memorable one.