Playtech has obviously put plenty of effort into making the Age of the Gods franchise look spectacular and Goddess of Wisdom is no exception. The usual classical imagery is present and correct and very fine it all looks too.
Set against the backdrop of an ancient temple and flanked by marble columns, the reels include stylised playing cards alongside berries, sandals, laurel wreaths with warrior helmet and a breastplate. You only need to land 2 of these symbols to create a winning combination. By far the best payer is the Gorgoneion – 5 of these on 1 of the game's 20 paylines and you can look forward to a bumper haul of 5,000 coins.
Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, is the game's wild - she appears on the middle 3 reels only and substitutes for all other symbols apart from the scatter. The white owl is that scatter - land 2, 3, 4 or 5 of them anywhere on the reels and you'll pocket 2, 5, 20 or 100 times your stake. 3 or more owls landing anywhere triggers the Battle Game feature.
Once active, you'll be given the pick of 3 free spins features which offer different combinations of free spins, multiplier and wilds extras. The choices are:
- Gorgoneion – you will receive 10 free spins
- Warrior's Helmet – you will receive 7 free spins with a 4x multiplier
- Armour – you will receive 14 free spins with a 2x multiplier.
Whichever option you choose will see the other 2 symbols removed from the reels with extras of the symbol you chose added. So for example, if you choose the Gorgoneion option, all of the warrior helmet and breastplate symbols are removed from the reels and replaced by extra high value Gorgoneions – you need to weigh up whether the 5,000-coin symbol is worth more than a 2x or 4x multiplier.
Your winning chances are further boosted by the wilds - whenever these land during the feature, they will expand to fill the entire reel in which they appear. Sadly, though, additional free spins cannot be re-triggered.
Some serious amounts of coinage are also on offer via the progressive jackpots which can be triggered at random on any spin. Once up and running, you'll be given a selection of 20 gold coins. Keep picking until you find 3 of the same and that's the jackpot you'll win. There are 4 prizes jackpots and you're guaranteed to win at least 1 of them with the Ultimate Power jackpot being the biggest.
Just like all of the other slot games in the Age of the Gods series, Goddess of Wisdom looks and sounds terrific. This one really comes into life in the bonus feature where the ability to choose your free spins, symbol and multiplier combination is a nice addition.
If you've played the any of the Age of the Gods games, you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect here. Playtech has kept to a similar formula which makes Goddess of Wisdom an exciting, entertaining and very playable proposition. If you like options when it comes to free spins, Age of the Gods is the best of the bunch.