Quality design is high up on the list of things we like most about Thunderkick games and in Flame Busters they’ve created another cracker - the blocky visuals could come straight from a Commodore 64 game are superbly done. The setting is a flaming tower block whose windows make up the reels.
The residents include a strange assortment of wizards, aliens, robots, goats, pirates and lower value coins as well as a wild that replaces everything bar the scatter and mystery symbols. Watch out for the fire symbol which can transform into a mystery symbol (except the scatter and wild) whenever it lands. There are 3 main features on offer in Flame Busters:
- Fire Drill feature - this can be triggered in the base game. It transforms between 1 and 5 of the lower value coins into the mystery Fire Symbol on the same spin. A new payout is then made with the transformed symbols in position.
- Bonus Game feature - land 3, 4 or 5 of the Alarm Bell scatter on the same spin and you’ll be awarded 10, 15 or 20 free spins. Keep collecting the Alarm Bell scatters once the feature begins - for every 3 you collect, you’ll be awarded an extra 2 free spins and trigger the Coin Ignition feature.
You’ll also unlock a new level. On these new levels, the lowest value symbol turns into a Mystery Fire symbol and will remain that way for the remainder of the feature. With 5 levels to unlock, there’s an extra 10 free spins up for grabs as well as 5 coins transformed into Fire symbols.
It’s not the most sophisticated slot game you’ll see but the blocky, 8-bit graphics in Flame Busters are a delight and will have players of a certain age purring. Likewise, the simple, yet very catchy backing track. The animations aren’t bad either. Watch out as the fire fighters give a blast from their hose to put the fire symbol out and reveal the special matching symbol.
The gameplay is pretty simple but the free spins round is decent enough, especially if you manage to unlock levels and in the process, turn the lowest value symbols into transformers. It’s a volatile offering with potential wins of up to 5,280 times your total bet on each free spin!
We very enjoyed this old-school blast - the superb design and catchy gameplay make for an excellent combination. Get lucky with those fire wilds and the Flame Busters can deliver some pretty scorching action too. If you like the graphics, Mega Boy from iSoftBet or Arcader by Thunderkick are recommended.