Mad Scientist Slot Machine

Pros

• Decent top prize for a BetSoft title. Many other games from the developer only offer a maximum main game win of 500x the line bet or lower. The 1,000x the line bet top jackpot is a welcome addition to Mad Scientist.
• Many great bonus features. One thing that BetSoft really do well is their side games and Mad Scientist is no exception here.

Cons

• As with most BetSoft titles, the upper betting limit is low. This means that the highest rollers will be better served elsewhere.
• Animation and artwork isn’t as strong as on many other BetSoft games. It’s not bad but it’s nowhere near as epic as on the likes of the A Christmas Carol slot machine.

Top Jackpots

The highest pay-outs on Mad Scientist are awarded for hitting five-of-a-kind of the most valuable symbols. As you’d expect, these have been inspired by the mad scientist’s equipment from his lab. Landing five of the same symbol across a win line will pay as follows:

• Plasma ball = 1,000x the line bet.
• Atom = 500x the line bet.
• Lever = 250x the line bet (pays out on any pay line, not just active ones).
• Microscope = 200x the line bet.

Game Features

Bonus round

Landing three scattered test tube bonus feature icons will award a second screen bonus feature. It’s called The Mad Scientist Great Experiment Bonus. Players join the mad scientist during the final test of his long-awaited turn-to-gold serum. Landing additional bonus icons when triggering this side game will result in multiplied winnings.

Players must select any four of the objects to begin the experiment. The mad scientist will drip his serum onto the object and turn it into either bronze, silver or pure gold. Players’ winnings will be awarded once they’ve helped the scientist choose all the objects and the experiment is complete. Following the distribution of pay-outs, players will be returned to the main game.

Bio Pick Me

Landing three, four, or five radioactive symbols on an active pay line from the beginning or from the end, one after another will activate the Bio “Pick Me” bonus feature. Wins in the range of 125 credits to 175 credits are multiplied by bet per line and the number of lines where the bonus combination appears.

Wild’o’Cution

When the tesla coil appears on reels one and five on pay line one, two, or three, the wild’o’cution feature will begin. The tesla coils will activate, shocking themselves and the icons between them instantly into “wilds”. This dramatically increases the likelihood of a big win.

Regular Symbols

Like the high value symbols, those awarding lesser prizes are also inspired by our title-character’s lab equipment. Again, we’ve listed the pay-outs for hitting five-of-a-kind of each below:

• Danger Sign = 100x the line bet.
• Tesla Coil = 50x the line bet.
• Conical flask = 25x the line bet.
• Electricity meter = 10x the line bet.

Betting Limits

Players are given maximum freedom when it comes to deciding how to spread their bets out on Mad Scientist. They can adjust the value of every coin between 2p and R20, the number of lines played (between one and 20), and finally, they can alter the amount of coins bet per line. The lowest here is just one, and the highest is five.

All this means that the minimum bet per spin on Mad Scientist is just 2p. Meanwhile, with all the values set to the maximum, the largest possible cost of each spin is R3 200.

What We Think

Mad Scientist by BetSoft is a great modern slot machine that is sure to delight players on multiple visits. It might not have quite the same level of artwork and animation as other titles from the same developer, but the illustrations are still well above the industry’s average. There are also plenty of great bonus features to keep the action varied and the return-to-player rating of 96% should certainly appeal to many iGamers.

The major flaw with the whole package is one that affects just about every BetSoft game we’ve ever reviewed. The upper betting limit is rather small. Whilst most players won’t mind being restricted to wagering below R3 200 per spin, there are some out there who will certainly find it overly limiting.