iSoftbet is a somewhat smaller game provider that often uses games, films, and television series as themes for online pokies. They have already released a Rambo pokie, a Mega Man pokie, and a The Love Guru pokie with varying degrees of success.
ISoftbet has also made a pokie for the series 24. In this super exciting action series, Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland) fights against terrorists and other scum. And every episode is, of course, a nerve-racking race against the clock.
It sounds like an ideal scenario to base a video pokie on, and iSoftbet has succeeded quite well in that. The "24" theme is well and consistently processed, and the game is therefore full of adrenaline-raising free spins, bombs that are likely to explode, and intense firefights.
The real images of Jack Bauer were also allowed to be used, so the real fans of the series will immediately feel at home.
How Does the "24" Pokie Work?
This pokie has 5 reels with 3 symbols per reel. There are no paylines, but the popular "win all ways" mechanism applies. It does not matter where the symbols fall on the reels, as long as they appear on successive reels.
Something strange is going on with the payment percentage. The "24" rules state a payout percentage of 96.02%, but only if you play max bet. Now the maximum bet is 125 dollars, so that seems a somewhat demanding requirement. It is obvious that they mean that you have to play at the maximum bet level - at least 1.25 dollars per spin.It is also remarkable that no payout percentage can be found for bets that are lower than max bet. So we just have to guess. If we take other iSoftbet titles as a frame of reference, then a payout percentage of 95% - 96% will not be unlikely.
Symbols and Payouts
The symbols are a mix of typical action symbols such as a badge, revolvers, and the image of Jack and the well-known card symbols. The wild symbol replaces all other symbols except the Free Spins symbol and the "24" symbol.
Jack Bauer himself pays the most: 5 Jacks pay 12 x the stake. The badges and revolvers are good for 6 x and 2.8 x stake, respectively. The card symbols 9, 10, B, Q, K, and A pay the same for every 5 between 0.8 x and 1.2 x the total bet.
Free Spins Bonus
The bonus features of "24" are delicious. The Free Spins Bonus is activated when the Free Spins symbol appears on the 3rd reel. So you don't need 3 or more scatters to win this bonus.
During the free spins, it's all about the firefights. As soon as a firefight breaks out, you earn extra wilds on the reels:
- A whole reel goes wild
- Multiple wilds appear across the reels
- A block of 2 x 2 wilds appears on the screen
Thanks to these extra wilds, you can definitely win great prizes during the free spins bonus, especially if you can win multiple 5-of-a-kind with a premium symbol. The Jack Bauer symbols, in particular, can tap very hard.
Bonus Game
The second bonus feature is called, really, Bonus. This Bonus is activated with 3 or more scattered "24" symbols. The more symbols that activate the bonus, the more time you buy in the bonus game.
You can use this time well with this feature. You are supposed to defuse a bomb. With every thread you cut, the clock counter goes down. If the counter is zero, the bonus has expired. Fortunately, you have collected cash prizes (up to 100 times your bet) and sometimes multipliers (up to 10 times).
The maximum win with this bonus feature is 1,000 x your bet.
What Does CasinoFisher Think of "24"?
"24" is a very successful video pokie from iSoftbet. It is beautifully designed, the bonus games are both entertaining and lucrative, and the theme is well elaborated.
In short: are you a fan of the "24" series? Then you will undoubtedly enjoy this online pokie. Non-fans of "24" are, of course, also very welcome to play.
4 out of 5 stars.
