Michael Jackson King of Pop

A result of cooperation between Scientific Games Interactive (SGI) and Bally Technologies, Michael Jackson King of Pop video slot pays homage to one of world’s most famous artists who died in 2009.

The game first appeared in land-based casinos and then also reached the leading online gaming venues, and we have to admit we have been impressed by the online slot.

The music soundtrack was always going to be excellent and you will enjoy listening to his greatest hits such as Smooth Criminal, Dirty Diana, Billie Jean, Bad and Beat It. Add to that symbols such as Black Fedora Hat, Single White Glove, Dancing Shoes and Sunglasses, and you will have a great video slot.

Developer

In business since 1968, Bally Technologies have been providing slot machines for brick and mortar casinos for several decades now, while they have recently started to develop games for the online gaming industry as well.

With so much experience in a competitive industry, the company has developed a knack for creating attractive slot machines, and their online slots usually feature very good graphics and sounds effects, numerous bonus rounds and wide betting range.

How to Play It

Michael Jackson King of Pop is played at five reels and fixed 25 paylines, and rather than selecting your bet per line, you can quickly choose the preferred total bet size, which can be anywhere from $0.40 to $80, and that is a pretty good betting range as far as we are concerned. While you would normally be wagering 25 coins, you are required to stake extra 15 coins to have access to all the bonus rounds.

Simply press on the purple button in the bottom left hand corner and a game options panel will pop up, also containing Autoplay, Paytable and Game Help sections. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, seeing as how you need to receive three or more identical icons on any payline, starting from the leftmost reel.

Special Features

If you are one of those bonus hunters, you will love what the Bally game has to offer, and it all starts with Wild icons. Regular Wild can substitute for other icons with the exception of Bonus and Jackpot, whereas Moonwalk Wild pretty much does the same.

On any base game spin, 2-5 Moonwalk Wilds can appear anywhere on reels 2-5, and if a Bonus or Jackpot lands in a place where Moonwalk Wild occurs, the symbol counts as both Wild and the other symbol.

Get Bonus icon to appear in central position or within one position of the centre on reels II, III and IV, and the Wheel Bonus will be triggered. You get one spin of the wheel to reveal credits, free games or credits with additional spin.

If you get to unlock Beat It Free Games, 10 free spins will be played, where any Wild that appears on the reels remains in place until the feature ends.

Smooth Criminal Free Games award 5 free spins, where one entire reel is Wild on the first spin and two entire reels are Wild on each of the remaining 4 spins.

Maximum Payout

Michael Jackson King of Pop appears to be low-volatility game, and even though winning combinations appear on virtually every single spin, they are rarely good enough to cover the amount staked, let alone help you turn a nice profit.

The Jackpot symbol does award 2,500 credits for five-of-a-king combination, but landing said combo on the reels usually proves mission impossible.

The 96.01% return to player is decent, yet not impressive, so unless you can unlock the bonus rounds on fairly regular basis, you will struggle to make a profit.

Summary

We have no doubts that Michael Jackson fans will thoroughly enjoy the Bally title, but while the game looks appealing and features the King of Pop’s most famous songs, we don’t think it offers good value for money.

Base line payouts tend to be pretty disappointing, almost exclusively lower than the original stake, and those bonus rounds seem difficult to unlock.

Therefore, it you are looking for a rewarding gaming experience alone, then Michael Jackson may be your cup of tea, but if you hope to earn some money in the process as well, then you should probably steer clear of the five reel, twenty-five payline game.