Comics are never far from the news. Only this month, global news outlets reported how the son of Superman, Jon Kent, had come out as bisexual. The interest in comic book heroes goes back decades, from the days of original titles from Marvel Comics or DC Comics.
Where once you had to wait a week before going to the store and buying a copy of your favorite comics to keep up with your heroes, now you can find them anywhere, any time. They appear in movies, and TV shows that you can stream 24/7, and there are multiple games.
But it’s not just the obvious places like Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam (for PC games) where you can get your fix of fun. One of the world’s biggest slot game makers, NetEnt, has got in on the act with their Jack Hammer character.
The Jack Hammer Game
The first thing you will love about this is the production quality. You couldn’t get more old-school comic design than this! Jack Hammer himself is a detective (we’re not sure why he has a plaster on his nose) who needs to find and destroy Dr Evil Wuton. And he needs to do it fast because, in typical comic book style, the mad prof intends to poison the city from his airship lair.
With this theme firmly planted, you can see how NetEnt wants to evoke the age of the original technicolor comic. The backdrop to the slot is a well-drawn cityscape, but the main thing to note is the symbols, which are all classic comic styles. We’ve mentioned chisel-jawed Jack Hammer himself, and you will also meet Dr Evil Wuten clutching a bottle of his poison, a newspaper boy selling the Daily Grand, the airship, a scared personal assistant, and a telephone with the urgent words Ring! Ring! – just in case you needed telling what a telephone does.
There’s also an action symbol of Jack Hammer leaning out of the window of his car, shooting his pistol, accompanied by the helpful – but totally in the theme – words, Blam! Blam!
It’s a simple game to play, but you will need to visit an online platform like STS casino in the UK to enjoy it because it’s not available in live Las Vegas-style casinos. There are five reels and three rows, and each time you press the spin button, you must line up at least three of the same symbols to win a prize. There are 25 paylines presenting different ways these winning combinations can line up.
Sticky Wins and Features
All the best slot machine games have additional features to raise the excitement level higher, and Jack Hammer does not disappoint in this regard. Chief among them is the sticky wins feature. Here, when you manage to get a winning line, those winning symbols remain in place, and you get a free re-spin. If a new winning line forms, you win that as well and get yet another re-spin. This happy state of affairs continues until you get no more wins.
The mechanic is rarer than a comic first edition, so enjoy it as it means you can win more than once on any particular spin.
One thing we must mention is the sound effects, which match the comic book theme perfectly. The setting is designed to remind you of the streets of a city like New York from yesteryear – and to help that atmosphere; you will hear old-fashioned police sirens, dogs barking, jazz music from some nearby smoky bar, and more.
Like other good games, Jack Hammer holds a neat bonus game in store for fans. The bonus consists of a bumper amount of free spins triggered when you land five or more of the bonus symbols, the explosive device containing Dr Evil Wuton’s poison. This device has a Tic Toc sound, so you know it’s a priority to get hold of it. Land the symbols to get the following number of free spins:
- 5 = 10 free spins
- 6 = 15 free spins
- 7 = 20 free spins
- 8 = 25 free spins
- 9-15 = 30 free spins
Add together these free spins, combined with wild symbols, which substitute for all others, and the sticky win feature, you can hope to build up a decent prize.
Can You Win Much?
It’s a good question, but any casino gamer will tell you that there is always a house edge. If there were not, casinos would lose money and close – and then where would we go for our entertainment?
For slot games, this stat is known as the Return to Player percentage. Jack Hammer lists as 96.96%, which is generous for a modern slot game. It means that, statistically, you will get back $96.96 for every $100 that you spend. But the beauty of slots is that, of course, you might land a decent payout at any time!
Closing Thoughts
Slot games are not everyone’s favorite form of entertainment. But if you are a comic fan, you will appreciate the effort that NetEnt has made to produce Jack Hammer.
