Jack Hammer

Basic Features

Jack Hammer is one of the most respectful, most well-crafted slots I have ever played in my life. While its gameplay can be a bit simplistic, since there’s no bonus rounds or free spins (so if you’re playing slots just for the money you might be a bit disappointed), it has obviously been made with a TON of love for a genre that not a lot of people even know exists. Not only its visuals but also its very mechanics have been inspired by these old comic books, which is utterly amazing! When most gamblers hear the word “licensed slot” or “slot inspired by X”, we just imagine a slot where the symbols are replaced by characters from whatever X is, but Jack Hammer shows us exactly how far a talented developer can take their inspiration!

Jack Hammer Slot
		Software:	NetEnt	Double option:	No
		RTP:	97.00%	Mobile version:	Yes
		Progressive:	No	Coin value:	£0.01-£1
		Autoplay:	Yes	Bet value:	£0.25 – £250
		Quick spin:	Yes	Max. bet:	£250.00
		Reels:	5	Free spins:	Yes
		Paylines:	25	Bonus round:	No

It’s hard to really explain exactly what makes the visuals of this slot so good, so I would recommend just playing it for yourself. Stylistically, the images look like they’ve been taken right out of a 30s comic book, simply sharpened up to crystal clarity, as is to be expected from a piece of art in the 21st century. Special mention needs to be made for the smoothness of the animation, which moves at a solid framerate and doesn’t look choppy like so many other slots. Instead of falling down one reel at a time, the symbols lock themselves into place one square at a time, which further accentuates the comic book effect.

Paytable

Jack Hammer offers 11 symbols (counting the special ones), which is really rather average for such a slot – not particularly good, but also not the worst I’ve ever seen. Then again, since when are we giving awards for not being the worst, anyway? It’s like receiving a participation award, it’d just be humiliating! Honestly, I think I would have preferred 2-3 more non-special symbols. On the plus side, at least they’re all unique and beautiful – no letters or anything cheap like that. All the symbols look distinct enough so that if you took 2 minutes to memorize them you’d be able to calculate the winnings in your head even before they pop up on the screen, which isn’t something I can say for a lot of slots.

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Sadly, though, the winnings aren’t particularly large for a 25-payline slot. If you’ve ever played a NetEnt game, such as South Park, then you already know what you’re in for, namely – small, yet relatively frequent winnings. In some slots, you know that you’re gonna have to take a big risk and may go for a while without a win, but once you hit one hopefully you’ll recoup your losses and get a little extra. In Jack Hammer, though, you’ll win almost every round, but those winnings will rarely be much larger than your bet. The most you can win from special or non-special symbols is 1000 times your bet, which isn’t that great, but it’s something.

Bonus Rounds/Free Spins

The most interesting feature of the slot is most definitely its “Sticky Win” feature, which is very unique and a breath of fresh air, as can be expected from a NetEnt slot! You know how some bonus features in other slots have Sticky Wilds – basically, the Wild symbol will remain in place for a set number of spins. Well, Jack Hammer does this with absolutely every winning symbol. Whenever you get a win on one of your paylines, those symbols are going to remain there for the next spin, which will be free, and can potentially increase your winnings. You keep going until you stop winning, which would typically amount to about 2-3 free spins per win. Which isn’t bad!

Aside from that, the game also has a much more typical Free Spins feature. Sadly, it’s not activated by a bonus game, but I’d say it’s a notch better since it gives you a x3 multiplier on all of your wins. In order to activate it, you need to – what else – get three Scatter symbols, represented by the nuclear bomb-looking thing. Getting 5 of these anywhere on your screen will net you 10 free spins, but you can potentially get up to 30 if you manage to land at least 9, which is difficult, but certainly not impossible. Keep in mind that the Sticky Symbol feature is still going to be in effect here, so you’re certainly going to get more than 10 free spins no matter what you do!

Experience of Playing the Slot and Other Recommended Games

I can’t lie – Jack Hammer isn’t a slot for everyone. On one hand, it looks absolutely phenomenal! It’s one of the best looking slots I’ve ever seen, in both the crispness and detail of its images and the smoothness of its animation. It pays brilliant tribute to the forgotten pulp fiction comics, some of which are almost 90 years old, not just in adding a few pictures, but also in its feel and its very mechanics. The “sticky symbols” feature makes the panels/symbols pop out, giving it that awesome comic book feel that not even slots based on real life comic books (such as the Playtech Marvel slots) have managed to achieve – and the feature itself is pretty fun and sufficiently different from your standard slot. With that said, though, the lack of a bonus game and a jackpot and the relatively low winnings for a 25-payline slot may put some people off – it’s rather obvious that Jack Hammer has been specifically crafted to be a fun slot to play first and foremost and bring winnings later. While you may get a decent amount from the free spins feature, if you are looking for a huge jackpot, I’d recommend Mega Moolah, which has had a few records for the largest slot jackpot in the UK.