Developer Red Tiger is shaking, rattling, and rolling in an online slot called Rock’N’Lock, which is meant to evoke a simpler, cleaner, and safer era. Get out the hair oil and the curling irons, because this one is going to rock. Or do you think that’s just a classic case of the Golden Age Fallacy? Anyway, let’s give Rock’N’Lock a play for some intense guitar-riffed action and a Lock the Records respins bonus round.
A James Dean lookalike slides his shades up his nose on the Rock’N’Lock load screen, setting the tone for the action to come. It seems to be in Los Angeles somewhere between the 1950s and the 1960s, or maybe it’s a post-industrial neighborhood that’s been thoroughly gentrified into a hipster paradise. It’s easy to see cash flooding into jukeboxes while burgers sizzle on grills in eateries all around the city as the sun sets over a palm tree-lined boulevard. The musical side of the deal is fulfilled with a jangly rockabilly tune, and the stage is set for some rocking and (hopefully) locking.
Rock’N’Lock may be played on any device, and it has a 5-reel, 4-row gaming grid with betting options ranging from 10 pence to £/€40 per paid spin. Regular symbols pay from left to right on adjacent reels, and there are 25 paylines to try to land them on. The potential return value for getting your rock and/or lock on is 95.69 percent.
There are nine regular payments plus a few of unique symbols, and they’re all presented in a neon/muso style. Starting with the flashy 10-A card rank symbols, which pay out between 0.8 and 2 times the wager for a full house, the payout scales upward to between 5 and 12 times the wager for a full house of premium instruments, audio equipment, or vehicles. The wild card steps in to replace non-paying symbols. If a winning combination includes a wild symbol, the payment for that line will be multiplied by three.
The Slots That Rock and Lock
Gold and Platinum Record scatter symbols can appear anywhere on the reels to provide prizes. These icons don’t help form winning lines, but instead represent multipliers of the wager. Platinum Records can be worth 7, 10, 12, 15, 20, or 25 times the original wager, whereas Gold Records are worth between 1 and 5 times the original wager. A number from 1-5 may appear in the upper left corner of Gold and Platinum Records in the original game. To assist activate the feature, this number indicates the number of paid spins the symbol will remain locked to the reels before dislodging itself.
Secure the Files
The Lock the Records bonus round activates if three or more record symbols appear. Free retries increase by one for each additional record broken (3, 4, 5, etc.). The record symbols that initiate the feature will remain in their triggered positions for the length of the effect. When a new record symbol lands, the number of re-spins is reset to zero. Additionally, the values of already-present record symbols are increased if new record symbols land. If many new record symbols appear after a spin, their combined values will not increase. All record symbol values are granted at the end of the feature. If the grid is completely filled, the reward is multiplied by two.
R&L: A Slot Machine’s Final Say
Rock’N’Lock initially evoked images of an online slot that Sandy Olsson or Danny Zuko may play to increase their street cred. There’s an air of sass about it, and it makes me think of Monica Geller on her roller skates and blonde wig at the Moondance Diner, serenading customers with tunes from the jukebox while preparing Laverne and Curly fries.
Rock’N’Lock, much like a 1950s restaurant, won’t appeal to everyone, and the gameplay isn’t very noteworthy. The core gameplay looped endlessly like a record spinning on a turntable, set to the rhythm of distorted guitar. The Lock The Records bonus round is triggered when at least three record scatters appear. The bonus round is similarly lacking in descriptive detail. The objective of this simple hold ‘n win game is to obtain new scatters, which will reset the spin counter and restart the round. The sole change is that any new scatters will increase the value of any existing scatters on the reels. The fact that it was adopted elsewhere is not the worst thing in the world, and it was a very nice touch. However, other from the screen-filling wild sign, there are no further bonuses or unique symbols. With a maximum potential payout of only 2,340 times the wager, Lock The Records is hardly the most thrilling hold ‘n win bonus available.
Considering its themes—muscle automobiles, rock ‘n’ roll, and rebelling without a cause—Rock’N’Lock lacked energy. The visuals and soundtrack are pleasingly rocking, but as the game got going, the action lacked rockabilly attitude, the chromed exterior losing much of its shine.
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