Michael Jackson: King of Pop is one of Bally's most popular slots. Before the release of the online version, which is the subject of this review, the Michael Jackson slot could only be found in the huge mega resorts of the Las Vegas strip and the casinos in the Las Vegas Downtown area.
Thankfully, Bally has been making a big effort in the past years to gain its fair share of the huge online gaming market, by releasing online versions of their most popular slots. Slots like the Quick Hits series, Titanic are already available to play online and now we can add Michael Jackson: King of Pop to that list.
Michael Jackson, who left us way too soon, was probably the biggest superstar of all time. He brought us some of the best pop songs of all time – classics such as Beat It, Thriller and Smooth Criminal. He was also a phenomenal dancer en kept searching for ways to keep us entertained, thrilled and awed.
And who could forget his monkey Bubbles, his infamous anti-aging oxygen machine en his own personal theme park Neverland? The King of Pop liked to stand out.
So, if ever there was an artist that deserved his own slot machine, it would have to be Michael Jackson. Bally really pulled all the stops on this slot machine, with gorgeous graphics, a superb soundtrack and a whole range of exciting bonus features. Hee-hee!! Whoo!
Michael Jackson slot features
The Michael Jackson slot has 25 fixed pay lines and a fixed bonus bet. The minimum bet is £0.40 per spin and can be increased to £80 a spin.
As was to be expected, a lot of the symbols are classic Michael Jackson material – from his distinctive black hat and cool sunglasses to his glittering gloves and shoes.
This slot is lower variance – it has a high hit frequency with lots of smallish wins. The only symbols that really pay out well are the Jackpot symbols. These are scattered and can pay up to 2,500 times the total bet when 5 scattered Jackpot symbols show up on the 5 x 3 reel grid.
During the base game, you can win one of two random bonus features where you either get one or two reels of wild symbols or you can get a number of extra wilds replacing the symbols. Three scattered MJ Bonus symbols on reels 2, 3 and 4 will trigger the main bonus feature.
Fantastic soundtrack
Before we discuss the main bonus feature of the Michael Jackson slot, we would like to say a little something about the soundtrack – it is truly phenomenal. Songs like Beat It, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal rock big time and are a perfect fit for this slot machine. Great stuff.
The main bonus feature of Michael Jackson: King of Pop
When the main bonus feature is activated, the player is taken to a new screen where he gets to spin a giant wheel. You get to spin one time and can win any of the following bonus features:
- extra credits with a multiplier of up to 10x
- extra credits
- The Smooth Criminal Free Spins bonus
- The Beat It Free Spins bonus
Most of the spins you will win one of the two free spins bonuses, which are by far the most enjoyable of all the options. Don't rule out the potential of the extra credits with the multiplier, though, this feature can bring some huge wins, especially if you a lucky enough to the 10x multiplier.
Smooth Criminal Free Spins bonus
In this feature, you win 5 free spins, with 1 or 2 reels completely wild on every spin. This bonus can provide some nice payouts, especially if you get a higher symbol in combination with the wild reels. Michael shows off his famous Smooth Criminal dance moves here. Fun times.
Beat It Free Spins bonus
This bonus awards you with 10 free spins. Every wild that appears on the screen during these free spins turns into a sticky wild for the remainder of the free spins. The more sticky wilds you get, the bigger your chances of a big payout. Of course, you are treated to some of Michael Jackson finest dance moves in this bonus as well!
Our verdict of the Michael Jackson: The King of Pop slot
Bally really outdid themselves with this brilliant slot machine that is a true homage to one of the biggest musical legends that ever lived. The soundtrack is world class, the graphics are vibrant and the bonus features are very entertaining. One minor qualm that we have is that the variance of this slot is a little on the low side. You can expect to be truly entertained, but it is very rare to get a huge payout.
Play the Michael Jackson slot at Casumo with a 200% bonus up to £50 and 200 free spins.