The Wild West has always been a popular theme in casino slots, and "Wanted Dead Or A Live" from NetEnt is one of the most immersive experiences available. This game takes players on a thrilling journey through the dusty streets of old America, where they must face outlaws, lawmen, and treacherous terrain to emerge victorious.
Theme
The Wild West theme has been done many times before in casino slots, but "Wanted Dead Or A Live" brings something new to the table. The game’s atmosphere is intense and suspenseful, with Wanted Dead Or A Wild slot haunting sound effects that transport players to a bygone era. As they spin the reels, players will hear distant gunshots, howling wind, and other sounds that perfectly capture the feeling of being in the midst of a showdown between outlaws.
The game’s theme extends beyond its atmospheric soundtrack. The symbols are all meticulously designed to fit with the Wild West setting, including gunslinger-wannabe cowboys, wanted posters, dynamite sticks, and whiskey bottles. Each symbol has been carefully crafted to evoke the spirit of the American frontier, from the gleaming six-shooters to the ornate wooden buildings.
Design
"Wanted Dead Or A Live" features a traditional 5-reel design with a staggering 243 ways to win in its basic game mode. Players can select between three different settings for their gameplay: low volatility, medium volatility, and high volatility modes. Each setting will adjust the number of symbols displayed on each reel, offering players varying levels of excitement depending on their risk tolerance.
In addition to the standard game mode, "Wanted Dead Or A Live" features several bonus features that add depth and complexity to its gameplay experience. These features are more on this below under Bonus Features and Free Spins , but they’re worth mentioning now because they significantly enhance the overall design of the game.
Symbols
The paytable in "Wanted Dead Or A Live" is divided into three different groups: low-paying, mid-paying, and high-paying symbols. Low-paying symbols include playing card numbers 9 through Ace, which will award players with smaller payouts for forming combinations.
Mid-paying symbols include wanted posters featuring various outlaws, as well as whiskey bottles and dynamite sticks. These symbols offer higher payouts than the low-paying ones but are not quite at the level of the high-paying icons.
High-paying symbols take center stage in this game’s design, featuring a beautiful female gunslinger alongside the two main protagonists: Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday. Each high-paying symbol offers substantial rewards for forming combinations, including some eye-watering jackpots up to 2,000 times per bet.
Payouts
The payout structure of "Wanted Dead Or A Live" is straightforward: players win by landing matching symbols in adjacent positions across the reels from left to right. While there are no true multiplier wins or bonus rounds in this game (although we’ll cover its Bonus Features and Free Spins ), the payouts are substantial enough that players can still enjoy a profitable experience.
Wilds
The Wild symbol, depicted by a sheriff’s badge, serves as a substitute for other icons on the reels. While it can form combinations in this capacity alone, the true value of this feature lies in its ability to complement the Scatters and Bonus Features mentioned below.
The most interesting aspect of "Wanted Dead Or A Live"’s Wild symbol is that it doesn’t actually appear on the third or fourth reel during regular gameplay. Instead, players can trigger a free respin whenever they land two Wild symbols alongside any Scatter icon in reels 1 through 5. This unique twist adds an element of unpredictability to its Wild feature.
Scatters
The Scattered dynamite stick is another crucial symbol that deserves mentioning. When three or more Dynamite Sticks appear on the reels (anywhere, not necessarily adjacent), players trigger a special Free Spins round, known as Dynamite Free Spins . More information about this exciting feature can be found below under Free Spins , but its presence in "Wanted Dead Or A Live" emphasizes the game’s commitment to providing engaging gameplay experiences.
Bonus Features
Two bonus features exist within the confines of this slot, which are unlocked by landing specific combinations of Scatters:
- Gun Fights : When three or four Dynamite Sticks appear on reels 2-5 (leftmost reel) simultaneously, a Gun Fight is triggered during base play only. The Gunfight Feature involves two randomly selected protagonists, who then compete in a virtual showdown against each other to eliminate their opponent’s bullets.
The winning character collects any unspent bullet by awarding it as the GunFight Multiplier. This multiplier ranges from 2x up to 3000x on all wins that come after it has triggered.
In addition, when players receive three or more Dynamite Sticks in reels 1-5 simultaneously (leftmost reel), Free Spins becomes active.
- The Gunfight Multiplier and Dynamite Free Spins become available instantly at the start of their respective rounds once they’ve triggered, with all player settings unaffected by this change in gameplay dynamics.
Players can use either side to trigger their bonus feature of choice. When only two Dynamite Sticks appear on reels 2-5 (leftmost reel), players receive Re-Spins or Wilds that have one more bullet. Re-Spin takes the form of a new game round where no wild is needed.
In essence, each action occurs independently without interaction between each other.
The Gunfight Multiplier stays active for an infinite number of subsequent rounds (free games count towards its expiration date).
If only two Dynamite Sticks appear in reels 1 through 5 simultaneously (leftmost reel), this can occur multiple times within a single spin.