So, you thought Austin Powers was the world’s most ridiculous secret agent? Then you obviously forgot about Max Megaways, the home-grown star of Big Time Gaming’s MI6 in-spy-ered (get it?) slot franchise! Today, we’ll be going undercover to investigate Max’s mysterious world for the second time in Max Megaways 2 – the sequel to last year’s original. I must admit, I’m not overly familiar with the first game – as much as I love BTG’s older slots, their more recent output just hasn’t grabbed me in quite the same way. Can the 117,649 payways, 96.64% RTP, and insane 147,620x jackpot offered here do anything to change that? Let’s find out!
The headline numbers are undeniably impressive, but hitting a jackpot of almost 150,000x your bet is never going to be an easy – or likely – thing to accomplish. As far as I know, Max doesn’t benefit from Q providing him with the latest gadgets and technology. If he did, we’d probably get more than the same old six+one Megaways reel configuration, four familiar base game modifiers, and yet another ascending multiplier free spins feature. It’s not all bad though – the bonus round offered here does come with five additional prize-boosting enhancements, a maximum of three of which can be activated at any one time. Big Time Gaming has also thrown in a pie gamble for wins of 25x or more, along with a somewhat novel ‘win exchange’ facility that allows wins of 100x to be swapped for ten free spins. A bonus buy menu provides direct access to both the regular and enhanced free spins for players lucky enough to live in a permitted jurisdiction.
Fancy yourself as a suave, sophisticated, international crime-fighting superstar? If so, I’d recommend you take the opportunity to try our free demo slot of Max Megaways 2 right away – it’s only a matter of time before the politically correct brigade consigns characters such as Bond and Max to the history books!
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 7 |
| Paylines | 117,649 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 20 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 147,620x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.64% |
| Our Rating | 6.0 |
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Max Megaways 2 Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
The names Megaways… Max Megaways. Doesn’t quite hit right, does it? In fact, I think I’d burst out laughing if somebody with that name ever tried to intimidate me with it. I wonder if his codename is 00117649? I expect that must be correct, as it does roll off the tongue beautifully, after all! The background used in Max Megaways 2 looks to be a moon base of some kind – perhaps it was inspired by Moonraker? In that respect, I’d certainly say that this sequel is an improvement on Max Megaways, as that game always made me think it was set inside the Great Pyramid of Giza for some unknown reason. Visuals aside, the two games are remarkably similar – most of the features included here are essentially just improved versions of those present in the original game. Whilst it does end up feeling a little bit lazy, it’s also the way that most developers choose to tackle their sequels. With that in mind, I don’t think it’s fair to criticise BTG for going down that route when creating Max Megaways 2.
As for the paytable, I’m going to be a little bit harsher regarding that aspect of this release. The original’s paytable was already a disappointing read, and the numbers have only gotten smaller this time around! Take the for high-paying symbols, for example – the purple, red, blue, and green varieties offer payouts of 5x, 0.6x, 0.5x, and 0.5x, respectively, making it something of a stretch to even call them ‘high-paying’ symbols! The royals all pay less than they did in the first game too, with six aces or kings returning just 0.4x the total bet, six queens or jacks paying 0.3x, and the lowly nines and tens offering a measly 0.25x your current bet for a full pay way of six-of-a-kind. There aren’t any payouts attached to the wilds or scatters to help alleviate your disappointment either; I understand this is a Megaways game, so hitting many payways simultaneously is the intended way to score a big win. Nevertheless, other developers find ways to offer far more attractive prizes in their Megaways releases. If they can do it, surely the inventor of the format could work something out as well.
The betting range available in this release is curiously tight as well – the minimum/maximum limits are just €0.20 and €6.00 per spin, respectively. I don’t personally know anybody who plays slots at more than six bucks a throw, but I imagine there will be at least a few high rollers that will find these limits restrictive and disappointing considering that most slots permit considerably larger bets.
Base Game & Modifiers
So how does the base game of Max’s latest outing stack up against its predecessor and other competing Megaways slots? Big Time Gaming hasn’t taken any risks with the basic design – it’s the tried and tested six-reel layout with an extra horizontal reel positioned above columns two through five. Each reel divides into a random number of segments during every round, resulting in a minimum of 324 payways or a maximum of 117,649.
Winning combinations cause a ‘reaction’ to occur, which is Big Time Gaming’s term for cascading, rolling, or avalanching reels. This allows you to win many times from a single paid spin, as new symbols will continue falling onto the playfield indefinitely until no more winning combinations are visible on screen.
Modifiers In The Base
Just as in the original Max Megaways, the base game includes four modifiers that can randomly activate either at the start of a spin or after a reaction has taken place. The Maximum Megaways and Horizontal Wild modifiers work identically to how they did in the first game, whilst the remaining two are all-new for this sequel:
- Maximum Megaways: All six reels are guaranteed to feature a maximum of seven symbols, resulting in all 117,649 pay ways being available.
- Multiplier Wild: One special multiplier wild symbol will be added to the horizontal reel with a random value between 2x and 10x.
- Horizontal Wild: All positions on the horizontal reel are replaced by wild symbols.
- Symbol to Wild: Most instances of one randomly selected symbol will be replaced by wilds, but those which appear on reels one and six are excluded from the transformation.
Win Exchange
When this mode is enabled, wins of a certain size will trigger a pop-up window inviting you to exchange your prize for a chance to win something bigger:
- Pie Gamble: Any win of between 25x – 99x the total bet will allow you to gamble your prize for the chance to trigger a bonus round. The larger your win, the better your odds of success will be.
- Free Spins Exchange: Any win of 100x or more can be exchanged for ten free spins with no gamble required – I don’t think this is a great deal though, as you can purchase the free spins for 75x via the bonus buy menu!
Max Megaways 2 Slot Bonus Features
The reels of Max Megaways 2 include two different varieties of scatter symbols, although the regular gold scatters are much more common than the diamond ‘megascatter’. Any combination of three scatters will award ten free spins plus two additional spins for any further scatters above the minimum of three. If any of the triggering symbols is a diamond scatter, the enhanced free spins will be awarded.
Free Spins
Before your bonus round begins, you’ll be asked to choose from five doors to determine which additional features will be active during your free spin session. If you were lucky enough to hit a diamond megascatter, you’ll be offered three picks instead of the two normally awarded for hitting only regular scatter symbols.
The features behind the doors are as follows:
- 6x Multiplier Boost: The bonus round begins with all wins being boosted by a 6x multiplier.
- Symbol to Wild: One symbol is replaced with an additional wild, but only on reels two through five.
- Double Multiplier: The global multiplier increases by 2x after each reaction instead of the default 1x.
- 2 Scatter Retrigger: Two or more scatters will award extra free spins.
- Increased Ways: At least five segments are guaranteed to land on every reel for the duration of the bonus round.
Bonus Buy
If you’re struggling to hit the bonus round naturally, you can skip the base game entirely using the game’s bonus buy menu. Two options are available – the regular free spins cost 75x the current stake, whilst the enhanced diamond megascatter spins will hit your wallet for 200x the total bet.
Pros
- The huge jackpot of almost 150,000x the total bet.
- Lots of features that are sure to appeal to Megaways fans
Cons
- Feels like more of an update than a true sequel
- Standard paytable prizes are very low - even lower than the first game, in fact!
- Some of the free spin enhancements seem less generous than those offered in the first game too.
Final Thoughts
Max Megaways 2 is something of a mixed bag – I definitely think it’s an improvement over the original, and the modifiers are certainly more generous this time around. Fans of the original are sure to love it, as are most of those who enjoy Megaways games in general. For me, however, very little here feels new, special, or unique – I’ve just seen all of these features far too many times to get excited by this release. Oh, and what are the chances of a BGT slot paying over 100,000x the bet? You're lucky to see anything over 500x these days.
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