Mega Gems

Released back in 2014, Mega Gems feels like what Fruit Zen and Kawaii Kitty should have been. All three were published by Betsoft and all three are Starburst clones, and yet, Mega Gems feels and acts closer to Starburst than we ever felt the other two got close to. It has 5 reels and 10 paylines, a look that makes it seem all the more closer to Starburst, and adds a progressive jackpot on top of that to work towards. It’s a clone done right, as it improves on what was already there to the benefit of both gamblers and developers alike.

The slot looks oddly retro-futuristic, with all the light blue animated backgrounds bleeding into the reels themselves that makes us think Mega Gems would probably be a great experience in VR if it ever comes to that. Beyond that, you have no distracts to take you away from the reels, except the counter that sits on top of them that tells you how much money is stashed in the progressive jackpot.

As far as gameplay goes, it feels alright to play. Like the old Starburst, it has cycles where you’re scoring and winning lots, and then it decides to cut off the funds and that is usually when you want to stop spinning and take home what you’ve won. But in an act of brilliance, the Betsoft release has a progressive jackpot at all times visible, asking you to keep trying your luck at it. And, of course, you can only play the progressive jackpot at the max bet, so you better open up that wallet!

The presence of the progressive jackpot makes us a bit more lenient on the low fixed jackpot being only 250 coins for a five-of-a-kind score of the rare dark blue gem. The value across the playing field isn’t really that great, but neither was Starburst. Instead, what Mega Gems does right and what more recent Betsoft clones could learn from is that it makes you feel like the slot wants you to win. You start off strong and you climb to a certain height before it decides you’ve flown too high and starts taking back the cash. But it still feels great while the flight lasts.

You can play the game for $0.02 up to $100 by adjusting coin value, the amount of active paylines and the amount you’re betting per line. The variety should give both casual players and high rollers a good time with Betsoft’s release, although people who aren’t playing on maximum bet may feel a bit less enthusiastic as they can’t aim for the progressive jackpot.

Adhering to the rule that simple is best, Mega Gems lives up to its name and makes it all about large gems of different colours that award you nice cash prizes. We admire the extra effort put in by the developers in making each piece seem different, even if cyan and yellow share the same shape, as well as red and purple.

Wild plays off this colourful collage of gems and features all seven colours you can see on the playing field. It expands across the entire reel, and activates a re-spin, making up for a lack of actual free spins. Wilds can only appear on the second, third and fourth reel, meaning you can score up to a maximum of three re-spins in a row.
Scatters are present in this slot, but only nominally. They’re used to activate the progressive jackpot, and you do that by making Scatters appear on the second, third and fourth reel at the same time, which discounts any wins you could win with a Wild. However, they are blank icons unless you play with the maximum bet, as otherwise the game doesn’t give you access to the progressive jackpot.