Take the Shot Slot: An Airball or a Slam Dunk?
The highest-paid NBA players are cashing in like they accidentally found the cheat code for life. Stephen Curry, with his $50 million per year salary, is making so much money he could probably hire someone to shoot threes for him—and still get MVP. LeBron James? At over $50 million a year, he’s earning enough to buy a new mansion every time he misses a free throw. These guys aren’t just raking it in; they’re practically swimming in it, Scrooge McDuck style.
The insane money involved in the league makes basketball-themed slots an obvious choice. Betsoft appears to agree with this conclusion, with the game provider releasing Take the Shot slot this month.
Can you make a three-pointer?
Take the Shot slot features two character symbols, one of which looks like a caricature of LeBron James, complete with his Lakers jersey. The other is the slot’s scatter symbol.
Whenever the King James doppelganger appears on the reels, he leaves a shot clock behind in the position he appeared on. Every ten spins, all positions on the reels that feature a shot clock turn wild for a shot at some impressive winning combinations. The feature then resets.
A round of the slot’s free spins feature is triggered with three or more bonus symbols, which only appear on reels two, three, and four. Once triggered, you are awarded ten free spins.
During a round of free spins, five, seven, or ten wild symbols are added to the reels on every spin. I understand why Betsoft did this, but it was a bit disappointing not seeing the fun base game bonus feature carried through to the bonus round.
If you’re not keen on putting in the work to sink a three-pointer, Take the Shot slot also gives you a chance to buy a round of the free spins feature.
Is Take the Shot slot ready for the big leagues?
Betting on Take the Shot ranges from as little as $0.20 a spin to as much as $500 a spin. The slot’s rather conservative 359.7x maximum multiplier means you’re unlikely to strike any big wins unless you’re betting close to that $500-a-spin maximum. If you do bet at the maximum amount per spin, you have a chance to win up to $179,580. The slot features medium volatility and an RTP of 95.14%.
Take the Shot looks fine, with some great illustrations and fun animations. The problem is that it’s largely devoid of life. The court on which it is set is completely empty. If not for the music and crowd noises, it would be a little creepy. There are only two characters, both of which are tied to bonus features.
In addition to the lack of life, there’s very little recognizable iconography that shows much knowledge of the game, apart from the LeBron doppelganger. I would have loved to see a red jersey with the number 23 for Jordan or a yellow jersey with 24 for Kobe. The only jersey the slot features is a purple jersey with number 3. Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade both wore 3, but neither of them played for a team with purple jerseys. There’s also a symbol with a pair of shoes that vaguely look like Jordan Ones, but that’s about it.
The slot redeems itself with bonus features that are unique and engaging. The result is a slot that probably won’t appeal to basketball fans but will be fine for fans of a fun slot game. I give Take the Shot slot a six out of ten.
If you’re looking for a few BetSoft slots that I do recommend, try out Back to Venus and Captain’s Quest Treasure Island.