Seriously, with a myriad of baseball-themed and soccer-themed slots, plus a handful of American football and basketball pokies – former Chicago Bull/Jean-Claude Van Damme movie co-star Dennis Rodman even has *his own game*, for Gretzky’s sake – why has Hockey Hero taken so long to arrive?
The symbols are well-rendered and capture all the aspects of the game, with referees, goalies, a penalty box (which acts as one scatter), goalie’s mask and beer are all in evidence. The home team appears to be mythical, with a logo that looks suspiciously like that of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks – except as a rhinoceros. (Is this the ultimate fate of the Phoenix Coyotes? To become the Hamilton Rhinos?)
Though Hockey Hero Slot game is a fairly standard RTG play, the sound effects get bonus points here, with nostalgic hockey-rink organ strident, fans cheering on the wild symbols, and the penalized player half-heartedly trying to make a break back onto the ice.
Happily, Hockey Hero also includes RTG’s randomly awarded progressive jackpots, with two possible big prizes awarded here. On the positively minus side is a lack of bonus round; the Hockey Hero slot has only a free spins feature (but with the “max line win-win bonus” added, so that’s nice).
But hey, this is only the only hockey-themed slot game out there right now – What else are you gonna do with the Stanley Cup already awarded for 2010? Maybe if every Canadian gets behind Hockey Hero and plays some spins, Hockey Hero 2 will feature a sweet shootout video round ... are you listening, Real Time Gaming?
