About The Walking Dead
The original comic book version of The Walking Dead was
written by Robert Kirkman while the TV series was first adapted
for the screen by Frank Darabont. The show boasts a sprawling
ensemble cast, one which removes and adds new characters as the
zombie hordes, or walkers in the show’s parlance, pick off
unfortunate victims. However, the primary stars who have
appeared on the show from its debut through Season 6 are Andrew
Lincoln who plays Rick, Steven Yeun who plays Glenn, Lauren
Cohen who plays Maggie, and Norman Reedus who plays Daryl.
Aristocrat secured a licensing deal with AMC which allows the
game to recreate the in show experience to a tee. Housed within
Aristocrat’s cutting edge 31.5-inch Verve HD cabinet display,
The Walking Dead slot offers high-resolution image rendering,
theme music, and sound effects straight from the show and the
most important characters from the series’ debut season. The
interactive experience is enhanced even further, as players sit
in Aristocrat’s surround sound iChair, which even vibrates and
moves along with the on-screen action, all while delivering
crisp clear audio.
During the game’s rollout phase, Theresa Beyer, AMC’s Vice
President of Promotions and Activation, offered her take on the
new slot offering:
“The Walking Dead Slot Game is the perfect marriage between
TV’s leading drama and the gaming industry’s leading developer.
The show keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, and
Aristocrat now delivers that same experience for gaming fans.”
Aristocrat Vice President of Gaming Operations Dallas Orchard
echoed Beyer’s sentiments, stating:
“Capitalizing on the show’s dedicated following; we stayed
true to the ethos of the AMC series while creating this game. We
have designed a game that will appeal to the show’s audience and
players will be excited to find all of their favorite characters
here. Working with AMC has been phenomenal, and we look forward
to continuing our relationship.”
In just over two years since it launched, The Walking Dead
slot has earned a number of industry accolades, including being
named as Best Video Slot, Best Progressive Slot, Best Video Slot
Bonus Round, and Best Slot Graphics in the Southern California
Gaming Guide’s 2015 Reader’s Choice Best Slot Awards. The game
also received the Casino Product of the Year award at the 2014
Global Gaming Awards.
To find a list of all casino locations which currently
include The Walking Dead on the floor, see Aristocrat’s handy
game page.
Game Basics
The title screen for The Walking Dead features an iconic
scene from the show’s first season when Rick reentered the
ruined city of Atlanta for the first time since surviving the
zombie uprising. You’ll see the Atlanta skyline in the
background, and a long stretch of highway running from the city
to the foreground. On the left, thousands of cars sit still as a
stone, the remnants of a city’s last desperate attempts to
escape. On the right, the highway is completely clear, offering
both Rick and the player his first look at what the world has
become.
Near the top of the title screen, you’ll also find a series
of numbers in blood red print. These are used to describe the
game’s various progressive jackpot amounts, which will be
explained in detail below.
As a premier game, The Walking Dead will usually be found in
clusters or banks of machines, and Aristocrat made sure you’ll
be paying attention by installing huge character portraits on
top. Lori, Shane, and Daryl, who sports his signature crossbow,
occupy the left-hand side while Rick points his pistol in
defiance from the right.
During the actual game, the background screen isn’t much to
speak of, but that’s because the high definition video graphics
and animations dominate nearly all of the screen space.
As one of Aristocrat’s newer releases, you might notice that
the standard reel symbols featuring card ranks like A, K, and Q
are no longer present. Instead, The Walking Dead incorporates
characters, vehicles, and other images taken straight from the
show. Themed reel symbols include Rick Grimes, Lori Grimes,
Andrea, Shane, Glenn, Daryl, the Walking Dead logo, the teddy
bear, the heart-shaped locket, the raven, Dale’s RV, and the
bloody screwdriver. Other symbols to look for including the
Wheel Bonus; the Free Games supply truck, and the GUTS symbol.
Features & Mechanics
For players who came up on Aristocrat’s familiar lineup of
five reels, 20 pay line offerings, sitting down for your first
session at The Walking Dead slot can be a bit jarring.
The game’s construction has been modernized, so during the
base game, you’ll be playing with six reels which hold four
symbols each. In many cases, character symbols will appear
larger than the rest, filling two spots on the reel to create
additional chances for winning combinations.
Reel Growth
Another interesting aspect about the reels in this game is
known as Reel Growth. At random points during both the base game
and the bonus game, you’ll see the reels outlined in red, before
extending vertically up the screen. Essentially, Reel Growth
makes your second, third, and fourth reels taller for the next
spin, giving you additional symbols on the screen with which to
form winners. The reels can grow by just one symbol slot per
reel, or grow all the way up to two, or three more symbol slots
per reel.
Reel Power
You won’t find pay lines on The Walking Dead machine either,
as this game is one of Aristocrat’s Reel Power models. Reel
Power games remove the concept of pay lines entirely, so winning
combinations can be created anytime the right sequence of
symbols appears on adjacent reels.
As a 6×4 Reel Power game, The Walking Dead offers players a
total of 4,096 possible winning combinations.
Coin Denominations
The minimum coin denomination for The Walking Dead sits at
just $0.01, but it can’t really be classified as a true penny
slot because the Reel Power function requires a minimum wager of
$0.75 to purchase all of the reels in play. Betting $0.75 per
spin will activate the game’s full array of bonus features, but
you might notice other players routinely upping the ante to
$3.00 per spin.
Essentially, raising the coin denomination to $0.04, betting
$3.00 per spin gives players a chance at winning the game’s
massive progressive jackpot.
Progressive Jackpot
This life-changing score starts at a minimum of $500,000, so
players with the required bankroll should always try to fire
away with $3.00 spins. If you can’t afford to play that high,
however, The Walking Dead also features three smaller
progressive jackpots when playing at the $0.75 per spin level.
The progressive jackpot amounts have been broken down below:
- Grand – Starts at $500,000 – Only available when betting maximum of $3.00 per spin
- Major – Starts at $500
- Minor – Starts at $50
- Mini – Starts at $10
While the Grand progressive bonus may seem like a longshot,
players like John U. from Richland Hills, Texas have been bitten
by The Walking Dead bug. On October 28th, 2014, while playing at
Sunset Station Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, John U. managed to hit
the game’s most significant payout, earning $670,280 by
triggering the Grand progressive jackpot.
Other Features
The Walking Dead features familiar Aristocrat gameplay
elements like the wild symbol, multipliers, free spins, and
bonus games. A basic list of game specifications for The Walking
Dead has been compiled below:
- Wilds: Yes
- Free Spins: Yes
- Multiplier: Yes, between 2x and 10x
- Bonus Game: Yes, several
- Progressive: Yes
- Return to Player: 97.05%
Paytable
Unfortunately, no pay table information for The Walking Dead
can be located, as the Reel Power setup and more than 4,000
winning combinations make it unfeasible to publish all of the
game’s possible payouts. During the base game, however, your
wins will be automatically tabulated in an area below the reels,
so it shouldn’t take long before you know what to expect after
landing a winner.
Bonus Rounds
For the most part, bonus features and free spins are
triggered randomly during The Walking Dead base game. The Reel
Growth feature mentioned above is considered to be a bonus
feature, and it will appear randomly during the base game as
well.
One bonus feature which can be triggered is the Wheel Bonus
game, which occurs anytime you land three of the Wheel Bonus
symbols on the reels. The details of the Wheel Bonus game, along
with The Walking Dead’s other bonus round features, are
described below.
Wild Attack Feature
This randomly awarded bonus splashes the screen with an
increasing amount of wild symbols. Only available during a Reel
Growth spin with the reels extended, the Wild Attack can create
huge winners known as Apocalyptic Wins, which pay out hundreds
of dollars when you land the wild symbols in the right places.
The Horde Feature
During a Reel Growth spin with the reels extended, the screen
may suddenly dissolve all of the reels while a helicopter spins
into the background scene. When this happens, you’ve entered the
Horde Feature, and a herd of walkers will stream across the
screen from left to right. The walkers will leave behind a few
sticky symbols which will stay on the reels for the next spin,
and players are hoping to find Rick Grimes, the game’s most
valuable symbol. Whichever symbol you land as a sticky, the aim
is to find much more of the same on the next spin, creating huge
winners all across the reels.
The Bonus Wheels Feature
After you land three of the Wheel Bonus symbols on the
screen, the game will transport you to a Wheel of Fortune type
bonus round known as the Atlanta Wheel. Here, you can spin the
wheel for a shot at winning any of the progressive jackpot
amounts, with the Grand jackpot in play when you’re betting
$3.00 per spin. You can also win preset credit amounts,
additional free spins on the wheel, access to another wheel game
known as the CDC Wheel, or access to the Atlanta Free Games.
Anytime you land a credit prize, you’ll continue to spin the
Atlanta Wheel.
The CDC Wheel Feature
This bonus game brings you to a vertically spinning wheel,
similar to that found on The Price is Right. The wheel will spin
before landing on credit prizes or multipliers which will be
applied to your next reel spin.
The Escape From Atlanta Free Games Feature
If you land on a space reading X Free Games, the number you
hit signifies the amount of free games in the Escape From
Atlanta Free Games feature you’ll receive. The amounts available
are nine, 16, and 25. Essentially offering free base game spins,
during the Escape From Atlanta feature a special symbol reading
GUTS will appear on the reels. When it does, the guts will slip
away to reveal a set amount of wild symbols, thereby increasing
your potential for winning combinations.
Conclusion
For fans of The Walking Dead series, this slot machine title
by Aristocrat is a must play. The game manages to recreate the
sights and sounds of the show faithfully, and you’ll find
references to the critically acclaimed Season 1 storyline
throughout the game.
And even if you’ve never watched a walker attack in your
life, The Walking Dead represents the epitome of a modern video
slot machine, offering an interactive experience, a multitude of
fun bonus features, and even the chance to win a staggering
six-figure sum.
