Slot machines are perhaps the most versatile casual games of all. They can use the same basic mechanic and twist it in many forms through the addition of minigames, bonuses, and visuals inspired by virtually anything. If you take a walk across the gaming floor of a Las Vegas resort or check out the libraries of Slotomania or JackpotCity online casino you’ll find a vast variety of slots with themes ranging from game shows and rock bands to movies. And even video games.
Like many other products of pop culture, video games have also served as an inspiration for slot machines. Several long-running franchises have made their way to online casinos in the form of licensed games, offering casual fun to their fans and otherwise non-gamers alike.
Hitman (2007)
The “Hitman” franchise has been around since 2000, sneaking into various branches of pop culture ever since. Originally, it was a stealth video game featuring an unnamed assassin known as “Agent 47” who has to kill targets in a silent and discrete fashion all over the world.
The world of Hitman currently includes seven video games (with the eighth entry in the series, Hitman 3, set to be released early next year), two spinoffs, two feature films, a web series, a planned TV series, and a slot machine.
The Hitman slot machine hit the virtual shelves of the JackpotCity Casino in 2007, ahead of the release of the Hitman Trilogy compilation on PlayStation 2. The game itself is pretty simple, with static symbols of the “tools of the trade” on the reels.
Tomb Raider (2004 and 2008)
“Tomb Raider” is one of the longest-running video game franchises ever. Between 1996 and 2018, we’ve had the chance to play with 19 games featuring Lara Croft, not counting the slot machines, of course. And it even holds the world record for having the protagonist with the most magazine covers in real life.
Of course, the franchise couldn’t stick to virtual worlds only – it did make its way to other screens, and paper: so far, we’ve seen three Tomb Raider movies (with the fourth coming next year), a ten-part animated TV show, as well as comic books and six novels (so far). And, of course, the slot machines.
True to their nature, the Tomb Raider slots released in 2004 and 2008 respectively at the JackpotCity are simple fun, with the likeness of the games’ attractive protagonist on the reels.
Resident Evil 6
Speaking of successful and long-running franchises: the Resident Evil series has 26 entries (including the remakes), several spinoffs on platforms ranging from consoles to smartphones, six live-action films, five animated films, more than a dozen novels (plus the novelizations of the live-action films), comic books, and a live-action streaming series in production at Netflix.
And, of course, a slot machine built by Skywind Group, released last February.
The game is pretty complex and visually appealing. It comes with four characters from the franchise – Leon, Chris, Jake, and Ada – and a special mission for each one of them, triggered by various combinations of symbols on the reels: Leon has to shoot zombies, Ada has to crack entry codes to labs, while Jake and Chris take on different tasks, finally facing the massive Ustanak.