Time Bender

Time Bender is a time travel-themed slot, owing much of its aesthetic to the Dr. Who series. With 40 paylines, stacked wilds, and many bonuses available at all stages of play, this is a five-reel, four line slot any Time Lord could be proud of.

Theme

There is a vintage sci-fi feel to this game, from the floating synthesized tones of the soundtrack to the electric currents running through the reels. The typography and imagery of Time Bender owe much indeed to Dr. Who: game symbols include a phone booth galavanting along the streams of time, a hand reaching into a mysterious portal, and a shadowy, behatted time traveler moving towards the spectral horizon (or away from it - it’s difficult to tell). The lower-valued tiles ranging from ace to jack stand in neon lettering, and wild symbols appear as giant purple portals into another time stream. When the giant scatter symbol is seen, it appears as a blue and white swirl disappearing into a fixed point. As a finishing touch, lights and wires frame the five reels, giving the sophisticated time travel mechanism a certain DIY quality.

Betting Options and More Options

Bets have a lovely range in Time Bender, from a minimum of .80 up to 240 times the betting currency per spin. On the options screen to the lower right, the player can speed up the reels and has the option of turning off the (rather repetitive) soundtrack and/or sound effects. There’s an auto-spin function, which can spin the reels as many as 50 times, and a max bet option for those with the heftiest bankrolls. The 40 paylines cannot be reduced or expanded.

Features and Functions

Wilds in this game are stacked, meaning that they always appear taking up one entire reel, never just one or two tiles. (If only part of a reel shows a wild, that wild is “nudged” up or down in position until it takes over the reel entirely). This, along with a similarly stacked arrangement of regular gaming symbols, lends a certain ‘feast or famine’ quality to base play. Compared to other slots, this phase of the game is not Time Bender’s strong suit.

There are many ways to win big bonuses throughout all phases of gameplay, however. There are two separate, very sizable jackpots available, the Cash Grab Jackpot and the Super Slots Jackpot, which could be won on any spin. Additionally, at random, an electric current can appear on the second, third, or fourth reel only, and should that jolt of electricity run up the entire reel at the end of the spin, the first fun bonus is triggered.

In this colossal symbol bonus, the first and fifth reels remain unchanged while one massive three-by-three reel replaces the middle reels. These reels spin again, and since that middle reel tile guarantees at least a few paylines be activated, big wins can be found at this level. It’s also here that one can also trigger the Rings of Time mini-game, where the user chooses a portion of many concentric circles, winning bonuses each time he or she picks a green ring segment. Play continues until a red segment is revealed.

Our Take

Time Bender offers much in the way of original game thinking, and many ways to trigger big bonus payouts. With that said, the game design is somewhat clunky, the theme occasionally overwhelming to the eye and ear alike, and the big wins punctuated by more than their share of small losses. Give this game a try (for Dr. Who fans, it may be an all-time favorite), but don’t be surprised if interest wanes quickly.