JACKPOT 777 Review - Screenshot 1 of 2

It seems that many developers have a difficult time translating casino games to a video game format. When you take away the stakes of having your own hard-earned cash on the line, the experience can come across as feeling hollow and pointless. One would think that this could be easily sidestepped by introducing some kind of in-game reward system that players can spend their virtual cash on, but no eShop developer has thought to implement this. Jackpot 777 is no different - it's an exercise in patience and nothing more.

Gameplay (if you could call it that) is as simple as it could possibly be. You start with 100 credits and can choose to bet up to three credits per turn. Once you've decided what you'd like to bet, you push the button and watch to see what lines up on the three spinners. After they stop, you either win or lose based on what you got, and you push the button again. A quick pulldown menu informs you of what combinations will pay out, which gives you something to look forward to, we suppose, but it all quickly becomes stale.

JACKPOT 777 Review - Screenshot 2 of 2

The game is unfortunately undermined by the fact that your actions are nearly inconsequential. Even if you bet the max every time, the odds are that you won't run out of credits anytime soon; when you happen to get lucky, it feels unearned and meaningless considering that all you did was push a button. The whole thing, then, is utterly futile, as there's nothing to incentivize you to continue pushing the button.

The presentation isn't any better, and feels just as barebones as the gameplay. After booting up the game and tapping the screen you're presented with a slot machine that takes up roughly one third of the screen, bookended by two thick, black bars. The slot machine itself doesn't even have any interesting art on it; there's just a cheap "Jackpot" logo on top and the rest of it is coloured a dull gray-black. The music is simply a semi-catchy, endlessly looping jazz track, nothing else. The music itself isn't awful, but it's absolutely not enough to save the game.

Conclusion

All told, Jackpot 777 is a game that feels rather useless. It's no stretch to say that there have been Google Doodles that were more entertaining and had deeper gameplay than this. The failure to provide any meaning or incentive to continue playing completely ruins what little fun could be had here. Please do not waste your money on this game; if you must play a virtual slot machine, pick from one of the countless free apps online or on a digital storefront of your choice.