More about OMI slots
You won’t find OMI casino games by themselves. They are very firmly mixed amongst a selection of other casino games, mostly because at the moment they only provide a handful of video slot machines to their partners. They also specialise in mobile slots, which make them a very select casino software to work with. Having tested a few of their mobile slots, we have a few reservations as to whether they bring enough value to the mobile scene to really be a worthy addition to the mobile casino genre.
Ultimately, one huge question hangs in the air above them: with the likes of giants like Playtech and Net Entertainment creating flawless online and mobile slots, can a little team from Sweden compete?
Not Yet. Not Even Close. But we Like That They Keep Trying.
Let’s be honest. So far the best we’ve managed to rate their mobile slots is ‘average’ or ‘ok’. The worst is ‘OMG boring’. Most of the mobile casino slots they have managed to create have been low volatility and generally made to keep you playing, but you never really feel like you can genuinely win any decent amount. As a player this generally translate as boring.
This, of course, could change. They are relatively unknown and have no history for us to know if or how they will improve. They have also only released an incredibly small selection of mobile games. Have you ever played the older NetEnt slots? Everyone so loves the latest releases such as Gonzo’s Quest, Reel Rush or South Park, that they forget that the very first casino games were… still are… very average. All software game providers start somewhere. Where they grow depends on the lessons they learn along the way.
So Do We Have an Open Letter for OMI Gaming?
Why yes actually, as you ask.
One: We get that you are trying to create mobile slots that work across a whole range of mobile and tablet devices. But that doesn’t mean you should skimp on the graphics. If you are creating low volatility slots, make sure they are exciting and entertaining. The features shouldn’t be more elusive than a hibernating bear in the dead of winter. It should pop, sizzle and burst from your screen. Like a happy teddy bear having a picnic in the middle of a food war. (That metaphor might have gone a shade on the side of crazy. Oh well, it’s late, we’re keeping it.)
Two: Test, test and test again. If I am on a Android smartphone and holding my phone in portrait, when I then turn it horizontal as you ask, I shouldn’t have to reload the game to get it to fit the screen. Equally, we’ve had random bugs, that whilst they didn’t stop us playing, made us raise our eyebrows in a ‘should those letters be coming out of the screen?’ kind of way. Usually short lived mind you, but we spend most of an afternoon and evening playing your mobile slots on several devices, and it was noticeable to us.
Three: What’s with the incredibly annoying pop up menu/action bar that shows up on the right hand side after every spin. AND it covers the fifth reel. So when we do get a five in a row win, which is awesome and exciting… YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE IT! We are slot players. We like the wins. The wins is 90% of the thrill. Don’t hide it with an annoying pop up menu that once we are done with, we never need to see it again. A big round spin button is all we need. A smartphone and tablet screen is already smaller than your average PC, so don’t take a third of it away on a control panel that is needed for three minutes at the beginning of the game, and then maybe just sporadically throughout.
And on that note, when we are trying to change the betting limit we would appreciate that the row with the exact number of how much we are betting per line didn’t randomly disappear with a message from the game. Means we have to wait until the number shows up again and we have to rush to change the betting limit quickly before it disappears again. Changing our bet shouldn’t be a game of hot potato.
And On That Note, Why Should We Play Their Mobile Slots?
OMI Gaming do have some great things going for them, otherwise they wouldn’t have caught our attention. For one, the low volatility mobile slots they release might not be graphically the most exciting, but they all do one job very well; which is to ensure that you do not risk a lot of your bank balance playing them.
Generally their slots pay out well enough that you can play on their slot machines for a ridiculously longer time that you would on many other games. This is probably truer of Tres Hombres and Jungle Fruits far more than Benny the Panda or Princess Fortunes, but the mathematics behind them are sound.
This is made all the more clearer by the fact that OMI Gaming’s software uses a Random Number Generator (RNG) to ensure fair gaming for the players. The RNG used for all their casino games has been tested by Technical Systems Testing (TST), for the following jurisdictions Alderney, Gibraltar, Malta and the Isle of Man. An impressive list to impress. Their games pass with flying colours each and every time, ensuring more than just fair play.
Equally, and despite our ‘bug’ comment above, there wasn’t one device we tested where the game didn’t load and play. Android smartphone, Android tablet, Windows smartphone, iPhone, iPad… They work. They just work.
Best of all they have a feature called Safebet TM, which enables you to resume any interrupted game play, bets and transactions. So you never lose an unfinished bet if you are playing in a zone with low connectivity, which saves you a huge amount of time as you don’t have to chase the customer support team for a $1 bet that you probably lost going in a tunnel.
We left the game, let the iPad go to sleep, came back half an hour later, woke up the slot machine, press spun… and it was as if a minute had passed. The slot didn’t time out or go crazy on us with abandonment issues. Brilliant.
So no, they are not perfect, but with each release they bring something a little more interesting to the table. So let’s wait and see.
In the mean time you can play a selection of their mobile video slots out over at Guts mobile casino.
