Established as a company in 1999 and based in the Canadian city of Montreal, Side City Studios has not exactly been at the forefront of slot machine development in the past few years – at least not in the world of online gambling.
However, the game developer has traditionally focussed on providing its slot machine titles to the brick-and-mortar of land-based casinos, meaning that online punters in outside of the North American betting sphere might have had little opportunity to stumble across the company's games.
That is all about to change, however. That is because, as of 2015, Side City Studios was acquired by NYX Gaming Group, one of the largest suppliers of slot machines to the online gambling sector. In fact, if you've been around the online casino circuit a few times then you should be more than familiar with some of the other game studios by NYX Interactive.
Ever heard of NextGen, Amaya, Aristocrat? These well-known and much-loved creators of online video slots are just a few examples of other software companies that work under the same group. With that in mind, it would be reasonable to expect the same high standards of graphics, gameplay and thematic variety when it comes to the game's on offer by Side City Studios, right? Well, we're about to find out.
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For a company that has been active for well over a decade since it launched in 1999, there is a very little known about Side City Studios. Perhaps the reason for this is that since it was taken over by NYX Interactive, the company has closed down its website meaning that the brand and its history has been lost.
What we can tell you, however, is the Montreal based studio operates on an independent scale, with a small number of dedicated and talented individuals working behind the scenes to develop its slot machines for some of the fastest paying casinos online.
Many contemporary software firms nowadays offer an all-inclusive package to its casino clients – from game development to back office management solutions. Side City Studios, on the other hand, keeps things nice and streamlined by focussing primarily on creating top-notch games to offer to casino operators and the playing public at large. This means the developers can pay more attention to the quality of the game's all round design, from HD visual aesthetics and sound effects to the integral mathematical programming with ensure that each spin is filled with random possibilities.
Such is the attention to detail and ambition of this game studio that they can boast the capability to create games with HD graphics with 3D animations. This also includes a 3D character generator, positioning the company in a very good position to meet the demands of a rapidly advancing e-gaming industry.
Indeed, from the look of the games that the software firm has released online, players can expect a sensory experience that is up there with the likes of other developers in the NYX Interactive group with a knack for visual flair, such as you can find with Lightning Box slots and Big Time Gaming slots.
When it comes to the slot machines that Side City Studios have to offer, we are disappointed to say that there aren't too many titles out there on the internet at the current time. As a matter of fact, the Canadian software provider has only released a few titles through the NYX Interactive platform. such as Fortunes of the Amazons and Egyptian Rise.
Spinners who enjoy epic character-based action will surely be impressed by the wild warrior style action of Fortunes of the Amazons. The a slot game based on Greek mythology, focussing on a fabled race of fierce women warriors who were renowned for their prowess, skill and bravery in battle. Therefore, the game is designed to emulate a comic-book style with mythological and military iconography, with symbols depicting sacred amulets as well as weapons and amours. All of these items spin in bold and vibrant glory on a set of 5 reels that are placed over a stunning landscape of grassy mountains. The perfect setting for a battle of epic proportions.
If you feel like you have what it takes to spar alongside these female fighters, then you might just be handsomely rewarded fro your courage with wins that 5,000 credits thanks to a special “Luna Bonus Wheel” feature. What's more, Fortunes of the Amazons has 50 paylines, giving spinners plenty of chances to create the right combinations for some decent wins. Other rewarding gameplay elements include a wild symbol, a free spin-triggering scatter and a special “Amazon's Fire” feature that awards a single free spin with four wild icons for a guaranteed win of at least 0.5x the total bet.
The Egyptian Rise online slot is similar to Fortune's of the Amazon in the way that it takes a relatively common theme from ancient history, yet does something a little bit different from the norm. That is because Egyptian Rise presents its depiction of the ancient civilisation through a stunningly unique set of neon-lit game symbols. So, instead of finding the same old game design that revolves around mouldy ruinous tombs and fading hieroglyphics, this slot machine presents its symbols as futuristic icons that have been rendered as if they were something from a science fiction cult classic like Tron. As such, spinners can enjoy iconic symbols from the genre in bright glowing brilliance, such as ankhs, cats, falcons and the Eye of Horus. The 5-reel video slot also features neon symbols depicting famous Egyptian pharaohs like Nefertiti and Tutankhamun.
As an online slot with 243 ways to win, punters are sure to be mesmerised by more than this slot machine's visuals. That is because there will be plenty of opportunities to catch a winning spin since they only need to find identical icons on adjacent reels from left to right.
With every successful combination of matching symbols, players will be given a free re-spin with an extra wild symbol added to the reels. These re-spins and extra wilds will keep on coming with every consecutive win, meaning that punters can go “On a Roll”. That is until the fourth consecutive spin, after which a series of potentially unlimited free spins will be awarded. So, if you like slot machines in which the wins keep on coming, Egyptian Rise is perfect for you.
There may only be two slot machines attributed to Side City Studios in the NYX Interactive catalogue, but we can certainly hope for more to come in the coming months and years. Nonetheless, both of the games that are already available to play have been optimised from mobile playing platforms with special HTML5 programming. Therefore, spinners who like the sound of Egyptian Rise and Fortunes of the Amazons can enjoy the feature-rich video slot action no matter where they happen to be, as long as they have a pair of thumbs and a good internet connection.
If you want to play the games for fun, demo versions can be found for both titles on the NYX Interactive website.
If we were asked to name a top-quality slot machine supplier, then Side City Studios would not exactly be the first company to spring to mind. However, this casino games developer from Montreal has more than proved that it is capable of making enticing gambling games that are both visually stunning and fun to play. We just hope that there is more of the same to come in the future.
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