Slot Wars - Shield Of Sparta VS Gems Of Serengeti

Right in time for another chapter of slot wars, Pragmatic Play has released two games with completely different themes but similar gameplay. Shield of Sparta revives one of the bloodiest battles in history while Gems of Serengeti takes you to the savannah to search for precious jewels. 

Will the Spartans conquer the wild animals without breaking a sweat or the predators will unite and tear apart ancient warriors? 

Find out in this episode of slot wars!

The epic battle of Sparta takes place on a 5x3 grid with 20 paylines, and comes with a winning potential of up to 3,000x the bet. Gems of Serengeti has a slightly larger playfield consisting of 5 reels, 4 rows and 20 paylines and a higher maximum prize of 4,000x the stake. 

Both slots are playable in the real money mode for a bet per spin ranging from €0.20 to €100. Also, these are two games by Pragmatic that have the highest level of volatility. 

Regarding RTP, Shield of Sparta is slightly better with 96.50% compared to its African-themed rival with an RTP of 96.40%. Since this is an insignificant difference it didn’t help the first slot to win this round, so Gems of Serengeti came victorious due to higher winning potential. 

Two types of bonus symbols can be found in the Shield of Sparta slot - regular and magnetic ones. Whenever two of either type land together anywhere on reels, they stay locked for one awarded respin. 

However, if 3 or more regular or magnetic bonus symbols hit, this triggers the bonus round with up to 20 free spins. The positions of triggering symbols are highlighted with a frame and when a new bonus symbol lands in a marked position, the position is upgraded. If magnetic bonus symbols activated the feature, their positions are both marked and magnetic, nudging any new bonus symbol that lands on their reel toward them. 

Marked positions can be upgraded up to the third level that determines a value of the random multiplier - from 2x up to 20x. At the end of the free spins round, multipliers are added together, and the value is applied to the total win of the feature. 

Gems of Serengeti also come Respin feature, activated when at least 5 Gem symbols land at the same time. Here triggering and all new Gems that hit are locked in the place as well for the initial 3 awarded respin. 

The feature ends when respins end or all positions are filled, afterwards, a payout of up to 500x the bet (depending on the number of Gems in view) is awarded.

Three bonus symbols spread on reels 1, 3 and 5 at the same time, trigger the bonus round with 10 free spins. Any Gems that land during the feature are collected. At the end of the bonus round, 5 to 19 Gems award a respin starting with the number of collected Gems placed in random positions on the reels. 

However, any collection of 20 and more symbols award a prize amount straight away, without a respin. This prize varies from the number of collected symbols and can range from 500x for 20 Gems, all the way up to 4,000x the bet for 27 Gems. 

While both games have very strong features, the slight advantage still goes to Gems of Serengeti. Mostly, because it has the option of triggering respins in the bonus round as well, which increases the potential to hit big wins.

When it comes to theme, none of these games offer something original. The battle of Sparta is used as a backstory in many slots and so is the African theme with tribal ornaments and wildlife, making slots tied theme-wised.

While both games feature the highest level of graphics and animation, it wasn’t an easy task determining which one is better regarding visuals and audio since the themes are completely different. If we are nitpicking, Gems of Serengeti is more colorful and vibrant, and as such winner of this round but by a hair. 

It was a close call, but in the end Gems of Serengeti takes the win in this episode of slot wars. Shield of Sparta lost mostly due to winning potential as bonus features and visual appeal can vary on the player’s preferences. No matter do you prefer random multipliers or collecting Gems, you won’t be wrong to try out both of these games.