| Provider | NetEnt |
|---|---|
| RTP | 97.07% - Compare RTPs |
| Volatility | Low |
| Reels | 5 |
| Paylines | 99 |
| Bet Range | £0.50 - £250.00 |
| Features | Wilds, Scatters |
Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business Slot Review
Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business is NetEnt's 2012 sequel to their comic-book detective slot, and it improves on the original in almost every way. The 99-payline layout dwarfs the 25 lines of the first game, the max win jumps from 500x to 1,980x your stake, and the visual storytelling is richer throughout. If you enjoyed the original, this is worth your time - and if you're new to the series, it's a fine place to start.
The setting picks up where the original left off. Jack Hammer has saved Grand City and is being feted by the mayor, but trouble arrives quickly. Singer Pearl catches the eye of Don Crabby, a half-crustacean gangster with a crew of oversized henchmen. Jack has to wade in - again - and the whole thing plays out across the reels in a bold, hand-drawn style that still looks sharp today. The palette is all midnight blues and amber streetlights, and the symbols are drawn with the kind of exaggerated detail you'd find in a vintage pulp comic.
Slot Specs at a Glance
- Developer: NetEnt
- Reels: 5
- Paylines: 99 (fixed)
- RTP: 97.07%
- Volatility: Low
- Bet range: £0.50 - £250 per spin
- Max win: 1,980x stake
- Released: May 2012
Symbols and Paytable
The lower-paying symbols are drawn from the story's props: Pearl's microphone, a guitar case, wooden barrels scattered across the dock, and a motorboat bobbing in dark water. These pay between 0.3x and 0.7x your stake for a full line. The high-value symbols are the main characters - Don Crabby's henchmen, Don Crabby himself, Pearl, and Jack Hammer at the top. Jack pays out 10x for five on a line, which is a solid return given how often wins land with 99 active paylines.
The wild is a speech-bubble graphic that substitutes for all paying symbols. It does not substitute for the scatter. The electric eel serves as the scatter and is the key to the free spins feature.
Sticky Wins: The Core Mechanic
The Sticky Wins feature is the heart of this slot, carried over from the original and expanded here. When a winning combination lands, those symbols freeze in place while the remaining reels spin again. If new winning symbols appear in the re-spin, they lock too and another re-spin follows. This continues until a full re-spin produces no new wins, at which point all the locked wins are added up and paid out together.
With 99 paylines, wins can stack up across multiple positions quickly, and the Sticky Wins mechanic gives each spin a building tension that feels different to standard re-spin features. You might land a modest win to start and watch it grow across three or four re-spins before the reels finally stop paying. It's the low volatility that keeps this enjoyable rather than frustrating - wins arrive often enough that the feature triggers with reasonable regularity.
Free Spins
Land five or more electric eel scatter symbols anywhere on the reels to trigger the free spins round. The number of spins you receive scales with the number of scatters:
- 5 scatters - 10 free spins
- 6 scatters - 13 free spins
- 7 scatters - 16 free spins
- 8 or more scatters - 20 free spins
All wins during the free spins round are doubled. On top of that, random wilds appear during the feature - depicted as Don Crabby's claw and Jack Hammer's fist - and can drop onto reels 2 through 4 to boost win potential further. You can also retrigger the feature if enough scatters land during a free spins spin, and the Sticky Wins mechanic remains active throughout.
Five scatters is a relatively low threshold for a feature trigger, which fits the low-volatility character of the game. You're not waiting through long barren stretches to see the bonus round - it crops up with the kind of frequency that keeps sessions feeling active.
How It Compares to the Original
The first Jack Hammer ran 25 paylines and had a max win of 500x stake. Jack Hammer 2 quadruples the paylines to 99 and raises the ceiling to 1,980x. The Sticky Wins mechanic is essentially the same, but the wider grid and more paylines mean winning combinations form more easily and lock positions across a bigger playing field. The original is still worth a look - see our Jack Hammer review - but the sequel delivers a noticeably fuller experience.
The RTP of 97.07% is high by any standard and notably better than the industry average of around 96%. For a low-volatility game, that combination of frequent wins and above-average return makes it one of NetEnt's more player-friendly releases.
Verdict
Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business takes a winning formula and gives it more room to breathe. The 99-payline grid, sticky re-spins, free spins with doubled wins, and a 97.07% RTP make this a well-rounded low-volatility slot that suits players who prefer frequent action over big swings. The comic-book presentation holds up well, and the storytelling gives each spin some context that goes beyond spinning fruit. A genuine step forward from the original.
Where to Play Jack Hammer 2 Fishy Business
These online casinos carry NetEnt games including Jack Hammer 2 Fishy Business. Read our Donbet review or browse all casino reviews.
Jack Hammer 2 Fishy Business RTP and Variance
Jack Hammer 2 Fishy Business has an RTP of 97.07%, which is well above average. See our highest RTP slots for the best returning games. Low volatility means frequent smaller wins - your balance stays steadier and sessions last longer. See more low volatility slots.
At the minimum bet of £0.50 per spin, a £10 deposit gives you 20 spins with a statistical expected return of £9.71. Read our slot betting strategy guide for tips on managing your bankroll.
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