Before it was the first anonymous darknet marketplace, used to purchase everything from illegal drugs to hitmen, that's been in the news recently the Silk Road was a network of trade routes in Asia used as early as in 220 BC.

And, with up to 20 free spins and a possible 15x multiplier up for grabs in its bonus round, the Silk Road might turn out to be just as profitable for you as it was for ancient traders...

Although the Silk Road stretched across China, India, Africa and even parts of Europe, Aristocrat has gone with an Arabian flair for this title. In amongst ships, bottles of wine, scrolls of silk and golden moths sits a grinning (or perhaps grimacing) trader wearing a turban.

Like most other Aristocrat titles, the graphics are good enough but not particularly stunning. The slot looks nice, but the lack of a background or any custom music/sound effects during standard play doesn't do much to help the game's appeal.

The majority of Aristocrat games put function over form, and Silk Road is no exception. Even the most junior pokies fans out there should have no problem getting to grips with Silk Road's interface.

Like several other Aristocrat titles, Silk Road employs the Reel Power system which means that there are 243 ways to win. Of course, not every prize will be a big one but this does mean that players can usually expect to enjoy wins every few spins.

3, 4 or 5 moths (left to right only) will trigger a bonus round of 10, 15 or 20 free spins. Players may be disappointed to see that there's no multiplier in this feature but silk wilds multiply wins by 3 if they substitute on reel 2, by 5 on reel 4 or by 15 if they substitute on reels 2 and 4.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a possible 15x multiplier during the bonus round can result in some very nice wins. Still, with a base jackpot of 12,500 when playing the maximum of 125 credits, even the biggest win on Silk Road isn't going to allow players to retire any time soon.

Without a huge jackpot or a bonus round that particularly stands out, players might not find many reasons to keep coming back to the Silk Road. It's certainly worth a try, even if only during free play to see how many 15x multipliers you might hope to score during the bonus feature.

Many of Aristocrat's titles are so similar that the theme has to be truly compelling to make it stand out from the others. Unfortunately, that's not really the case here; the game looks nice enough but, at its core, it feels like just another Aristocrat pokie.

The fairly high maximum bet might keep mid and higher rollers sweet for a while, but the Silk Road isn't the only road in town and it doesn't really offer enough to encourage much in the way of repeat play.

Silk Road isn't a particularly flashy game by today's standards, but it manages to hold its own against today's slots thanks to a few great features. For example, it has 243 ways to win so there's no shortage of cash prizes to rack up during a session. Plus, the game has a maximum jackpot of more than 10,000 coins and that's much higher than a lot of other older Aristocrat slots. Finally, the game has a bonus round of up to 20 free spins with the potential for a 15x multiplier if you land wilds on reels 2 and 4. You'll need a bit of luck to get the most out of it, but this is a solid title.