We've always wanted to swim with dolphins but have never had the opportunity to do so. Maybe this undersea themed slot will do the trick until we land a progressive jackpot and can afford to travel to the islands...

Dolphins are some of the smartest mammals in the world, but is this slot a smart choice for online pokies fans? We take a look below.

Dolphin Reef is a curious one. The dolphin for which the game is named does appear, but the maximum jackpot is actually triggered by the appearance of 5 clownfish (a type of fish inextricably linked with Finding Nemo since the film's release).

No matter, as this doesn't do the game any harm and Clownfish Reef doesn't have quite the same ring to it. As well as Nemo and Flipper, reel icons also include turtles, treasure chests, starfish and seahorses.

When we first loaded up the slot our finger was hovering over the mute button as we were greeted by a cacophony of dolphin clicks and calls. Fortunately, this only plays during the intro. Standard play is totally silent and, after a while, we actually found ourselves missing the dolphin noise!

The theme is very clean and sophisticated and, except for the lack of background music, we don't have too many complaints on this front.

Even though there are 20 paylines, it sometimes feels like wins don't come very often. Maybe this is because there are only wilds on reels 2 and 4, or maybe it was just our bad luck, but you should still be prepared for the eventuality that you may go through some dry spells playing Dolphin Reef.

When wins do come, with the exception of landing a line of undersea creatures, they often feel a bit underwhelming; four of a kind sometimes only wins you back your original bet. It's not that Dolphin Reef's gameplay is bad, just that it threatens to sink players' bankrolls without ever promising much in return.

The bonus round, which features re-spins with expanded wilds on reels 2 and 4, holds plenty of excitement but since players only get 5 free spins, the experience is over almost as soon as it begins. Still, if you're a big fan of expanded wilds, you might prefer this to more common multiplier bonus rounds.

We could forgive the stingy nature of Dolphin Reef's bonus round and the fact that it feels difficult to land substantial wins if a truly sensational jackpot were on offer. Unfortunately, at just 5,000 coins, that's simply not the case.

If you ever play slots when your kids are in the room (just don't let them push any of the buttons...very illegal!) they'll no doubt get a kick out of seeing Nemo on the reels, but there's probably not much here to keep you gripped.

The slot looks and plays very nicely but, with so many lucrative and exciting slots out there, that's not enough to set the game apart from its competitors. A progressive jackpot or extra bonus rounds might change our minds but, until that time, we can't see ourselves coming back to Dolphin Reef.

With wilds that only appear on two reels, a jackpot of just 5,000 coins and graphics that are starting to look a little outdated, it's difficult to find much to recommend Dolphin Reef when there are so many other undersea slots on the market. It doesn't help matters that players don't seem to experience too many wins when playing, so this game can feel like a bit of a money pit sometimes. The bonus round, with expanded wilds on two reels isn't bad, but consists of just 5 free spins and that's simply not enough to save Dolphin Reef.