Players, make room! Coming your way is a massive steaming beast of a locomotive with a metallic skull, based in a steam punk-inspired future and carrying a massive hold & win game. Money Track 2, a slot machine game developed by Stakelogic, will have to do till Money Train 4 is out. But you’ve definitely seen a few of parallels already, and we have a sneaking suspicion they’re no coincidence. Although the gameplay of Money Track 2 isn’t identical to the first, it nevertheless manages to be a hilariously weird experience.
The train in the background provides the mood, being visually similar to the terrifying locomotive in Money Train 3. Like with the release of Relax Gaming’s Money Cart 2, there is no Money Track part 1 – at least not yet (though rumors suggest that one is in the works). When developing Money Track 2, the folks at Stakelogic seemed to be having a great time. It’s almost as if they deliberately tried to annoy Relax Gaming as much as possible, or perhaps upper management pressured the design team to cash in on the success of Money Train, or, least likely of all, the team made Money Track 2 in good faith without realizing the similarities between the two games. That one just doesn’t ring true enough for us, either.
To compete with the ‘Train,’ you need to think big, and that’s exactly what Stakelogic did with Money Track 2. To begin, it’s an extremely risky slot machine with enormous payout potential, centered around a hold & win bonus round. Everything goes down in the middle of a 5×4 grid surrounded by collecting meters, the bonus purchase, and other UI elements. Bets range from 40p/c to £/€80 every spin, and players may take advantage of four different bonus purchase options. The default RTP for Money Track 2 is 96% regardless of how the track is played.
When matching symbols land left to right, beginning with the first reel, along any of Money Track 2’s 40 paylines, a payoff is awarded. The lower-paying symbols are represented by futuristic metallic 10s to As, and the higher-paying ones by a cast of four similarly sci-fi individuals. If you get a winning combination of 5 royal symbols, you’ll win between 1.25 and 2.5 times your wager, and if you get 5 premium symbols, you’ll win between 5 and 12.5 times your wager. The wild symbol in Money Track 2 is the sheriff’s badge, which may be used in place of any other symbol. Since wilds can appear on any reel, a winning combination of five wilds will pay out 12.5 times the wager.
Slot Machine Functions, Part 2
Keep an eye out for the Train Heist feature in the main game before the Cash Bonus option activates or is purchased.
The Heist on the Train
The collecting meter is multiplied by one for each Train sign that appears in the main game. In the event that no Train symbols appear, the total above the reels will be reset. Each multiplier above the reels is added to the payout for a winning combination when the Train Heist symbol appears. After the reward has been given, any multipliers will be cleared.
Bonus Funds
Any reel can get covered in train symbols, and only the Cash Bonus game offers the chance to win the multipliers they represent. The Cash Bonus is triggered by the appearance of six or more Train symbols. The first Cash Bonus Enhancer is available at the beginning of the game on level 1. The next locked Cash Bonus Enhancer is one step closer to being unlocked for every train symbol that lands in the main game.
The first multiplicator (2x to 30x) is displayed.
The second booster displays a multiplier between 2 and 50. The value of the multiplier is added to the total of all reel multipliers.
The third booster reveals a multiplier between two and eighty times. increases the reels’ multipliers by a factor of 2.
The fourth booster shows a multiplier between two and one hundred. Adds up the payouts of the other reel symbols.
The Cash Bonus round grants a total of three spins. When Train Symbols or Bonus Boosters appear, the corresponding reels’ lowest position is locked in place. When a full bottom row of symbols appears, the multiplier value is awarded and the spin counter is reset to 3. When a symbol is awarded, it is relocated to the bottom row, making room for other symbols that may have fallen into view. If two rows are finished in one spin, the subsequent Enhancer becomes available.
Purchase Option
The bonus purchase features a tetrad of choices. Two Enhancers on the Cash Bonus pays 75 times the wager, three Enhancers on the Cash Bonus pays 125 times the wager, four Enhancers on the Cash Bonus pays 200 times the wager, and the random choice pays 115 times the wager.
Slot Machine Result, Part 2
A while back, Stakelogic went through an unusual period during which it produced games that seemed remarkably similar to what its rivals were doing. For instance, Mayan Rush was a slot machine that was similar to Yggdrasil Gaming’s Valley of the Gods. If you haven’t played Money Train 3 by Relax Gaming, you’ll instantly be reminded of its sequel as soon as Money Track 2 rolls into view. It’s uncanny how identical they are in appearance, atmosphere, and even name. If you look closer, you’ll see that the two games’ gameplay is quite different. It’s worth pausing for a moment to marvel at the sheer brazenness with which Stakelogic has ripped off one of the industry’s most popular slot machines.
Money Track 2’s gameplay is very different from that of the Money Train slots, as was indicated up above and is described in depth below in the features section. The Train Heist feature breathes new life into the main game of Money Track 2, and players can boost their chances of winning free spins and unlocking more potent Enhancers by collecting Train Heist symbols. Maintains your interest, but the Cash Bonus is where you’re most likely to experience the game’s true excitement. It’s a hold & win feature once more, albeit it’s extremely unlike the Money Cart bonus games. It’s also worth a shot if you’re interested in this type of feature because it’s unlike most other hold & wins on the market. Despite its less-than-explosive appearance, Money Track 2 offers a maximum payout of 50,000 times the wager.
Money Track 2’s potential payout isn’t the highest of any train game, but it’s certainly respectable. Money Track 2 is a great game for those who want to blow up their hold & win totals, since the figures are spectacular and the gameplay is novel. Curiously, Stakelogic chose to model Money Track 2 after the immensely successful Money Train series rather than give it its own unique identity. Money Track 2’s peculiar attempt to be both itself and something else stands out as the film’s defining characteristic.