Spin To Win In King Cashing 2

Sometimes a game comes along that’s so addictive that I can hardly put it down to write a review. King Cashing 2 ($2.99), an app that melds RPG gaming with slot machine gambling, is one of those games.

This is a game that is a follow up to King Cashing: Slots Adventure, which came out in late 2011. The original app, while fun, doesn’t even compare to King Cashing 2, which features a new graphical style, an improved leveling system, additional characters, and a metric ton of loot.

King Cashing 2 is laid out like a graphic novel, with sharp comic-style graphics and a storyline involving a king, zombies, and of course, the quintessential slot machine. The slot machine is the cornerstone of every battle, determining the fighters, the weapon used, and the damage done.

Battles are almost entirely based on chance. You will spin the slot machine wheel using the big red button and the lineup of the icons will dictate the outcome, with three reels per spin. Matching up either a weapon or a fighter (king or zombie) will damage your opponent, while matching up both on one line will do extra damage.

So, for example, if you end up with a zombie, a knife, and an enemy on one line of the wheel, you will inflict a significant amount of damage. If you line up just a knife and the enemy, the damage is less. If you line up a knife and no enemy, you don’t attack at all.

Enemies don’t attack back. Instead, you’re given a set number of cherries, which are used with each spin (three lines equates to three cherries per spin). If you get the enemy’s health to zero before the cherries run out, you win. If you don’t, you lose and will need to replay the level. The number of cherries left determines whether you receive bronze, silver, or gold for the level.

Successfully defeating an enemy will reward you with gold, experience, and a treasure chest, which may or may not include a new weapon or item.

Weapons have stats that include damage and the number of times that they will show up on the slot reel, and balance between these two stats is the key to victory. There are also other items that can be added to the reel, such as the cherry, which gives you a small chance to earn bonus cherries while playing.

Experience earned counts towards levels. Each time you level up, you will be able to increase the power of one of your attackers or an item. Earned gold is used to purchase items in the shop.

There’s no real strategy to the slot machine spinning, though you can stop individual reels with the buttons on the bottom of the screen if you want to try to memorize icon position. Instead, strategy comes into play through the items that you use and the abilities that you level up.

The combination of chance and strategy is brilliantly done in King Cashing 2, and the gameplay along with the visual style makes this a standout game. Pick this up if you want to snag the hot app of the week.