Money Train 2: Overview

The original Money Train slot rolled off the tracks towards the end of 2019, resulting in a massive hit for Relax Gaming. The base game might not have been the most exciting around, but it packed a bonus game that could go mental. It didn’t take long for the studio to capitalise on the enthusiasm for the first by releasing a hopped-up sequel. Money Train 2 has addressed some of the criticism the first one garnered while cranking up just about every other aspect in the process.

Even the theme has received an upgrade. Money Train 2 remains out West, though now it’s a sort of futuristic West, heavy on the steampunk imagery. The train hosting the 5-reel, 40-payline game area, for example, is a rickety contraption, bulging with gears, pipes, and ducts which looks like it might fall apart in a hot desert wind. The soundtrack is equally in theme, adding atmosphere to the abandoned, baking in the hot desert town scenery.

Players board the train by selecting bets from 20 p/c to $/€20 per spin on any device. There has been a slight increase in RTP to 96.4%, jumping to a whopping 98% when the bonus buy feature is activated. As expected, volatility is extremely high and can lead to a whole lot of not much in the base game, interspersed by sharp explosions of a bonus game where anything can happen.

The symbols also look similar but have been revamped. Low pays comprise of diamonds, clubs, hearts, and spades, while the high pay characters look similar, but have received a makeover to give them a more Mad Max-esque appearance. Here we find the female payer, the green-backed sniper, a tough guy collector, and the necromancer. Values in this category range from 8 to 20 times the stake. The exhaust pipe capped skull is the wild which shares the same values as the necromancer. It also substitutes for all symbols on the reels for pay line wins.

Money Train 2: Features

Like the rest of Money Train 2, when it comes to features, the core remains the same - they’ve just been seriously amplified. Players do get a new feature during the base game though that kills two birds with one stone. One, it adds a bit of a thrill to what was otherwise a pretty drab experience in Part 1. Two, it takes the sting out of not landing quite enough scatters to trigger the main event.

It’s called the Respins feature which is triggered when 2 scatters land on the reels. Each scatter reveals a multiplier which is added together followed by a respin. Respins continue until a winner appears whilst increasing by +1 for each non-winning spin. When a winner hits, the accrued multiplier is applied to the total.

The big one is the Money Cart Bonus Round, triggered when 3 or more scatter symbols are in view. Night falls, and a new grid rolls onto the screen that only lands special symbols. The bonus game starts with 3 spins where the triggering scatters are locked in place, adding their values to a win multiplier of the total bet. Whenever a symbol lands during the round, spins are reset to 3, and their values are added to the win multiplier. The feature ends when there are no more spins left. A variety of symbols land in the bonus game - all reveal a value which is added to the multiplier. Some have additional abilities, like so:

• Bonus symbol – reveals a value between 1x and 10x.
• Golden bonus symbol – reveals a value between 20x and 200x.
• Payer –adds its value to all other visible symbols.
• Collector – collects all visible values and adds them to its own.
• Collector/Payer – adds the sum of all other visible values to its own. Then it adds the updated value to all other visible symbols.
• Sniper –doubles the value of 3 to 8 other bonus symbols. It can act on the same symbol more than once.
• Necromancer – brings 1 to 6 already used symbols to life again. This could be the Collector, Payer, Collector/Payer, or Sniper.
• Reset Plus – increases the starting value of spins by 1.
• Persistent payer – adds its value to all other symbols on every spin that follows.
• Persistent Sniper – doubles the value of 3 to 8 symbols on every spin that follows.
• Persistent collector – collects all other values and adds them to its own on every spin that follows.

Don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz on this list of symbols later. Suffice to say that each symbol adds to the bet multiplier while some also have a special modifier that drastically increases the amount. In a new twist, if a reel is filled with symbols, an additional reel is unlocked, providing more space to land symbols on. There can be a maximum of 2 additional reels in play.

Lastly, the game comes with a bonus buy feature where available. For the sum of 100x the stake, the Money Cart Bonus Round triggers on the next spin.

Money Train 2: Verdict

The original Money Train was well known for being volatile, but Part 2 is next level. The respins feature does counteract this effect to an extent, but patience may be required. The base game is more interesting than the original’s due to the respin feature, which pops up fairly regularly to boost the balance and motivation. Of course, you want a bunch of dead spins in this scenario to build up as large a multiplier as possible.

Despite the new respin feature, it’s still all about the elusive bonus game. This is where the buy feature becomes tempting indeed since it can take a significant amount of time to trigger the feature organically. As an example, during testing, it took over 600 spins to trigger it the first time. After a fast and furious Money Cart Bonus Round, the thought of having to potentially go through a long drawn-out grind was more than a little daunting.

The carrot end of the bargain are the rewards. Part 1 already offered the impressive potential of 20,000x, yet Relax Gaming has more than doubled that for Part 2. Now wins of up to 50,000 times your stake are possible, though bets have been lowered so the max payout remains the same. Even more so than the original, the game is capable of snowballing like absolute crazy during the Money Cart Bonus.

All up, Relax Gaming has nailed what a great sequel should be. It looks better, it has more features, and the potential has been wound right up. Despite all the changes, it’s still Money Train at its heart, so fans of the first will effortlessly migrate to Part 2. Saying it’s a savage beast is the only caveat; other than that, Money Train 2 is certainly a worthy successor to the original.

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If you're a fan of the Money Train franchise, be sure to check out follow up titles Money Train 3, and Money Train 4 as well.