Review: King Cashing 2 for iOS

Have you ever wondered what slot machines would be like if instead of concerning themselves with gambling they focused on randomly generating the outcome of fights between hordes of zombies and their unwitting but determined prey?

Well, the developer of King Cashing 2 clearly has. In fact, it's wondered about it enough to make two games on the subject.

The answer Productions Multimage has come up with is that slot machines with violence rather than gambling are still compulsive, but a reliance on blatant chance leaves them feeling a little shallow.

King me

The game tells the story of a zombie king who rises from the dead with a thirst for gold. It's your job to marshal the king and his troops, kill any bumbling humans that stand in your way, and grab as much loot as you can.

To do this you need to fight, and that's where the slot machine comes in. In each battle you have a number of cherries, which equate to the number of spins of the reels you have. You need to KO your opponent before you run out of spins.

There are three reels. The first displays your characters, the second your weapons, and the third your opponent. You tap a button to spin them, then tap it again to stop. Or, if you prefer, you can stop the reels individually instead.

There are three lines on each reel, and at the very least you want to line up one of your characters with one of your opponents to do some damage. Throw a weapon in there and the damage increases, with certain characters being more useful with certain weapons.

Where's your crown?

As you work through the game you'll pick up extra weapons and unlock new characters, each with its own special abilities and stats. Powerful weapons, for example, might occur less often on the reels, so using them is a gamble.

Different foes have their strengths and weaknesses too, so you'll need to have a think about what team you're going to put out before you fight.

The problem is you never feel properly engaged with the battles. It's nice to win, sure, but the core mechanic leaves you at a distance, with no real control over what's going to happen save for the tap of a 'stop' button.

There's nothing broken or bad about King Cashing 2, but it will leave you feeling cold. You'll still spin, like an addict chasing a fix, but it won't take you too long to wean yourself off.