Play Ming Warrior for Free

The history of Ancient China is one that is shrouded in mystery and enigma. For so many centuries, the eastern-most reaches of the Asian continent were off-limits to people from the West and still today there remain many differences in how the two worlds live. This slot machine by Ainsworth software invites punters to open their imagination by setting a suspenseful scene in which a fearless warrior approaches a dark and uninviting lair under the cover of moonlight. What does this warrior seek: treasure, glory, honour, redemption? And what kind of beast lies in the darkness to warrant that whopping big sword in his hands?

The slot machine is designed to a reasonably high standard without feeling the need to push the boat out with any epic 3D animations. As such, the game manages to capture the action of the narrative without taking players too far away from the historical aspect of the game, drawing upon traditional Chinese design features rather than modern showtricks. One thing that the game could do with, however, is a bit of music to help build up the tension of the story as the reels spin.

The stakes are high in this quest for riches, especially when you consider that the maximum bet level of the slot machine is a very hefty 2,000 credits. If you can't quite afford to go into battle with such as gung-ho attitude, then you can play with much smaller wagers going down to as little as 0.20 credits. It is a good idea to keep the total bet value in mind since the game's largest standard-play jackpot comes in the form of a 100x total bet prize when five scattered coins appear in any position.

That said, the majority of prizes in the game are offered as line bet multipliers whenever two or more matching icons appear on one of the 20 paylines. These prizes range from as little as 2x to as much as 1,000x, depending on which how many of which symbol lines up across the game screen. The most valuable line bet multiplier is the horse but players should also keep an eye out for the wild warrior icon which has the power to complete line wins when it appear on reels 2, 3 and 4. The theoretical return to player (RTP) is 93.88%.

Not only does the coin scatter symbol serve up the most lucrative payouts in this slot machine, but it also holds the key to the game's main bonus feature – free spins. Finding three or more coins in any position over the reels will trigger 10 free games with a randomly selected wild symbol that will either multiply prizes by x2 or x8. During the feature, the wild warrior will appear on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5 to potentially fill in the gaps for winning formations. When it does that, the respective multiplier boost will be applied to the normal paytable prize value.

Ancient China offers a rich vein of inspiration to many slot machine producers, so much so that you can't scroll through a lobby of video slots without coming across some sort of oriental adventure. Some of the most exciting spinning quests from the Far East include The Shaolin Path by Simbat, The Ninja by Endorphina and Wu Xing by Genesis Gaming.

Ming Warrior offers players a peek into orential history that is darker than most, with a game screen that offers elements of suspense with an undercurrent of horror. The game is perfectly enjoyable to spin with solid graphics and a potentially rewarding free spins feature that could multiply wild wins by up to x8. That said, we can't help but feel like the narrative premise of the slot could be drawn out even more with a special side game, one which perhaps reveals exactly what the protagonist is searching for.