Action Bank Plus (Red7/WMS): Overview

Bar-X was a hugely popular slot machine in its time, and its success led to plenty of spin-offs. There was Bar-X Magic, Super Bar-X, and Super Spins Bar-X to name but a few. Now, players can revisit that era thanks to an online take called Action Bank Plus from WMS partners Red7. The word ‘Bar’ may have disappeared from the name, but the game still feels very close to the original in many respects. Red7 has delivered a slot that practically defines “retro.” To the point where many players—especially newer ones—may find Action Bank Plus’s look hard to accept, at least at first. Still, it’s worth giving it a fair shot; in slots, as in life, there’s more than visuals. Personality is what keeps things interesting long term. Let’s look past the surface and see whether Action Bank Plus has enough going on to win players over.

Even if you’ve played the original, Action Bank Plus can be a jolt when you first load it up. The plain steel backdrop feels stark and unwelcoming, and the symbols don’t do much to soften the blow. The animations also come across as a bit stiff compared to most modern releases. Some players will bounce immediately, but behind the eye-searing presentation sits a slot that’s perfectly playable. The layout uses 6 reels, 4 rows and 4,096 ways to win. The sixth reel is reserved for bonus symbols, and it’s also where the Zero symbol takes on a second function, as explained below. Bets can be selected from 10p/c up to $/€200 per spin on all devices, with both manual spins and autospins available.

Some older jackpot entries in the Bar-X family came with RTPs as low as 75%. Thankfully, Red7 has avoided numbers like that and set Action Bank Plus at an RTP of 96.04%. Volatility sits in the medium-high range, so when things click, the sessions can feel pretty intense. The paytable is packed with classic slot-style icons. There are four standard symbols – Zeros, the X, the BAR, and the ‘7’. They provide solid returns, with six of a kind of the ‘7’s paying 20 times the stake. The Zeroes mainly exist to fill space like low card royals often do, except they don’t pay anything. They act as placeholders, but they do help with free spins and can also change into vault symbols when they land stacked on the 6th reel.

Action Bank Plus (Red7/WMS): Features

Backing up the base game are two additional features designed to boost payouts – a wild and a free spins round. The wild appears during the free spins round and can only land on reels 2 through to 5. It shows a random joker image and substitutes for any symbol except the Zero and the Vault.

Vault symbols drive the game’s biggest win opportunities. They can only appear on the 6th reel, where they swing into view. Landing 4 triggers Free Spins. Players then pick one of the vaults, which opens to reveal up to 16 free spins. In addition, when the feature starts, every Zero currently visible on the reels adds one extra free spin, for up to 20 more. Free spins can be retriggered the same way to push the bonus round even further. The usual rules apply during free spins, except Double 7s, Bars, and X symbols are added. These only land on the first reel and count as two of the regular version.

Action Bank Plus (Red7/WMS): Verdict

Think back to school and that quiet, unremarkable person in class you barely noticed. They were always around, but never really stood out—until one day they did something unexpectedly impressive, and suddenly you couldn’t stop thinking about it. Action Bank Plus is a bit like that. If you’re used to slots with cutting-edge visuals, Action Bank Plus may barely make an impression. In fact, at first it can feel like a knitting needle to the eye. But it can catch you off guard, and when it does, it might just be enough to convert you.

Its appeal comes from the high number of win ways, respectable potential, and the slight Megaways-like vibe. There’s more going on here than the visuals suggest, and for a dose of old-school play, it’s actually not too bad. It’s possible we hit it at the right time, when Action Bank Plus showed a side that rose above its looks and let the gameplay take the spotlight.

Still, there’s no escaping how divisive the presentation is, or how straightforward the core gameplay feels. Fans of the original will naturally be far more enthusiastic about this release than most others. If you can live with the ugly styling and catch Action Bank Plus in a generous mood, it turns into a fun slot that’s hard to stop playing.

Action Bank Plus isn’t exactly essential, but if you want something a little different, it may be worth a quick try. If you like the concept of a refreshed Bar-X slot but don’t want the bargain-basement retro look, consider Bar-X Safecracker Megaways by Blueprint. It keeps some of the original flavour while delivering a much more modern presentation and game engine.