When the Miss Red slot machine was released by industry leader International
Game Technology (IGT) in 2011, even the renowned slot designer couldn’t have
known how the game’s innovative features would transform the video slot
template.
Today, Miss Red machines can be found in casinos around the world. The game
is also playable over the internet via online casinos like Bet365, BetVictor,
Paddy Power, Party Casino, and William Hill, through the IGT Interactive brand.
Miss Red is a game built around several quirky gameplay additions which
combine to make winners a more frequent sight. Any symbol in the game can
transform into a wild symbol, given the right circumstances, and winning
combinations can be landed anywhere on the reels, rather than from left to right
only. Add in an interactive bonus game feature, free spins, and an extremely
clever theme, and Miss Red is clearly one of the stars among IGT’s deep stable
of slot titles.
At first glance, the title character of Miss Red appears to be nothing more
than a generic cartoon woman clad in alluring red garb. But a second look
reveals a shocker: this isn’t any red wearing woman, it’s Little Red Riding Hood
herself.
We all remember the protagonist from childhood fairy tales, who is beset by a
Big Bad Wolf as she travels through the forest to her granny’s home. The story,
told in various forms in Europe dating back to the 10th century, famously has
the sweet girl naively tell the wolf where she is heading. The wolf distracts
her with a flower picking diversion, heads up the path to granny’s house, and
eats her alive – before donning her clothes in an attempt to trick Little Red
Riding Hood. Fortunately for schoolchildren everywhere, a friendly woodsman
intervenes at the last moment and manages to save the day.
In this game, Little Red Riding Hood is all grown up, and she’s back to show
that wolf who’s boss. IGT updates the classic fairy tale in fun fashion, so all
of the main characters return, including granny, the huntsman, and of course,
the Big Bad Wolf.
The game’s title screen immediately sets the updated tone, with Miss Red
herself walking down the same path as before, while a menacing wolf stalks her
from the background.
The background screen during the actual game follows through on this woodland
theme, featuring a grassy foreground, vines lining the border of the reels, and
flowers completing the fairy tale vibe.
The reels themselves is where Miss Red really shines, as IGT has ditched the
usual array of card rank symbols 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A in lieu of a full array
of themed symbols. You’ll be spinning familiar icons of the Little Red Riding
Hood fairy tale like the purple flowers, the strawberries, the pinecone, the
mushrooms, the squirrel, the rabbit, the woodsman, the granny, the Big Bad Wolf,
Miss Red herself, and the Miss Red Bonus symbol. Additionally, in a process that
will be described in detail during the next section, the Miss Red and Big Bad
Wolf symbols can transform and merge into a new symbol called the Wolf / Little
Red symbol.
To augment the detailed and finely animated visual elements that make Miss
Red’s gameplay pop off the screen, IGT has also included a whimsical soundtrack
to enhance the ambiance. You’ll hear string instruments like the lute playing
softly in the background, with occasional increases in tempo to signify the
oncoming danger of the wolf prowling for its prey.
For veteran slot players who have seen it all, Miss Red by IGT represents a
true rarity in a creative theme that doesn’t simply rehash old ideas, but
updates them for a new day. When you throw in the game’s modernized features,
high payout frequency, bonus games, and other goodies, Miss Red really is a
superior offering that slot fans should seek out.
