Problems in Game Land: IAP Fees Get Gamers Up In Arms

03. Real Racing 3 - Firemonkey

This one is very hard to understand. Only because it comes from Firemonkey, the studio that brought us the first two very awesome games in the series, and is behind such massive successes in the Free-to-Play market as The Sims: FreePlay.

The reason for it being difficult to understand? Well, in a nutshell, and to all appearances, the wizards behind the game appear to have intentionally created a game that is vicious about separating the player from their money in as efficient and rapid a means possible.

Seriously, the only way that they could do this any more efficiently would be with a gun.

The problem with Real Racing 3 is down to its design, which as with the previous games in the series (which were NOT free-to-play) offers players the pole position style of racing that they have come to know and love. When we say “love” we are not exaggerating either -- the first game was massively well received but the second? It won serious awards.

So for the third title in the franchise to appear with nasty written all over it? Hard to fathom.

What is wrong, you ask? Well, consider the in-app purchases -- which feature crazy expensive objects, then factor in the requirement to spend money to repair your car after each race.

Basically to complete those repairs you either had to be willing to wait out ludicrous timers, or spend money. But wait, it gets worse!

Bad enough that you have to pay to repair damage you caused through mistake or careless driving, but when you factor in that the wizards behind the game programmed it so that ALL of the AI drivers instantly turn on you, doing as much damage as they can manage to your car whenever you are so stupid as to let them near it?

The worse part of this is that, had they created the game like this but without the massively expensive repairs that require real-world funds, it would be an awesome game!

To this day the third game in the series is a source of regret for fans, and game reviewers everywhere consider its in-app purchase scheme one of the most egregious ever created.