Buyers Remorse: Ads and Sluggishness

***Update***

Though Crix is probably not worth the time or energy it took to write my “comment” below from a few days ago, I did reflect on this new “ads nonsense” a bit more in light of rereading a sentence that the seller wrote in his e-mail reply to me. It must not have sunk in and resonated previously, and I thank a colleague for helping me gauge what is seemingly happening here more accurately: in a nutshell, as some potential, makeshift “solution” for those paying customers, the seller is considering including in the next update an option for an in-app purchase to remove the ads. OK, so rather than creating a Lite version with the stupid ads, the seller is planning on this (and try repeating this sentence ten times fast, just for fun): users who paid will now be allowed to pay once again so as to restore the app to a way it was intended to be for paying users when they first paid for it. Paying for Crix twice? Are you Crixing kidding me? I wouldn’t even do that, just on principle alone, for those Birds that are a bit “Upset.” These tactics have that awful stink of greed. Why am I inclined to give those whom I don’t even know the benefit of the doubt (rhetorical question for myself)? Don’t be fooled, people: Crix is now Cracked. Delete. (Yes, two-star rating changed to one.)

I am going to submit here less of a review than a “comment” about Crix—all to the benefit, I hope, of the would-be consumer. I suspect that the mere title alone says it all. That’s right, folks: to those of us, myself included, who have been enjoying this Minimalist chromatic light presentation à la puzzle game form can now look forward to, sigh, ads—ads on what was a paid application (and one more than the $0.99 variety) for me and surely for plenty more of you. Granted, the seller (whom I have contacted prior to writing this) is at least aware of the discontent many of us will feel, but it appears that “other factors” (yes, you know what I’m referencing) reign supreme. It’s sad, really. While Crix was not among my “top-tiered” games, it was wholly unique and almost special to me; now it’s just a conduit for advertisements as far as I’m concerned. And surely on its way to being deleted for good unless the seller remedies the situation. Apart from the sheer annoyance of these ads, they compromise, if not ruin altogether the aesthetic design of the game, even notwithstanding the fact that the seller at least attempts to obscure them as much as possible. But if one is going to hide the ads almost as though they’re shameful (which they are, by the way, on a game such as Crix), then just don’t have them. Create a Lite version. Include more in-app purchases—I don’t know, anything, but this. Further, this unwanted development in the new version, 2.6, is not only sad, but rather bothersome in principle. I paid for Crix. I didn’t (nor would I ever) pay for ads, and I must say that the seller seems only marginally concerned about the sentiments of his loyal purchasers. And to make matters worse, the game is now sluggish and clunky when moving from screen to screen, or when accessing menus since this latest update. So we’ve now effectively rubbed some proverbial salt into the wound as well. What a disappointment. So the Crux of Crix, in my humble opinion, for people considering downloading this game—don’t, for there are similar, ad-free games out there. And for those of you who already own the game (and have more likely than not, paid for it) don’t update if you haven’t already done so (I can’t imagine that those additional “20 new levels” are worth the trade off). As for my two-star rating (a consequence of this awful update), I don’t feel that Crix belongs in the dustbin of the worst, one-star apps; but Crix was never five stars before this “incident.” So I think dropping a rating from four stars to two is appropriate. What a shame: I wanted to play this game, and gawk at its glow even more so. I certainly didn’t want to be, let alone pay to be an advertiser’s target.

RZR212 about Crix fun strategy puzzle game, v2.6