For me, it's not a true Final Fantasy game if the end game isn't completely insane and VIII really delivers on that front. What makes FFVIII special is that it takes some novel turns with its character development, and the story is ultimately truly bananas. So your typical Final Fantasy plot, more or less. It breaks dramatically with the standard JRPG format in a couple of big ways, so keep an open mind when you're approaching this unique title.įFVIII follows protagonist Squall and his motley crew on an epic quest across time and space to save the world. A massive JRPG (the main story alone will take you close to 40+ hours to complete), Final Fantasy VIII is a divisive entry in the long line of Final Fantasy games. But in its defense, you get a whole lot of game for that kind of dough. Final Fantasy VIII is pushing the upper edges of premium mobile gaming at a whopping $21. If you want a good platformer, Symphony of the Night is a must for your Play library. I love seeing old classics ported to modern systems to let younger gamers (or those who never had the chance to experience them in the games' heydays) try them out. This version of Symphony of the Night is excellent and well worth the few dollars it costs. The team behind the port did a great job translating a very old game to a new platform and, while I had some gripes with them, the touchscreen controls let anyone hop in. The touchscreen controls are fine and certainly workable, but I found the game best played with a controller. However, Symphony of the Night is a classic game from the 90s and, along with Super Metroid, defined a whole genre dubbed "Metroidvanias," which we still see today.īesides just the charm and nostalgia, Symphony of the Night plays excellently on Android. The Federal Trade Commission recently began a lawsuit against Amazon in an attempt to make it refund customers "millions of dollars" in unauthorized charges, and Apple settled with the commission earlier this year over the same type of issues, agreeing to offer $32.5 million in refunds to customers billed for unwanted charges.You could have knocked me over with a feather when this game dropped on the Play Store out of the blue and with no fanfare. In the US, legal action has already been taken over kids' ability to make purchases. "In-app purchases are a legitimate business model," EC vice president Neelie Kroes says, "but it's essential for app-makers to understand and respect EU law while they develop these new business models."įrom here, the commission says that law enforcement concerning the marketing of in-app purchases will be left to national authorities, but that it would continue to monitor the issue. In its guidelines, the commission asks that games advertised as free ensure that they do not mislead consumers about their true costs, that games do not directly ask children to make purchases (or to have a parent make purchases for them), that games make it clear how payments are made, and that games provide an email address that consumers can contact with questions and complaints. In a statement to the BBC, Apple actually says that it's doing "more than others" to protect consumers from in-app purchases, pointing specifically to the upcoming iOS 8 feature Ask to Buy, which prevents children from making purchases and instead allows them to send that purchase to a parent for approval. This is much to the commission's disapproval, but Apple doesn't seem particular concerned. "It's essential for app-makers to understand and respect EU law."Īpple has also agreed to make changes at the behest of the commission, but it hasn't agreed to any specific actions or any time line. It's unclear if these changes will be exclusive to Europe, however.
Google has said that by the end of September, it will cease to advertise games as "free" when they include in-app purchases and that it will also require payment verification before each purchase.
The changes come at the request of the European Commission, which has been investigating the ongoing issue of unwanted in-app purchases and is today laying out a series of guidelines that it would like developers and app stores to comply with. Google has agreed to add protections around games' in-app purchases to ensure that children won't rack up unwanted charges on their parents' credit cards.