There's one big reason why Apple decided to switch the text on the download button for free-to-play games from the sparkling, shiny and rather alluring 'Free' to the much more does-what-it-says-on-the-tin 'Get' a couple of years ago: very few of these free releases actually lived up to such a billing.
You may have picked them up initially without parting with any cash, but by the end of play (if, indeed, play ever actually reached any kind of conclusion), chances were you'd racked up a bigger bill than the tab you amassed at that rather dodgy Wetherspoons with the sticky floor in town last Saturday night.
Believe it or not, things have actually gotten better in recent years. The savvy nature of most mobile gamers in 2016 means that far less titles are able to get away with pulling a fast one, prising your wallet open only to leave you with a stack full of digital junk in return.
Nevertheless, a selection of repeat offenders continue to chase your cash offering very little in return, which is why us good folk here at Digital Spy decided to piece together a rundown of the in-app purchases you need to avoid. When it comes to saving cash, we're experts, and we've got a cupboard full of broken biscuits in the kitchen to prove it.
Real Racing 3's $100 Supercar
Who can remember the controversy when EA decided to take Firemonkey's beloved Real Racing series free-to-play back in 2013? Oh, the furore! Oh, the angry comments posted on internet forums! Oh, the ridiculously over-priced in-app purchases! Yes, EA didn't exactly calm the fears of folk with the revelation that, for a cool £70 (or $100 for those of on the other side of the pond) you could pick up the Koenigsegg Agera R.
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The knowledge that the Swedish supercar can retail upwards of well over a million dollars in the real world may make a £70 investment in Real Racing's universe seem like a bargain, but then you can't exactly pull it down of your phone and drive down to Tesco in it, can you?
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic's Pricey Princess
If the advent of smartphone games has done anything, it's allowed us all to secretly play the kind of games we want to play without getting caught. Lads may be tucking into the testosterone-pumping Call of Duty and FIFA on their consoles in the evening, but on the privacy of their mobiles, statistics suggest they like nothing more than playing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on their smartphones. These so called 'Bronies' are also happy to spend big in play.
Though the alluring Princess Celesta isn't actually available as an in-app purchase herself, unlocking her is a case of spending scores of gems in play - gems that are naturally easiest to come by if you part with real cash. Her exact price has varied in recent years, but at her peak, picking her up could set you back more than £40. That's one pricey Princess.
Star Trek Timelines' Dilithium Debauchery
See, the whole reason free-to-play games employ in-game currency is so that when you're parting with your real cash to pick it up, you have very little idea as to its actual value. That means that when Star Trek Timeline looks to charge you almost £80 for a stack of its in-game currency Dilithium, it's hard to tell whether you're getting a bargain or whether the good people at developer Disruptor Beam are ripping you off. Of course, Star Trek Timelines is by no means the only game to allow you to part with serious amounts of cash for in-game currency, but when such a purchase costs twice as much as it would cost to buy a PC or console game outright, we'd suggest your alarm bells should be ringing.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 4's Rough Ride
There was a genuine sense of excitement when Atari lifted the lid on an instalment in the ever-popular but largely PC based series Rollercoaster Tycoon for mobile a couple of years ago. Rollercoaster Tycoon 4, it was hoped, could help translate the universal appeal of the then decade old Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 for gamers looking to build their own theme parks on the go.
Sadly, however, Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 was a cynical and largely soulless attempt to leach from people's wallets, offering players very little in return for their cash. Not one in-app purchase to avoid, then, but rather a whole batch, making the game as a whole one to avoid. Luckily, the series' original developer launched an in-app purchase free port of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 just last August, giving gamers even less reason to waste their money on Atari's cheeky cash-in.
Deer Hunter Reloaded's Spendy SpecOp
You might have thought that all was required in a hunting game would be a good aim and a steady hand. In the world of Glu's Deer Hunter Reloaded, however, a stack full of cash also helps. In games such as these, the weapon in your hand is just as important as who is firing it, meaning the clamour to get hold of the best shooter in the game - the .50 SpecOp - is real. Only problem is, it comes in at a cool 5000 Gold, which - when you consider picking up a 2000 Gold pack comes in at £39.99 - is just a bit spendy.
It's equally telling, however, that this is yet another example in our list that acrually came out a good few years ago. Are we all getting a little bit tighter with our cash?
Contract Killer: Sniper's No-Nonsense Nanotech
Far be it from us to pick on one particular publisher, but there is a case to suggest we could have populated this rundown from Glu Mobile games alone. As it happens, Contract Killer: Sniper is only the second Glu game in the list, namely because we couldn't resist highlighting its Nanotech Sniper, which comes in at around the £70 mark. The reasons for picking it up are numerous; it boasts auto aim, a high rate of fire, infinite rounds and easy head shots.
It is, in short, something of a cheat that allows you to complete stages with relative ease - a "pay to win" in-app purchase, if you will. Of course, you have to ask just why anyone would want to buy a £70 weapon to make a game they're clearly struggling with a walkover in the first place.
Dungeon Keeper's Great Gem Robbery
If you've made it this far down the list, then you'll know that free-to-play games charging an extraordinary amount in order to pay for in-game currency is not a rarity. With Dungeon Keeper, however, the £79.99 EA wants from you in order to get on a stash of gems has proved to be a particularly sore point, if only because Dungeon Keeper on iOS is a free-to-play remake of a much loved PC release.
Indeed, the constant necessity to pay out for gems in order to keep going forced the original game's creator, a certain Peter Molyneux, to stick the knife in, describing EA's remake as "ridiculous". When you consider you can pick up Dungeon Keeper and it sequel combined on PC for a tenth of the price, you start to think the good man Molyneux has a point.
