Whenever a paid app or game goes free on the Play Store, it's for one of three reasons: a) the developer is being super generous, b) the developer has abandoned it, or c) the developer decided to use another monetization model. It is almost never the first case, though. The second one is just friendly behavior that we like seeing, despite it giving us grief over the death of another app/game. But it's incredibly annoying when it's the third scenario.

Carmageddon, unfortunately, seems to fall in that category. The game, which normally cost $1.99 for the ad-free version (another Carma (free) version used to pop up every now and then) is now free. But the latest update brings ads. And bugs. This is not ideal, especially for those who paid for the ad-free version and who are now finding themselves with ads and a freezing game that doesn't get past the logo in several instances. Check the most recent reviews on the game's Play Store listing:

Granted, the game's changelog does say, and I quote, "If you're having an issue with sound not playing or the application crashing on launch please make sure your OS is up-to-date." But what does that mean? What version of Android should you have to get the game to work? And why is it crashing on older versions if the listing clearly says Android 2.3 and above? And what about users who are on the latest update for their particular phone - how do they get Carmageddon to play? I think that's just a lazy excuse to avoid addressing the bug.

Well, if that didn't deter you and you're still interested in giving Carmageddon a try, ads and IAPs and bugs and all, here's the link to do so.