The Mobile Gaming Downloads Hall of Fame
To mobile phone users it should come as no surprise that the most downloaded apps are games! Never mind all these productivity apps, satellite tracking and social networking stuff; it’s games that people want. While it’s true that the all-time top downloads for, say, Apple’s iPhone happen to be Facebook, Pandora and Google Mobile, these are one-off downloads that, once on your phone, are left there like utilities. When it comes to games they are much more fluid: new games come out, updates for existing games spring forwards and there is the ever-present anticipation of new iterations and new releases.
Source
So what games are worthy of gracing the halls of fame? This selection is based on popularity and overall numbers of downloads. They are backed up by usage data too – after all, just because a game is downloaded does not mean it keeps getting used. The marvellous games here come from Apple and Android and make no distinction between free and paid for: after all – if the app is popular and deserves its reputation then it deserves a mention.
Game: Bebbled
Platform: Android
Downloads: 2 milllion+
Like Bejeweled Blitz but with the added twist (literally) of being able to turn your phone through 180 degrees to get the blocks falling from the opposite direction, Bebbled is a very compelling puzzle game.
Game: Doodle Jump
Platform: Android
Downloads: 2 million+
Of all the unusual games available, Doodle Jump gets the award for having the oddest and most strangely compelling protagonist. It’s accessible on all the major phone operating systems. To date, this game has been downloaded over 10 million times. The aim of the game is to get the Doodler, he of the crazy anatomy, to ever increasing heights without falling.
Game: Warships Sea on Fire
Platform: Android
Downloads: 5 million+
Going back to the eve of computer games and long-loved board games is this latest iteration of Battleships. This version gives you a heck of a lot more ships to play with and the option of Campaign or Skirmish. In Campaign you can have World War, Pirates or Science Fiction with 20 levels. You work your way through the game increasing in rank up to Fleet Admiral.
Game: Alchemy
Platform: Android
Downloads: 8 million+
With only the four mythic elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water at your fingertips you work to combine them into more and more complex structures to add to your ‘known elements’ collection. There are 380 elements to make and each requires a level of ingenuity to assemble. You can create beer, perfume, life, plants and even vampires!
Game: Bubble Blast 2
Platform: Android
Downloads: 10 million+
This is one of the most popular puzzle games available. The aim is to burst bubbles to trigger a chain reaction that will annihilate them all. This addictive game has a whopping 7500 levels.
Game: Paper Toss
Platform: iPhone, Android
Downloads: 10 million+
The diversion of many a bored office worker: aiming to lob pieces of crumpled paper into a bin and seeing how many times you can be successful? Particularly bored workers often pivot a fan to create crosswinds to make it even harder. The next time you are suffering from a touch of ennui and don’t happen to be in an office then you could do worse than to launch this app. With different locations, crosswind velocities and distances this peculiarly engaging game can have you playing for.
Game: Angry Birds Seasons
Platform: iPhone, Android
Downloads: 11 million+
In this spin-off game – it’s Halloween – the Angry Birds are now pursuing those dastardly pigs through 30 levels of more treacherous terrain. Pumpkin patches, eerie skeletons and exploding Jack o’ Lanterns conspire to give you the creeps. There is also the addition of a brand new bird that starts out small but soon grows to something extra special.
Game: Angry Birds
Platform: iPhone, Android
Downloads: 20 million+
Finnish developers, Rovio Mobile, were initially inspired by a sketch of wingless birds to produce this stupendously popular and playable physics-based target game. Over 20 million copies have been downloaded to date and it’s crossed the platform boundary to be available on both iPhone and Android handsets. As if you didn’t know, the survival of the Angry Birds is at stake because the greedy pigs keep stealing their eggs. With 285 levels you pit the skills of the different bird types to destroy the pigs’ fortresses.
Game: Solitaire
Platform: iPhone, Android
Downloads: 30 million+
With this Simple Solitaire Collection you can relive your Patience days without the risk of getting your cards sneezed off a table and onto the floor.
And finally… it doesn’t take a genius to guess that Tetris is the most downloaded mobile phone game ever. With over 100 million downloads the 25 year old game created by a Soviet programmer still has the simple, but pleasingly addictive, ability to enthral every generation.
Game: TETRIS
Platform: iPhone, Android
Downloads: 100 million+
It was a certain Alexey Pajitnov who, back in ’84, had the idea of creating a block game that he could never have imagined would blossom into the massive appeal it has today. It’s now available in over 60 countries on over 64,000 handsets. Will its dominance ever wane? With Tetris’ absorbing gameplay it seems unlikely. Let’s hope it’s still Number One in years to come.
Loading ...
Leave a Facebook Comment