The best free iPhone games - part 3 (2009)

Apple has been making an effort to address the current ‘race to the bottom’ marketing trend that's proving to be the best method for developers to get their applications noticed on the overfull App Store.

But how do free apps and games it into that equation? Well, free games are proving to be just as good a way of making money as paid ones.

Using clickthrough advertising, some developers have been bringing in as much as $10,000 a month from their freebies, and considering that anyone idly browsing the App Store (rather than shopping for something specific) is going to start with the free section, it would seem that the iPhone race is not to the bottom, but to the most handsets.

And so, the days of second rate free games (if such a day is ever really existed) are undoubtedly on their way out, as the App Store’s free section begins to prove its financial value to the handheld games industry.

The best free iPhone games - part 3

The App Store isn't all about free ad-funded games. Corporate branding is also another popular method of monetising a freebie, and few have been as popular as Waterslide Extreme.

Essentially, this is a WipEout clone, and there are already a few of those on the iPhone. But the concept behind Waterslide Extreme is nothing short of ingenious, putting you in control of a thrillseeking swimmer as you rocket down these massive, liquid-propelled half-tunnels using the accelerometer to twist and tilt your way around the corners and loops.

It might not boast a huge amount of longevity, but with 13,000 ratings and climbing, any serious iPhone user ought to check it out.

Remember when there were just four TV channels? When there was nothing on, there really was nothing on. Now you can spend an hour happily channel surfing, where the process of discovering that there's nothing on is a form of entertainment in itself.

This new compilation of iPhone mini-games offers a similar explorative experience. 51 free games bundled into one application means you can spend an hour simply drumming through them, and even if 90 per cent of them aren't particularly appealing, you’ll still have enjoyed a good gaming session finding that out.

And, all being well, half a dozen of those freebies will be right up your alley. The law of averages says some of it must be worth playing again.

What's great about the iPhone is that it’s quickly carving a whole new set of gaming subgenres. The line racing of Flight Control, the finger drumming of Tap Tap Revenge, and now the rope swinging physics of games like MonkeySwing.

Koko the monkey needs to get from one end of the jungle to the other, and you're required to don your finest Tarzan loincloth and put your momentum controlling abilities to the test as you leap from rope to rope.

MonkeySwing isn't the first of this new iPhone centric subgenre, but it's a great example, and a free one at that.

It never fails to amaze me how many developers manage to come up with their own unique slant on the puzzle game. By now, you'd think this prolific genre would have no original ideas left, and in some respects you'd be right. But games like Room Escape prove that an active imagination can still come up with a unique form of gaming conundrum.

The concept is simple: You’re locked in a 3D room and must hunt around for objects and clues that will help you make your escape. While it could use a little extra game design nous, the underlying MacGyver aesthetic is immensely difficult to resist, and well worth 15 minutes of anybody's free time.

Computer and video games have enjoyed 30 years of continuous enthusiasm, but if you had to guess what the most popular game of all time is, what would you say? Tetris? Pac-Man? Doom? The Sims?

The answer is probably a little less exciting. Ever since it was bundled with Windows, digital solitaire is probably the most played game ever seen. Therefore, most people like to have some version of the single player campaign on their handset, and there are few better examples than Sol Free Solitaire.

It packs in six variations, complete with beautifully clear graphics, a simple user interface, easy to understand instructions and an undo feature. A great way to help keep solitaire at the top of the all-time game charts.

So there we have it - plenty of iFree apps to keep you going until the Lite fades.

If you're looking for a few Lite games, by the way, you should go and take a look at the Lite Games section on the Pocket Gamer forums, where you can hear about and discuss iPhone demos directly with the developers.

While you're there, you might as well check out the Updates section, too, to learn about what's coming to improve your current iPhone games catalogue.