Emerging Top Free Apps on iOS: Google+, Older Games Flourish

From Google+ to tennis, the variety of new and rising titles within this week’s top free iPhone and iPad lists was high. Nevertheless, while a number of new releases showed promise, many older titles rose through the charts once again due to involvement with FreeAppADay.com. Of all the applications highlighted, nearly half showed growth due to promotions from this site. Also a new change, most of the developers this week were more established (when the top free lists are typically littered with unknown developers hosting no website of any sort), with the only curious one being a group dubbed AlphaWeb Plus.

New Titles Within Top iPhone Free Apps List

Google+Google+ – Search giant Google has released the iPhone rendition of its new social network Google+. The new free application allows users everything from sharing to group messaging and was just updated July 19th with increased user support, general bug fixes, and optimization. Despite it being so new, however, the social networking title is already holding on tightly to the #1 spot on this week’s top free iPhone apps list.

Draw ‘n’ Go: Awesomeness! — In at #2 is Draw ‘n’ Go: Awesomeness!, a physics oriented puzzle game that tasks players with drawing paths in order to get an object through a Rube Goldberg-like contraption from Point A to Point B. Last updated July 15th, the rise is curious as the general user feedback for the title is relatively low; due in part to a lack in challenge. As for its developer Draw ‘n’ Go is credited to ”AlphaWeb Plus,” but is linked to a small mobile company by the name of Yogamen, and who has breached the top iOS charts before with titles such as USA Basketball HD. In terms of monetization, players can unlock all the puzzles in the game, in-app, for $0.99.

2XL Supercross HD — Next up is an older game (last updated April 5th) by the name of 2XL Supercross HD. Currently #3 on the top free iPhone apps list and #4 on iPad, the game has grown swiftly in recent time due to its feature on FreeAppADay. A dirt bike racing game, players pick a rider and bike and compete against AI or human (up to four players via WiFi or Bluetooth) opponents within dangerous and winding races. Its developer is mid-sized 2XL Games, a Phoenix, Arizona-based whose game focus is currently centric to iOS.

Stickman BMXStickman BMX Free — Stickman BMX Free is the sequel to the title Stickman Skater and challenges players with navigating their bike through a bizarre, 2D gamette of obstacles ranging from forested landscapes to the pits of hell. Like the name suggests, this is merely a free version of the full $0.99 game (currently on sale), but it ranks in at #6 today, despite having only been released July 18th. Stickman’s developer is noted to be Traction Games, an Australian outfit whose titles typically encompass casual games for mobile devices and host three different intellectual properties on iOS.

SuperRope – Rounding out the top free iPhone app charts is a new game (released July 14th) dubbed SuperRope. Ranked at #7 today, SuperRope is yet another title rising due to a feature on FreeAppADay. Moreover, it monetizes through the use of in-app virtual currency purchases ranging in price from $0.99 to $0.99. The game, from the three-year-old, small Czechoslovakian developer Craneballs Studios, is a vertical platformer where players jump from rope to rope collecting items, whilst avoiding various obstacles, and using virtual currency they collect to buy new characters, backgrounds, and power-ups in an in-game store. Craneballs Studios has also breached the top lists before, and is probably best known for its iOS shooter, Overkill. (We’ve profiled them before here.)

New Titles Within Top iPad Free Apps List

PlayItYourselfPlayItYourself 4 HD – It ranks in at #4 for iPhone, but on iPad, PlayItYourself 4 HD is the new #1 top free application. This music application hosts a built in, digital piano and allows users to easily play classic musical compositions such as Fur Elise, Moonlight Sonata, and Air on the G String by both providing the score and highlighting the correct key to be played. Monetizing through in-app purchases, this is the second title to rise today that is credited to “AlphaWeb Plus,” but like before, is linked to no company of such a name, merely a PlayItYourself web page. Likely, this app is also associated with Yogamen. PlayItYourself 4 HD was released July 17th.

GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+ HD – GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+ HD is the latest racing simulation game from international casual and mobile games developer Gameloft. Touting physics specific to each real-world car in-game, the title is already #2 on the top free iPad apps list after being released only a week ago on July 13th. Free-to-play, the game monetizes through several in-app purchases for virtual currency as well as experience multipliers. GT Racing marks yet another Gameloft title to appear on the top charts this week along with Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard and 9mm.

Chinese Checkers HD — Moving down to #11 comes another new game (released July 15th), Chinese Checkers HD. With an iPhone version on the way, this new app from CronlyGames is a digital version of the Chinese checkers board game in which up to six players try to move their pieces from their starting point on the board to the star point opposite of them by hopping opposing pieces. As for CronlyGames itself, this new iOS developer is a very small firm out of Shanghai.

Chop Chop TennisChop Chop Tennis — The last title of the day is Chop Chop Tennis. Last updated July 15th and ranked at #12, this touch-controlled tennis game is noted to have been downloaded over 1.8 million times and is created by Montreal-based, independent studio, Gamerizon. Focusing on mobile and casual games, the company states that its Chop Chop franchise has, cumulatively, been downloaded over 12 million times. The new rise in Chop Chop Tennis, however, is due, once again, to a feature from FreeAppADay, but despite being free, still monetizes through an in-app purchase for $0.99

Push-Cars HD — Yet another title rises due to FreeAppADay. Reaching #13 this week is Push-Cars HD, a simplistic puzzle game in which users must position a series of cars so that when the level is initiated, the clean cars drive out of the city and the pollutant cars crash. Monetizing with things such as in-app purchases for hints and ad removal, the game is credited to developer RaLight Solutions. The company is a small group out of Madrid, Spain which says it focuses on the three areas of overstock, consulting, and partnerships when it comes to video game development. As it stands, Push-Cars is the only noted title from them on iOS. Push-Cars HD was last updated July 17th.

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3 Responses to “Emerging Top Free Apps on iOS: Google+, Older Games Flourish”

  1. Emerging Paid iOS Apps: Zombies, Pirates & Captain America Rise Over the Weekend says:

    [...] BMX — Released July 18, Stickman BMX has already done well on the top free charts with its, well, free version, but now it hits #3 on the top paid iPhone apps list as well. [...]

  2. Emerging Paid iOS Apps: Zombies, Pirates & Captain America Rise Over the Weekend | Top Paid Apps says:

    [...] BMX — Released July 18, Stickman BMX has already done well on the top free charts with its, well, free version, but now it hits #3 on the top paid iPhone apps list as well. [...]

  3. Emerging Top Free Apps on iOS: Puzzles, Arcade Games, Dinosaurs & More says:

    [...] to AlphaWeb Plus. Though no website is provided, AlphaWeb Plus is likely a enigmatic publisher as previous games have been credited to it, yet linked to different developers. Six Towers also monetizes through [...]

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