CKS Group

After our previous post about five of the hottest iPhone games of the moment, a helpful reader pointed us to this article which paints a more detailed picture of how the game came about than our brief summary. It’s an interesting read, especially so for fans of the game. Reading about the evolution – and potential removal – of various features of the game like the seemingly canonical demonic monkeys is absolutely fascinating.

Furthermore, it seems to dispel the notion we had that the game was heavily influenced by the ending to a Playstation 3 game, Uncharted 2. Temple Run seems to be a more natural evolution of Imangi Studio’s previous (and much lesser known) game, Max Adventure. With that said, the PS3 game’s final setpiece does feel awfully familiar to any seasoned Temple Run players, and we’d be very interested to know if the similarity is ever publically commented on by the developers. Please leave a comment below if you ever hear of such a thing.

At the time of writing, and despite being free to play and over six months old, Temple Run is still making a strong showing in the iTunes “Top Grossing” chart.

Since Apple opened up the iPhone to third parties, games have been by far the most popular category on the App Store. Here we list five of them currently taking the world by storm.

Angry Birds

If you’ve heard of any iPhone game, it’s probably this one. Using a slingshot to fire various type of bird against green pigs hidden behind miniature fortifications sounds like a strange premise, but it’s great fun and easy to play but hard to master.

Catapult Madness

Catapult Madness is a game where you fire a hapless peasant from a huge catapult, landing on bombs, spikes, trolls, and other dangers. It’s very popular and very easy to control – you choose a power level and angle to fire the catapult, then pretty much cross your fingers. Unlike the other games here as well as the paid iOS version, you can play it online for free – so you’ve got no excuse not to check it out!

Temple Run

The only free game to make our list. Clearly inspired by the ending to the PS3 game Uncharted 2, the player must escape demonic monkeys by running as far as possible. Obstacles in the way include fire, trees, sharp corners and broken bridges. There is no finish line, the competiton is to get further and score higher than your friends – simple, but surprisingly addictive.

Tiny Wings

Take control of a little bird with wings too small to fly effectively (aww!). By repeatedly tapping the screen, the bird reluctantly gains height. The trick is to use this action to gain speed to fly up hills and then slide down the other side. It’s a beautiful game and easy to pick up and play for a few minutes at a time.

Fruit Ninja

In Fruit Ninja, the player must slash (with a swipe across the screen) in half pieces of fruit thrown up into the air in front of them. Bonus points are awarded for slicing multiple fruit at the same time. It’s fun, pretty, and has a cute soundtrack.