Top 10 Android Games for Budget-Aware, Malware Wary Users

Games are supposed to be fun. However, knock offs of popular Android games downloaded from obscure marketplaces can be anything but.

The Android mobile OS has seen its share of threats mostly spread through infected apps distributed via third-party markets. The runaway hit Angry Birds, as just one example, has been used on several occasions to disseminate malware.

The more popular an Android game is, the more likely it will be used by malware coders. As such, the games in our top 10 list could be shadowed by their “evil twins” in some obscure marketplace, just waiting to be downloaded.

These are the Top 10 Android games ” the ones you should definitely download from Google Play, and not the lesser known marketplaces.

A look at the top ranking games will reveal that users have an affinity for free stuff. The ratio between full-featured games versus trial-based contenders reveals that free games have the highest rating. Android users are budget-aware.

Rovio`s free Angry Birds nabbed more than 1.1 million ratings. By far one of the most viral games in the Android Marketplace, Angry Birds is a popular choice for the Android gamer.

Based on positive user feedback and lasting gameplay value, Words With Friends Free, has over 79,000 impressions, ranking second. The obvious gap between the two can be explained by Rovio`s aggressive marketing and distribution across multiple platforms. However, the fact that Words With Friends Free managed to pull so many votes could suggest category diversity is also key.

Our third and fourth choices have Bubble Blast 2 and Paradise Island competing against each over. With only a 20,000 ratings gap between them (around 580,000 ratings for Bubble Blast 2 and 560,000 ratings for Paradise Island), the two completely different games are of popular demand amongst Android gamers.

Temple Run and Live Holdem Poker Pro are other examples of how Arcade & Action can compete against Cards & Casino games in terms of user ratings. In a neck-and-neck battle separated by around 10,000 ratings (approximately 555,000 for Temple Run and 545,000 for Live Holdem Poker Pro), the two games occupy the fifth and sixth position in our chart.

Mouse managed to surprise by squeezing in 7th, although in terms of graphics it`s not exactly eye-candy. Raising around 516,000 ratings, users have been buzzed by the brain-teasing challenges rather than the visual aspect. Strategically moving obstacles out of its path, you must guide the mouse through a series of mazes to complete each level. Filed under Brain & Puzzle, Mouse is proof that users are still craving for some food-for-thought.

Popular demand placed Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasons in 8th and 9th place, separated by only a thousand. The Arcade & Action category is getting a serious statistical boost if we judge only by the number of “angry birds” occurrences.

Last but not least, Wordfeud Free is 10th in our chart with around 384,000 votes, making an interesting addition to the Brain & Puzzle category.

Free Arcade & Action Android games rule the marketplace. Of course, these statistics only reflect our point of view when weighing popular demand against ratings. This little exercise on free Android games can prove helpful for app developers that struggle to come up with viral games.

Unfortunately, the success of free Android games such as these also attracts the attention of malware coders, so you might want to use a mobile security solution. The more popular a game is, the more important it is to download it from Google Play.

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