So far, the gaming media has been a little slow taking the iPhone as a gaming platform seriously and with good reason too. Yes, the iPhone does have the potential to create some amazing looking and innovative games, but the problem is that very few developers are taking the time to put out anything of quality past various puzzle and word game clones. For proof, you can check out our weekly App Store gaming update (which you should be doing anyway!).

So it should come as no surprise that when Apple announced the top downloaded games for 2008, there are some familiar names on the board. Some of these games have been featured on a top ten list for at least three weeks if not more. Keep in mind that this is a top ten list out of thousands of games. Regardless, here are the top ten lists for both paid and free games…

Some of the iPhone and iPod Touch applications can get a bit pricy. (Frogger for $9.99.) There are some great games available at much more reasonable prices through iTunes, from Pangea Software. The company is temporarily discounting all of its applications – you can now get a game for $1.99.

Of Pangea’s five applications, three are games and two are photo applications. The Enigmo puzzle game has dropped from $9.99 to $4.99, the space-Western mini-game Billy Frontier price was $5.99 and is now $3.99, the racing game Cro-Mag Rally went from $5.99 to $1.99 and Beer Bounce, where you bounce quarters into a glass of beer, went from $2.99 to $1.99. Pretty good deals, if you’re looking for a game. Beer Bounce is rated 17+, while Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo are rated 4+ and Billy Frontier is rated 7+…