I don't usually dip into the Indie Games section of the Xbox Live Marketplace a lot, usually because I resent buying Microsoft points so much that I only do it when absolutely necessary. However, with about 100 points to spare after buying both Limbo and Castlevania HD (both great buys, I strongly recommend to anyone who likes sidescrollers) I decided to buy The Impossible Game, it being on the Best Sellers list and because I had seen EnglishCarBomb playing it a while back. The title isn't quite untrue, but it comes very close. Nonetheless, if you want to file a lawsuit, go ahead.
The object of The Impossible Game is very simple, and that's what makes the game quite so insanity-inducing. There is one button used, A, and you hit it to jump over approaching spikes and on top of black cubes. Easy, right? You couldn't be more wrong. Not only do they come much faster than you expect, but if you die, you start right from the beginning. Even the music starts again, and I actually found this to be one of my biggest troubles: after surviving for about a minute, the song changes from a light electro feel into blasting hardcore trance. It's so distractingly awesome to listen to that it often makes me lose concentration, but the temptation to get back to that one point where it drops is always enough for me to be willing to do it all again. Even regardless of the music, the game is incredibly addictive as it's so hard to believe that you can't do it due to its simplicity, and before you know it you will have racked up 200 attempts.
Needless to say, as soon as you take your eyes off the screen, the room seems to shift around as you've been staring at fast moving objects for half an hour. A weird experience, something I don't even get from Kane and Lynch 2's cameraman with Parkinson's.
The Impossible Game is a mere 80 Microsoft points, and if you want something cheap to be get addicted to for an hour a day, it's the perfect deal.
