How To: Play "The Impossible Game" on Android, iPhone, Windows and Xbox 360

Thanks to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, video games are constantly evolving to higher degrees of sophistication, with complex graphics, lifelike resemblances and storylines that create exciting experiences that relieve the tediousness of our everyday lives.

It's a little different when it comes to smartphones, where things seems to be simultaneously going forward and backward. The technology behind mobile games improve, but the games themselves seem to be paying homage to its gaming predecessors from the 70s and 80s—Blockade, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Snake—it's the Atari revolution all over again, only in a more sophisticated form. And thanks to the success of Angry Birds, we're likely to see more and more of them.

Why? Because they're simple to make, simple to play, and highly addictive. If mobile games were drugs, Angry Birds would be crack, and The Impossible Game would be heroin.

Impossible? Not really. Hard? Yes. Addicting? You bet.

It's simplicity in its finest form, something FlukeDude has been perfecting since The Impossible Game's release on the Xbox Live Arcade in late-2009. The game was first introduced to mobile gamers on the iPhone last April, and since then has undergone many improvements, but still has remained fantastically frustrating in its basic, elementary concept—jumping.

Yes, it's that simple. You're basically a little box that must jump over deadly obstacles, such as triangles, and avoid smashing into other obstructions like squares, with the tempo increasing as you continue playing the game. But don't let this premise fool you—it's one of the hardest games out there!

Last Friday, The Impossible Game was updated with improved features and now finally supports the Retina Display for the iPhone 4 and the latest iPod Touch. With all of these simple, yet addictive platform games flooding the iTunes App Store, it's nice to know that they aren't being forgotten—that some developers are committed to improving and honing their creations for us mobile gamers.

The Impossible Game is available on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, requiring iOS 3 or higher, but before committing to the $0.99 cost, try it out online.

Step 1: Test Drive Online

It's called The Impossible Game Lite, and you can play it directly on the game's website. To get started, just click inside the iPhone screen.

Playing the game is easy and can be summed up in 6 steps.

And lastly, press P or the menu button to pause the gameplay.

Step 2: Get the Full Versions

If you liked the easy play concept and the irritating need to not be beaten by such an uncomplicated game, then maybe it's time to move onto the full version, where you can see just what kind of hand–eye coordination you really have.

On Xbox Live Arcade

You can purchase The Impossible Game from the Xbox Live Marketplace for a mere 80 Microsoft Points. There's also a free trial version you can play before you decide to buy.

On Android Market

Are you surprised? Of course not, thanks to Android's rise in popularity in the smartphone marketplace. You can get the game over at theAndroid Market for $0.98, and there's also a Level Pack for $0.98 that provides two new levels, Chaoz Fantasy and Heaven—each with a unique soundtrack. New features include inverse gravity, falling blocks and changing backgrounds.

On Windows Phone 7

It's even on the Windows Phone 7 platform, via Microsoft's Marketplace. To download The Impossible Game onto your Windows Phone 7, you'll need a working Windows Live ID and the Zune software on your device. For instructions on getting those, along with how to download apps and games, check out the official step-by-step guide.

On iOS Devices

And here we are, back to Apple's iOS devices—iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It costs $0.99, but there's also The Impossible Game Lite version for free. The gameplay is almost identical to the online version.

It also recommends that you listen to the soundtrack for the full experience, which is almost necessary, because you've got nothing to keep you motivated otherwise.

Step 3: See How It's Done

Now that you know where you can play the many versions of The Impossible Game, now it's time to see it in action. You can easily learn how to defeat each level of the game by watching these walkthrough videos.

FlukeDude's Walkthroughs

Rage Quit's Walkthrough

Warning: NSFW

This video contains profanity—lot's of it.

Step 4: Download the Soundtrack

For some, the best part of The Impossible Game is its soundtrack. If you want to play it over and over again (the soundtrack, not the game), then you can listen and download the songs straight from FlukeDude.

SOURCE FlukeDude