Honestly, Mass Effect 2 is far less a game and more like a movie. I feel like I am an actor and I get to choose my lines… Do I go all butt head on everyone or do I play mister nice guy? Nope, I am going for the bio-polar nice guy one moment, crazy freak the next. That should keep everyone on their toes!

I am not going to go on about how great the game is, there are millions of reviews on how awesome Mass Effect 2. So, let's talk about how accessible the game is or isn't.

When the game starts, you are presented with the “Game Play” options right off the bat. Three options are worth pointing out. The first is the combat intensity. By default, it is set to “normal” but for those that may need it, there is a level below it. In true BioWare fashion, there is also 3 level above it. The other option that is good to see presented in such a front and center manner is that option for subtitles.

The game has all of the vocal parts fully subtitled. The face and/or the name of the person speaking is always present on-screen, allowing you to follow the dialogue easily. This is good given that the cinematic screens are so important to the game makers, you do not always have a camera on the person flapping their gums. This game is very friendly to hearing impaired and Deaf gamers.

The third option is the ability to tell the game to control some of the squad members that you pick up automatically, this is great for gamers who may not be able to micromanage the whole team and want the computer to do some of the work. An excellent option for the cognitively impaired and motion impaired gamer.

Now for the motion-impaired gamers, this game is going to give you problems. The game does not have any way to “move” your character with a mouse; you have to use the keyboard. By default, it is “ASWD”.
The game also uses a lot of mouse work as well, as the primary battle tool. Left clicking is for shooting and right clicking is for aiming. Weapons changes and reloads are does via a keyboard. There is a mouse sensitivity setting of 3 levels. That said, this is going to be a little of a kick in the teeth for many gamers.

The on-screen keyboard works but would be ridiculously difficult to use to play. You will need the ability to use the keyboard to move or some accessible technology for this one. Limited options for movement combined with the need to shoot and run make one-handed gaming extremely difficult for this title. And next to impossible for those who can only use the mouse. Very disappointing.

The colorblind should not have any issues. There are colors used to clue you in on what faction the text belongs to, red and blue. This would not be an issue for the most part because the text itself is very clear on what direction you want to go.

I wish that I could say that BioWare had hit another one out of the ballpark like they did with Dragon Age. But Mass Effect 2 falls very short of the bar they helped set.