Super Meat Boy is the definition of difficulty. It is by far one of the hardest games I've ever played and at the same time one of the most satisfying. The game is a platformer, developed by Team Meat, with simple controls and over 300 levels, with more coming. The game, as robust and crazy as it may be, does require a lot out of the player and it may not be the best game for disabled gamers to jump into. I have played both the Xbox 360 version and the PC version so I'll touch on both during this review.

Meat Boy loves Bandage Girl, who is kidnapped by the evil Dr. Fetus (yes, you're reading that right) in the opening cinematic. That's all there is to the story of the game, and it's really all you'll need. As you traverse the seven worlds your only goal is to get through the level and get to Bandage Girl, only to see her taken away yet again by Dr. Fetus. Each of the worlds offer up a new theme and new obstacles to overcome, all while increasing the difficulty in general. Six of the seven worlds have 20 levels that usually run about 10-30 seconds, retro warpzones, a boss, and the Dark World levels.

The Dark World levels are just like the Light World levels but much harder. In order to unlock the Dark World version of a level, you first need to beat the corresponding Light World level under the par time that's set for the level. The retro warpzones are sets of three levels that have old-school graphics and sounds, and limit you to just three lives per level. You can enter the warpzones as many times as you need to, but you still have that three life limit on each of the levels. Throughout all of the levels are bandages, scattered in many hard to reach places. Collecting these bandages unlocks extra characters and is not required to progress throughout the game.

The PC version of the game will soon be getting a level editor and level portal to host and download user maps. This will be patched into the game for free and will infinitely increases the amount of levels in the game. The Xbox 360 version of the game has a special world called "The Internets" which will be used to add more levels to the game (again, for free). Team Meat has already added special levels that they have designed for one of the extra characters, Gish, and will continue to use this world to add more levels both they and the PC users design.

The game is very much a momentum-based platformer. Wall-jumps are one of Meat Boy's platforming weapons that you will have to use to maximum efficiency to get through each level. Meat Boy, since he's made of meat (or rather just a skinless person, technically) will stick to the walls for a very short amount of time, allowing for some very fancy maneuvers. There is also a run button to increase not only Meat Boy's ground speed, but also his air speed. It will take you a while to learn the ins and outs of exactly how Meat Boy is controlled, but it is very rewarding to master it.

There is a veritable who's who of other indie gamer characters you can unlock as bonus characters to play in any of the levels. All of these extra characters play very different from Meat Boy, whether they have double jumps, floating abilities, or are slower. Some characters may have a really hard time completing some levels, but others can complete levels in half the time that Meat Boy can, it's up to you to find out who works best where!

Accessibility Issues/Concerns

The beauty of this game is that it could be controlled with an NES controller. There are only three things to do: move, run, and jump. The Xbox controller maps run to either X or the R trigger, move to the left analog stick, and jump to the A button. These controls are NOT remappable on the 360, so one-handed gamers will have trouble navigating the levels with the default controller. On the PC, the default control scheme is Shift to run, Space to jump, and the arrow keys to move. The PC version encourages the use of a 360 gamepad, since the levels do get very hard and the keyboard's precision isn't desirable. The PC controls ARE remappable, but not by the game client itself. You can read all about how to remap the controls on Team Meat's blog here (http://supermeatboy.com/68/Super_Sexy_Swinging_Update/#b) but the gist of it is that you need to edit one of the game files to your liking. You can remap both the keyboard and gamepad controls, allowing one-handed gamers more versatility.

Despite its simple control scheme, the game requires a ton of precision and maneuverability. The difficulty starts off at a fairly reasonable level, but soon ramps up to the stratosphere. Completing a level will require very precise jumping and reflexes, even if you don't plan to do the level very fast.

Deaf gamers will have no disadvantages playing Super Meat Boy. There is no dialogue in the game, all emotions are expressed visually in the cutscenes. The menu text is large and very easy to read. There is the occasional audio cue when something is off-screen, but it has very little impact on gameplay.

Red/green colorblind gamers, myself included, will have very little problems playing through the game. I managed to 100% the game with very little colorblind interference. The biggest issue here is in World 4, also known as Hell, since many of the backgrounds are red like Meat Boy. Occasionally you will lose sight of Meat Boy for a split second as he blends in with the background, but it doesn't happen too often.

At a Glance:

Mobility: Controls are simple, and you can remap them on the PC, but not on the Xbox 360. The game requires a lot of precision and reflexes to complete many of the levels.
Recommended score: 3/10

Hearing: No dialogue, all text is large and easy to read. Some minor off-screen audio cues are present.
Recommended score: 9/10

Vision: Red/green colorblindies will likely encounter some small issues in World 4 (Hell), but otherwise very little problems.
Recommended score: 8/10

Overall: The biggest accessibility issue here is the precision required to complete many of the levels in the game. The game is very hard and makes no qualms about it. The deaf and colorblind gamers will encounter little to no hurdles and I can easily recommend the game to both those demographics!