SpecialEffect's accessible GameBase

  "Drivey" (free PC demo and screen saver) from Mark Pursey

Drivey is a proof of concept demo, but it is gorgeous and a pleasure. It reflects a stylised version of driving, and aims to replicate the ease of driving when you get into a comfortable head-space and environment.

It achieves this with auto-steering and cruise-control, which I think is a unique and brilliant accessibility design feature. If you let go of your controls, the car will drive itself. You can choose when to overtake, speed up or slow down or go off-road. You can switch off the traffic if you wish and even the colision detection. You can drive using two switches alone for LEFT and RIGHT.

PC (can be opened in a separate window) - The Game Kitchen/ AccessAble Games

Slalom, The Videogame is a virtual version of 'Wheelchair Slalom,' a sport in which wheelchair users compete by completing courses which test their handling of their chair. The gameplay requires a high level of skill and control to move your character successfully around the courses.

Developers The Game Kitchen and AccessAble Games have included a wide range of accessibility settings, including:

- Adjustable Game Speed
- Adjustable Wheelchair Speed
- Hint Lines (show course route)
- 3 choices of control (joystick/keyboard, mouse and one button mode)
- Control sensitivity for x and y axis
- Closed Captions

In 1987 a little-known fighting game crept onto the arcade scene. It featured the player controlling a single martial artist who fought his way through 10 increasingly harder opponents in several locations around the world.

The game's main selling point being 2 large pressure-sensitive buttons that the player could whack to determine how hard their fighter kicked and punched. The game was 'Street Fighter' and the fighter's name was Ryu . . .
 
1991 saw the release of the now-famous sequel: Street Fighter II  - The World Warrior. This game turned the fighting game genre on it's head with it's large colourful sprites, the choice of 8 vastly different fighters to pick from, and the seemingly huge array of secret special moves known only to the Grandmasters of the Arcade!

Fast-Forward 20 years through a multitude of reiterations and CAPCOM finally give us Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (SSFIV:AE).

PC Windows - Bag Full of Wrong (pay-what-you-want)

If you like your shoot-em-ups furious, techni-coloured, rowdy and daftly named, then Squid Yes! Not So Octopus! Championship Edition is for you.

The stated aim is: "Survive 5 minutes. Eat gem and fruits. Score massive". Thanks to a fantastic array of accessibility options, you can make this as hard or as easy as you like.

PC and Mac (opens in a separate window) - Tale Of Tales

"The Path is designed with accessibility in mind. There are no ticking clocks or monsters to defeat. No hard puzzles will ever halt your progress. Most activities in the game are entirely optional and voluntary. The player has all the freedom in the world to explore and experience. The Path is a Slow Game."

Based on the fairy tale of Little Red Ridinghood, 'The Path' allows you to test your curiosity, nerves and imagination within an involving and absorbing (and scary) gameplay experience.

PC (opens in a separate window) - Johnny two shoes
Building on the gameplay ideas used in the original, The Heist 2 allows more planning and organisation of each level, increasing the tactical element of the game. Before each level you choose your team from con-artists, safe crackers to heavies depending on the mission and the tactics best suited to completing it successfully. Then choose your weapons and car and whichever upgrades will aid you from the mouse controlled options.

PC (opens in a separate window) - Hugues (aka iougs)
A virtual version of the ultimate football simulation game before Fifa, PES and friends came along.  Subbuteo empasises the tactical element of football giving you the time to plan and carry out moves at a slower pace, due to the games format of taking turns with your opponent.

This is a beta version and is consequently a little rough around the edges, but the gameplay can  be just as fun and exciting as it's more developed counterparts.

Gameplay requires use of both the keyboard and mouse, but ther is no time limit on your moves.  Select players with the mouse, choose the direction with the left and right cursor keys and to 'flick' use space.

Download for free at: http://subbuteo.iougs.com/virtua.shtml

 

PC (opens in a separate window) - Aardman Animations
This website is full of high quality fun games to play. In ‘Hide ‘n’ Sheep’ you have to follow, with your eyes, the barrel that the sheep is hidden under as they are switched about with the others. When the barrels stop moving left mouse click on the barrel that you thing the sheep is under. If correct you progress to the next level. If not ‘Game Over.’

 

PC  (opens in a separate window) -  Ladbrokes
MiniBall is a computer version of table football (or Foosball). You can either play two player or against the computer, choosing from novice, semi-pro or pro difficulty.  The action is pretty speedy so it may be worth using a cpu killer (download for free from www.cpukiller.com) to choose the pace you want to play at.

PC - Microsoft
‘The appeal of pinball is universal, it pits man against nature in a struggle to keep a solid steel ball from rolling downhill towards the inevitable.’ Over 10 years old but still looking great, Microsoft Pinball Arcade offers seven tables each from a different decade including a Baffle Ball board from 1931.