Trauma Center: Second Opinion

"Argle fargle."

Well, the title was what I said when I first got to the Exploding Patient mission.

...

Seriously.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, Trauma Center is a game where you play as a surgeon. The game was originally made for the DS and now it's brought over to the Wii. Honestly, this game wouldn't have ever worked on any sort of system due to the precision needed throughout. You do all sorts of things from incisions to draining cytoplasm to defusing a bomb. If you played the DS version, you most likely felt like throwing it against the wall due to the sheer insane difficulty of the game, but for Wii, Atlus listened to these cries and added an easy mode. Score.

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics on this game won't blow you away. Again, if you played the DS version you know this game isn't designed to be a huge looker. However, this game does look a ton better than the DS version did. Everything looks upgraded and the game looks a lot more polished than it ever was on the DS. Sure, that's the power of the Wii vs a handheld, but still, it's noticeable. The only reason I docked points here was the fact it isn't that a great looking game, through and through. A lot of people (unfortunately) would get turned off by the anime look of the characters. You can tell what you're doing, I mean you're cutting a guy open and extracting glass from his arm, this is true. The GUILT (something you'll know about fairly quickly once you start playing) all look like random things (some look like old Starfox planes, some look goldfish) that don't really look like threatening at all.

Gameplay: 9/10
If not for the aforementioned easy mode and the ability to change difficulty, the gameplay here would have lost a few points. I can only remember one game that made me as frustrated as Trauma Center did, and that was Stuntman which is still the king in that department. As I said before, you're a surgeon and the gameplay is very well done. You choose the tools you need using the nunchuk attachment to the Wiimote and you use the pointer to do whatever it is you need done. Granted, this is a lot easier said than done. With a time limit looming over your head the entire time, any player can feel a rush of adrenaline knowing they're against the clock. Sure, this won't prepare you to be a real surgeon, but you could probably pass as one on ER or something.

Though I kind of knocked the graphics, this game still is very fun. It's easily a top five title for the Wii, possibly even top three. With how rare it was to find on DS, I made it a point to get this game as soon as I could, but of course it was a lot easier than its handheld counterpart. If you're looking for something unlike anything else on the market, give Trauma Center a go. It'll frustrate you at points, even on easy, but knowing you saved a patient's life (though they may have died three or four times prior...but that's what continues are for!) and making yourself feel like a real surgeon is something that no other game can offer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/06/06