"Patience, you expert surgeon!"

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is designed by Atlus Co. It is intended to play on the Nintendo DS.

This game is a simulation game based on human surgery. The objective of the game is do surgery on a human and successfully complete the operation according to whatever disease could it be, let it be tumors or even glass shards. This game takes place in the future, though, so naturally, surgery and medicine would be more modern and efficient, which explains why there are only 10 tools to use during an operation. Of course, as there's new treatments, there's also bigger threats, in which will be explained right below in it's storyline.

The year in this game is 2018. A new plague has come to threaten humanity. This disease is known as GUILT (Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin). Rumor has it this GUILT was made for medical terrorism. A semi-convert organization known as Caduceus in which researches and treats incurable diseases is on that case. They've managed to keep the GUILT news from being heard in public so far, but they haven't found a cure for it, either.
Derek Styles, the game's protagonist, has joined Hope Hospital. Things have changed since...

The usual routine in the game is to hear the story dialogue, do a surgery and repeat. The dialogue is there to progress the storyline while the surgeries are the main thing about the game, as you will be the surgeon.

The game plays with two screens. The bottom screen shows the surgical area you're performing on the patient as well as your tools. You will be operating on the patient with the stylus, let it be applying antibiotic gel, opening an area with the scalpel or even laser some parts. There is also a heart meter in which is the vitals meter. If these vitals drop to 00, you have failed the operation. On the top screen, you will have your time limit and miss limit. You will fail if the time limit reaches 00:00:00 or you've done enough mistakes. Aside from limits, you will also see your assistant instructing you what to do. Keep in mind that even if it sounds easy with your assistant telling you what to do, it isn't easy performing it yourself. As the game progresses, the surgeries will become harder and harder to perform to the point you may even throw your system in frustration. Self-discipline is a must.

For graphics, everything looks just how it's supposed to be. Everything is identifiable and your assistant(s) are drawn in an anime style. Sounds are brilliantly used in the game, as there's sounds for lasers, scalpel-cutting, blood draining, etc. The music helps give you feel tension as you work on the patient. And when something critical happens, you can feel that you're in a race against time. Very well done.

To conclude: Trauma Center: Under the Knife is an interesting and fun game. If you're not fond of unreal diseases, then you may not like this game. People may put it down for it's incredibly hard challenge, though. If you're looking for a challenge to satisfy yourself with, then pick this game up. I will guarantee you that you'll have a wonderful time testing your patience and reflexes with it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/06