Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Rating ESRB: Teen Genre action Publisher Atlus Software External Links Official Trauma Center: Second Opinion Website

Step aside Doogie Howser - there's a new doctor in town. Trauma Center: Second Opinion will have players (almost) literally jumping through hoops to complete delicate procedures and save patients' lives. Second Opinion is an enhanced remake of the popular Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the Nintendo DS, in which the player rushes from O.R. to O.R. saving lives. The player will be put in challenging situations where reflexes and accuracy will determine the difference between a patient's recovery and the procedure's failure.

In Trauma Center, you play as young M.D. Derek Stiles, who is gifted, if somewhat inexperienced. The good doctor is assisted through out his practice by the talented and professional Nurse Angie Thompson. Together, Derek and Angie, as well as a host of other brilliant physicians, take on and fight the Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin (G.U.I.L.T.), a new disease. The mysterious disease leads Dr. Stiles across the world in search of clues to its source or treatment.

As the story in Trauma Center progresses, Derek awakens the amazing power called the "Healing Touch". With the Touch he gains a level of concentration beyond normal comprehension, allowing Derek to slow down time and complete complex procedures, such as finding and excising a blood clot before it reached a patient's heart.

The controls in Trauma Center are a testament to the accuracy of the Wii Remote. Trauma Center: Second Opinion uses both the Wii Remote and Nunchuck for the incredibly precise surgical procedures you will have to deal with. The Nunchuck allows the surgeon to quickly select the proper tools for a procedure, as well as switch back and forth between additional equipment if necessary. The Wii Remote continually provides pinpoint accuracy, whether replacing an eight year old's pulmonary valve or removing a superstar's throat polyp.

The learning curve for Trauma Center is gradual but challenging. Each level adds additional tools and procedures that will be tested time and time again. Certain operations will have you running low on resources, working in dangerous places, and dealing with poorly lit emergency areas. Even routine surgeries can go terribly wrong, so expect the unexpected. The title uses heady medical terms, which seem intimidating at first, but are quickly picked up and associated with the proper procedures.

The music in Trauma Center is fast-paced and really delivers the sense of emergency inherent to the game without being distracting or over-the-top. The sound effects are dramatic, compelling and all-around well-suited for this title. The character interactions between surgeries are serious and dramatic but not over the top, the voice actors work well together and rarely get on the player's nerves - a quality I greatly appreciate in games.

On the good side, Trauma Center: Second Opinion allows you to explore the world of medicine and treat new diseases while having an amazing time with the Wii Remote. On the bad side, it makes you want to see what your friends' organs look like, but the controller is far too blunt for that. The abilities of Nintendo Wii allow for a much more in-depth feel while at the operating table. Atlus really hit the nail on the head with Trauma Center by producing a truly engrossing launch title for a brand new system.