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| Trauma Center: Second Opinion Cardcaptor Yoshi Review Over-view: (NOTE: This is a remake of the DS version of the same game.)The year is 2018, and with cancer and AIDS already cured long ago it seems to be smooth sailing for the medical world. But when you play the role of up-and-coming rookie surgeon Dr. Derek Stiles, it couldn't be further from the truth...a new, genetically engineered series of viruses called GUILT, rumoured to be the work of bioterrorists, is laying siege to the world, and it's up to you to stop it! (yes, all by yourself...) Graphics: 7.5/10 Not much to say here. Oftentimes Atlus has chosen to adorn Trauma Center with a clean, basic sort of graphic feel, sort of like the Wii itself. There's not much presentation outside of the operations themself, and storyline is covered through still-text scenes with anime-style pictures accompanying. As for the operations themselves, most of the look is very artistic and much less grotesque than an actual surgery. This is obviously a wise choice as most would be turned off by the realistic look, so it's understandable that Trauma Center does not look as realistic as it could be - especially with the insect-like GUILT in the later operations... Sound: 9.2/10 Surprisingly enough the sound is quite excellent in this game, at least as far as the music is concerned. The in-game operation music and it's variations are especially catchy, and set the mood well for a dramatic operation. Likewise goes for the cutscene and title scene music, although you won't be listening to it quite as much. ^^ As for the actual soundbites themselves, most of the tools and, indeed, people are rendered by short sounds and one-liners. Nothing spectactular as far as they are concerned, and the sound of the operating tools is relatively quiet and nonintrusive. The voice actors, on the other hand, are up to the viewer's choice. I personally do not think they sound too bad or good, but after the 5th time you get shouted at during a mission, perhaps your mind may change. Controls: 9.7/10 Trauma Center has a brilliant and effective control scheme that is catered directly to the Wii. You'll use the remote itself in various, creative ways to mimic the actual medical tools' intended usage. For example, you will hold the A and B buttons together when using the forceps to simulate pinching an object, push the defrillibator onto the patient's chest to restart his heart, and so on. Honestly, most of the time it's almost point and click with most of the tools, but it's still interactive enough to get you into the experience. The nunchuk is also used wisely in this game to facilitate tool swapping - each of the 8 directions (cardinal + diagonal) is mapped to a certain tool, so no longer does one have to take the cursor off to the sides of the screen to switch tools like the DS version of Trauma Center. Surgical precision is needed in this game (unsurprisingly) and the control scheme delivers with precise, accurate motions that work nearly flawlessly. Some may have an issue with the 3D movement (forward and back, twisting left and right) of the Wii Remote, which is a little clunky, but those concepts are only utilized in a minimal amount of missions. Challenge: 8.8/10 Trauma Center isn't brain surgery. However, it is heart surgery. (how witty!) And unsurprisingly, a game based on surgery is really quite difficult and challenging, especially for those new to the series. Luckily, Atlus has added a difficulty option to this game for those who want to step the difficulty down a bit or kick it up a notch, at any point in the game without penalty - but on all difficulties the game is quite a challenge. It starts simple enough but as the game evolves into the later stages players will find that they need both quick movements and smart strategy to defeat some of the GUILT. And just in case the 'Hard' difficulty wasn't enough, after defeating the main game players will unlock a special set of missions rated 'Extreme' for difficulty. Needless to say, these are really challenging. Replay: 8.2/10 Trauma Center either will have very little or very much replay value. Those who have played the DS version might find this game a little repetitive, as all of the main storyline missions are nearly identical to the old ones, although some might enjoy attempting them on an easier difficulty, or with the new controls. In addition to the main story, however, Atlus has added a shorter, second storyline following the tales of Dr. Nozomi Weaver, which contains 5 unique missions to the Wii. Also, the final chapter of Trauma Center has been completedly revamped and is quite improved over the DS version. In all Trauma Center contains maybe about slightly less than 50 missions, which should keep gamers occupied for at least 10 hours or so. New gamers to this series will find this a quite expansive game, although it's no Zelda. Completionists will absolutely adore this game, as it keeps separate rankings for each mission on each difficulty, and only the elite gamers will achieve the illustrious XS (exclusive to the Hard difficulty) ranking on every mission. Gameplay: 9.1/10 As mentions above, Trauma Center has nearly 50 missions on 3 difficulties to keep you entertained, and although all of the missions are obviously surgery, they come in enough variety to be interesting. You will work on the mundane glass removal, up through kidney transplants, and move on to killing futuristic parasites. You'll even dismantle a bomb! Although you will have the same 8 tools for nearly every mission, the objective of each missions are accomplished in varied enough ways to keep players interested. The only turnoffs may be the sporadic difficulty of the game, and the fact that the game moves completely away from "normal" operations about halfway through. If you're looking for a realistic simulator, turn away now. **Story: .8/1 Long story short, Derek Stiles is an aspiring and surprisingly skilled surgeon who becomes pivotal to the survival of mankind as a GUILT outbreak threatens the world. Short story long, Trauma Center has a very anime-style story in length and style, with lengthy text cutscenes before, after, and sometimes during operations. The story is very drawn out with numerous supporting characters, surprising (or not) plot twists, and even a pseudo-romance; everything you would expect from an anime. It's very interesting to see Derek change over the course of the game from a cowardish, ordinary doctor to a confident, world-famous hero. And let me say right now, the namesake mission is one of the most interesting in the entire game... **Multiplayer: 0/1 As interesting as it would be to have multiplayer competitive surgery, it's not implemented in this game. Those who are really seeking multiplayer action can experiment with having a second player act as the nurse and control the tool swapping - however this is not reccomended for serious play. Graphics: 7.5/10 Sound: 9.2/10 Controls: 9.7/10 Challenge: 8.8/10 Replay: 8.2/10 Gameplay: 9.1/10 **Story: .8/1 **Multiplayer: 0/1 Numerical Score: 8.8 Subjective Tilt: +0.5 Overall Score: 9.3 Final Word: Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a great all-around Wii title, even for those who have played the series before. It is a game with a genre and controls which could really only apply to this system (or the DS). In addition, hardcore gamers will be pleased by the challenge. |