Have you ever wondered what goes on behind that curtain in the operating room? How would you react with a patient’s life in your hands? Trauma Center: Second Opinions for the Nintendo Wii puts a patient on the table and a scalpel in your hand.
I was curious about this title when it came out for the Nintendo DS, but I didn’t play it because I have yet to pick up the system and the game didn’t seem like a system-seller to me. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I was wrong. It’s a remake of the DS version but the Wii-mote draws you into the game as opposed to the stylus. I’ve been on it for the past week because it’s addictive and I just can’t get enough of playing doctor.You’re given a patient with some sort of ailment ranging from throat infections to broken bones. During the course of an operation the Wii-mote acts as your instruments such as a scalpel, a drainage hose, sutures, a precision laser, an ultrasound machine, forceps, and more. Precise incisions, fluid suction, and bandaging determine whether you lose the patient or not. If any of you old-schoolers remember a board game called Operation, this is a more intense version of it. If you react too slow or too sloppy, you risk losing the patient and the operation is terminated.
The game’s use of the Wii-mote is brilliant. The nunchaku is used to navigate and select your instruments, which you’ll utilize via the Wii-mote in different ways. Before the operation, you’re given objectives that you need to complete for a successful surgery. A nurse is provided to guide you through the first few surgeries but after that it’s a memory game. There’s a series of steps that you must perform in a certain order during the operation. Remembering those steps can be complicating and frustrating at times, but to see a healthy patient in recovery makes it worth the hard work. You receive a ranking based on how accurate the operation goes and the amount of time taken to complete it. I’ve found it hard to get anything over C ranking but you’re given the option to replay any scenario for a chance at a higher rank.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion throws in some new and redesigned features. For example, if a patient’s heart rate drops, then you have to break out the defibrillator. To simulate pushing down on the patient’s chest you’ll move your arm towards the screen. Now that’s what I call interaction.
The game boasts a storyline told in traditional Atlus style using images and text dialog. You’re Dr. Derek Stiles a surgeon who finds out he has the Healing Touch inherited through the ancient Greeks. It’s a bit “out there”, but if that’s not enough for you, then let’s add a world-threatening epidemic that’s believed to be the work of bioterrorists. Tell me that doesn’t peak your interest.
Labels: Nintendo, Playing-Doctor, Trauma-Center, Videogames, Wii
