My wife, a medical professional, has urged me to start off this review by explaining that Trauma Center: Second Opinion is not a true-to-life surgery sim, and that most treatments used in the game, not to mention the diseases and injuries, are "completely fictitious and totally laughable." She told me this while she was playing the game, something she spends maybe an hour a day doing.

Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a port of the Nintendo DS's cult hit Trauma Center: Under the Knife, not a true sequel to the surgery sim, but Wii owners shouldn't let the p-word scare them away from a purchase. Second Opinion is a total best-case scenario that maintains the addictive elements of the original and integrates them flawlessly with the unique features of the new platform. That it manages to do so effortlessly as a launch title for a pretty unique console gaming platform serves as a testament to just how good a game it is. As Dr. Derek Stiles, a lazy, unprofessional layabout of a surgeon, players perform surgeries that range from the mundane to the bizarre. There's an overarching and suitably melodramatic story that links the various operations, but it's really incidental to the gameplay experience. The meat of the game is in the slicing, suturing and lasering, and Second Opinion never seems to forget that. In fact, with the Wii's control scheme, Atlus is able to streamline the gameplay and make it much smoother than even the DS's touchscreen allows for. Instead of leaving the surgical field to select a new instrument, the Wii's nunchuk controller serves as a handy selector for Dr. Stiles numerous sharp n' pointy implements while the remote remains free to, well, operate. It's a great intuitive step for the game, and it is bound to shave vital seconds off anyone's best times from the previous game. For extra fun, try handing the nunchuk off to a friend and let them play nurse. Speaking of intuitive, using the forceps requires gamers to press both the A and B buttons on the remote - mimicking a pinching motion - just like picking up a Mii for examination on the console's Mii channel. The remote's speaker also sees some use, playing the sound effects for each surgical tool.

The surgeries themselves are typically similar to the cases in Under the Knife, but many of them have been tweaked to take advantage of the new control features, including the defibrillator. In fact, most of the familiar surgeries seem easier. For the hardcore, Atlus offers up a hard mode (with normal being the approximate difficulty of the DS game), and an easy mode for those who just can't get all those aneurysms in time. Also unique to the Wii is a side story with a new playable character, Dr. Weaver, which unfolds alongside Dr. Stiles's story, as well as a new level that is unlocked at the end of each of the main story's chapters. These new cases really highlight the new control elements; for example, the first of Dr. Weaver's cases involves repairing a shattered bone by picking up and re-setting the shards, using the remote to rotate the pieces back into place.

If there are any flaws in Second Opinion, they are minor. The voice acting is pretty rudimentary, though a lack is always preferable to an overabundance of incompetent actors stumbling over their lines; less, as they say, is more. Still, one can only hear Nurse Angie's anxious "DOCTOR!" so many times before praying for variations on the theme. Another minor issue involves the remote's pointer - it's too forgiving. While this may be a blessing for novices or the shaky-handed, it's a bit of a disappointment to see quickly done yet hideous sutures earn a Cool rating. It's rare that I'll dock a game for being too easy, but this is Trauma Center on the chopping block, and the game has a reputation for difficulty.

If you're buying a game other than Zelda with your Wii, make it Trauma Center. The gameplay not only translates perfectly, it evolves, and everything that made Under the Knife great is still on full display. Those who haven't played Trauma Center before should definitely give the game a shot, while Under the Knife veterans are encouraged to play it again for the first time.

Score: 91%

Nov 27, 2006 | 0 comments
Jeff Stolarcyk