It’s a little hard to get excited about the release of a Wii launch title, one year and eight months after the console hit our shores. Trauma Centre: Second Opinion is a “Wii-make” of the DS cult classic Trauma Centre: Under the Knife, allowing players to perform virtual surgical procedure on their TVs. The concept was brilliant – take a winning formula from the DS, and give players the ability to play on a bigger screen and offer a greater sense of “being there” with the Wii-remote control. Anticipation for this title was huge, and then came the bombshell – there were no plans to release this game into PAL regions. This sparked huge controversy, and an online petition drew over 300 signatories within a month. Now, almost a year after the Wii SEQUEL was released in North America, New Zealand finally gets their chance to play this game – so is the game worth the wait? Or has the patient suffered fatal injuries from prolonged deprivation?

Trauma Centre is set in 2018 and follows the journey of rookie surgeon, Derek Stiles. After a series of life-changing events, a supernatural power is unlocked within himself – the Healing Touch – allowing him to perform miraculous procedures on patients near death. It just so happens that a new killer disease is starting to emerge in the population, a deadly illness called GUILT that has been created by a bio-terrorist group (that’s not a misprint – people in this game actually die of GUILT!). The story follows Derek as he uses his new-found abilities to combat GUILT and save human kind (cue happy ending).

Developer Atlus was adamant that Second Opinion would “NOT [be] a quick-and-dirty port!”. While the storyline is essentially the same as Under the Knife, the surgical procedures that the gameplay revolve around have been adapted (and in some instances been completely redone) for the Wii-mote and nunchuck control scheme. Trauma Centre originated as a Japanese “visual novel”, with anime-graphics and mostly written dialogue. There are the occasional voiced lines, but like the Phoenix Wright series, there are long segments of written dialogue and static images involving a lot of reading and “pressing A to continue”. The game is broken up into chapters, with some chapters purely filling in the storyline, while the rest involve the real meat of the game – putting you into the OR.

Those familiar with the DS game will know how the game works. After a briefing session, you will be put into the shoes of an operating surgeon in the near-future. Your scrub nurse will talk you through procedures, from cleaning the skin and making your first incision, to making your final suture as you close up. Essentially this is a puzzle game and will require you to perform step by step “surgical procedures” to treat your patients. Some puzzles may frustrate players as they will require some trial and error to work out the correct way to procede, but Second Opinion introduces a selectable difficulty setting for the impatient.

Tools are now selected by moving the nunchuck control stick in one of eight directions, and then the Wii-mote is used to slice, dice, and suture. Most tools are used by pressing and holding A while you do your work; use of the forceps requires “pinching” A and B to simulate the use of the real-life counterpart. Controls are intuitive, and most importantly responsive. Those with a good memory will benefit from the new tool-selection mechanism – instead of having to tap-select your tool from a menu, you can now do a “no-look” selection if you remember the control-stick direction mapped to the various tools.

There are some new tools and gameplay mechanics too, such as the defibrillator which requires you to “push and hold” the heart-starter paddles (the nunchuck and Wii-mote) against your patients chest, and then pressing buttons to deliver a shock. Very cool.

As a fan of Under the Knife, one of my biggest concerns about the Wii version of this game was the lack of tactile feedback provided by the touchscreen against the DS stylus. This didn’t enter my mind at all as I played the game. Sufficient feedback is provided on-screen by the Wii-mote pointer cursor, along with the rumble function.

Another concern I had was that the Wii game would not offer old fans enough value for money, given that the game followed the same storyline and had many other similarities. I was wrong – Second Opinion is a good game that will be enjoyed by both new and old fans to the series. Some operations have been changed to suit the style of gameplay afforded by the Wii-mote, but even those that are similar to the DS version feel fresh.

Second Opinion offers some new chapters and operations not found in Under the Knife. There is new parallel storyline following Dr. Nozomi Weaver, who works at the organisation responsible for GUILT. Derek and Nozomi’s paths eventually meet in the new sixth chapter of the game, culminating in a new ending for the game.

Like many Wii launch games, the game suffers from lack of 16:9 support. Being adapted from a DS game and sharing many of the same visuals, this is perhaps not surprising, but it remains disappointing nonetheless. There is supposedly more recorded voice dialogue for the game, but it doesn’t feel like it. We hear the odd sound bite such as the scrub nurse’s desperate cry of “Doctor!” when things are going wrong, and Derek’s occasional pledge of “I won’t let you die!” when starting operations, but it doesn’t seem like a big change. The game lacks a multiplayer mode (found in the sequel Trauma Centre: New Blood, which is yet to see a PAL release), but the game is interesting enough for spectators watching on. The soundtrack is the same as that from Under the Knife, and is appropriately dramatic.

The localisation of the game from North American English to rest-of-the-world English meant an eight month wait for those in European PAL territories (and then an inexplicable further 1 year delay for Australia and New Zealand). Changes that needed to be made included changing Dr. Weaver’s first name from Naomi to Nozomi, and changing the statement “You will be moved automatically on the Map Screen” to “Yuo will be moved automatically on the Map Screen”. Obviously it is serious business changing Christian names and making typos.

I didn’t expect to enjoy Second Opinion as much as I did. Having played Under the Knife extensively, I expected Second Opinion to be a complete rehash of the DS game. I was pleasantly surprised that the refreshed gameplay that the Wii control scheme allowed, and this game is definitely a must-play. It is a real shame that a launch title has taken so long to hit our shelves, as it really is a great game to show off what the Wii-mote is capable of. However the delay only momentarily dampened my enthusiasm for the game – once I was back in the OR the adrenaline started pumping again and I was drawn into one of the most unique video-game titles for years. This is medical drama where it belongs – on the small screen, but this time with interactivity. Highly recommended for all Wii owners.

The good: Highly responsive and intuitive controls, challenging surgical procedures are generally fun to play, new and refreshed content will satisfy owners of the DS game.

The bad: 20 months to release the game to PAL AU/NZ? Lack of 16:9 support.

The Bottom Line: This is a high quality title that will appeal to a wide group of Wii owners.  Very unique gameplay, and is right at home on the Wii console.

Tags: Games

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am and is filed under Games, Reviews, Wii. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.