Trauma Center took role playing to a whole new level when it released onto the DS in what was one part Phoenix Wright one part Operation (the boardgame). While it may have started on the DS, Atlus took the hype that it got and started planning a remake for the Wii. Sure enough, with the motion controls of the Wii, Trauma Center: Second Opinion managed to open some eyes on what could be done on a Wii when done right, and before gamers knew what was going on, a sequel was announced.
The first thing that will hit you when starting up Trauma Center: New Blood is the intro. For a moment I had forgotten I had dusted off my Wii and thought I was about to sit down to an episode of House. Similar music, incredibly similar flashes of xrays and stuff, but then in the spot where I’d normally see Hugh Laurie’s beautiful mug I was introduced to the new characters.
New Blood carries on the surgical procedures in what is essentially a direct sequel. Same presentation, same gameplay and procedures but this time with an all new cast — Markus Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock — and fictional disease: Stigma. Both Markus and Valerie have a separate “healing touch” special move, and since both are available for your selection before each surgery if you find one doesn’t work for you, you can always try again with the other. Each surgery ends with a ranking based on the difficulty you’re playing at and which surgeon you’re using. Also, every surgery has full co-op support which can lend itself to some hilariously stressful moments.
New Blood is incredibly easy to pick up and play but be warned, you’ll need a fairly good memory for which order to do things and which equipment to utilise for each step if you plan on putting this title down for more than a week in between plays. Time is of the essence as you remove fragments of bone, shards of glass, tumours and an assortment of other items, and while each surgery is done in a rather mature and stress induce manner, gore is something that isn’t prevalent here. The entire game is self aware, the developers clearly knew that while most people would enjoy the stress and “life in your hands” experience that Trauma Center could bring, they also knew that the majority of us don’t actually want photo-realistic graphics.
Speaking of which, the game runs in 480p widescreen and since the majority of the game (talking sequences) is displayed with 2D slide-on busts and hand-drawn backgrounds the game really does look fantastic. Sure it might be a little “DS” to have simple 2D images for the characters talking, but there is enough variety there to make it feel good enough. The voice acting definitely lends itself to making the presentation feel more like a television show. The simplistic look during the surgery means Atlus were able to have things running silky smooth with enough effects to make it look like one of the better looking Wii titles.
Trauma Center: New Blood is by no means an easy game, and anyone expecting to blister through this over a weekend will be sorely disappointed. Often times you will struggle half way through an operation just to figure out what it is you’re meant to be doing, only to do it again on your second and third attempt. Maybe you’ve fumbled with the instruments a few times or you have the wrong doctor performing the surgery, either way, expect to attempt a bunch of the operations a number of times. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but will definitely try the patience of many.
Closing comments
New Blood will not be for everyone. There will be gamers who mock it for the simple presentation, others for the rather cheesy storyline and others will just get fed up with constantly being rated lowly or having to redo operations again and again and again. But for the many who will enjoy this, it’ll be one of those games that you use to showcase your Wii. Who doesn’t want to pretend to be a doctor for an afternoon with a friend or partner? Hell, this might even spark your interest in cutting up real people….. in a fix not harm kinda way.
