SOTS Game Review - Trauma Center: Second Opinion
It has been a while since I have done one of these - I do apologize! But as you can see, things have been busy around here! TRAUMA CENTER: SECOND OPINION OVERVIEW Dr. Derek Stiles must use his abilities to eliminate the threat of GUILT. REVIEW This one is an older one, but being that I just played it, it is new to me. So you get a review! Trauma Center: Second Opinion is basically a Wii-make of the DS game, Trauma Center: Under the Knife. It is a decent remake – you can barely tell that the game was originally on a handheld console, and they even went so far as to add some extra levels, along with a side-quest of sorts that features a different doctor. When I selected this game, I was basically expecting a souped up game of Operation. And at first, that is exactly what I got. Your first few operations train you in the control style – how to use the nunchuck to select your tool, how to use the tool using the Wii-mote, and what each tool does. The first few operations are standard stuff – removing glass fragments, resetting bones, and excising tumors. Just as you start to get the hang of using the tools and performing the different techniques, the game throws you a weird twist – Super Powers. That was the last thing I expected.
That isn’t the only surprise the game throws your way. After learning about the Healing Touch, you come face to face with the “villain” of the game – GUILT. GUILT is the name of a man-made disease created by Delphi, a terrorist organization. It comes in several different strains, each of which behave differently, and must be combated differently during surgery through the later levels. The game is fairly easy to pick up, and is pretty fun. It definitely makes good use of the Wii’s controller combination, making use of all of the controllers capabilities quite well. Switching between tools is simple and quick, the function of the different tools is fairly logical, and a great deal of your success in the game depends on how steady your hand is. Just as in real surgery. While the game is fun – the focus kind of dampened my enjoyment. Admittedly, it was due to my own ignorance – when I picked this game up I was expecting a straight surgery simulator, and the shift to the super-powered parasite fighter threw me for a loop. When you had to use your surgery tools to disarm a bomb is when it went over the top for me. While they did a decent job remaking the control style for the Wii, they could have done more with the cut scenes. The voice acting was decent, but there was no motion at all. In a small step-up from the Bleach game, the backgrounds are static, but each character will flash on the screen as you hear their lines. Occasionally, as a special treat, the character will be posed slightly differently, to reflect the emotion of a conversation. For a full-priced game, they couldn’t give us any animated cut-scenes? That is incredible.
BOTTOM LINE Overall, this is a fun game. It is a little outside the box, so your family members who aren’t hardcore gamers might enjoy it as well. It does retain some challenging elements to keep your attention though. This game would have been far better if it had stuck to simple surgery, instead of crafting a fictional viral boogeyman for you to face, and dipping into the whole super-power thing. I found myself quickly losing interest in the game after they were introduced. The gimmick took the game from a fun, cerebral, and potentially educational game and made it something of a joke. A real let-down. A fun rental at the very least – might be a buy if you can find a discount copy. At this point, this should be possible. Rating(out of 5):   |
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