Trauma Center: New Blood Review

The main characters stand in front of their small hospital in Alaska.

Console: Wii
Release Date: November 20th, 2007
Publisher: Altus
Developer: Atlus
Players: One to Two
ESRB Rating: Teen

Introduction:
The thought of being a doctor in the operating room might be a weird premise for a video game. You may not want to say this to Atlus, the developer and publisher of the Trauma Center series. They think that the idea is a completely viable idea thanks to the interactive game play of the Wii and DS. The question is, was it a success, or was it a failure, keep on reading to find out.

What the heck are they talking about? This makes no sense!

Storyline:
The storyline is similar to that of the last game. You play as either Marcus, or Valerie. Marcus has a unique ability, called the "Healing Touch" which assists in operations. Soon after the initial storyline, Valerie obtains the Healing Touch when she most needs it. The doctors start in a small hospital in Alaska, and eventually treat a virus called "Stigma". You then move to another hospital, then finally to a US operated, corporate hospital. Different from last time, there are more normal procedures, such as bone reconstruction and such, whereas the last game had you fighting off GUILT, time after time. The storyline has a few twists and turns, and for the most part they just add to the game, not take away from it. All in all, the storyline is a good storyline, and is, in my opinion, better than the previous title's storyline.

Graphics:
The graphics in this game are cartoonish, or if you will anime inspired. This means that those normally squeamish of blood, might not have to worry about it this time around. This being said, the graphics are not blocky or pixilated. The graphics are however, basic. This game really isn't about the graphics though. If you put a more realistic heart in the game, I don't think it would really change what people get out of the game. The graphics for this game are overall average, not good, not bad.

Yes, saving the patient is all that matters in this game.

Game play:
The game play and mechanics of this game are amazing. No wonder Atlus had released this on the Wii and DS, not other consoles. The controls feel so natural. You switch tools with the nunchuk, and use them with the Wii Remote. It isn't that simple though, as there are many things that can happen depending on how you wield your surgical tools. For example, you can use the forceps and twist the Wii Remote to maneuver pieces of bone into place. Another nice addition is the actual gripping you must do to use the forceps, making them even more realistic when playing the game. With controls this immersive, it's no wonder this area gets a perfect score from me!

Longevity:
Trauma Center: New Blood features Wi-fi. This uploads your best scores to the internet to see how you stack up against the competition. This can extend the longevity indefinitely for those who want the top spot. For those who don't really want to compete against the world, you can simply try to improve your score on each mission. Not enough you say? A true veteran of the Trauma Center series will recall the "X-Missions", the super hard, and all enjoyable challenges after completing the game. These missions are not for the faint of heart, as your patient will constantly be bleeding and the Stigma are even more vicious than the normal in-game Stigma, truly a test of surgical skills. All in all, longevity is a fairly average score. You have all these extra missions and chances to improve, but what is the incentive?

"Can we fix him?" "Yes, we can!"

Sound:
The game doesn't have much in the way of different music. Occasionally you'll hear some new music when you get to a new chapter but that's about it. The sound effects get annoying after a while as you usually have to constantly drain blood or suture lacerations or some other task over and over and the "Bing!" can get repetitive. However, the actual music in this game is nice and usually fits the situation. You have nice calm and mellow music for when you're just progressing through the story. Then, there is harsh and intense music for when some tragedy happens, like a fire in the hospital for example. Then there is the addition of voice acting. Previously, Trauma Center used to just have a little voice acting in the game, such as "Watch out! or "You're killing the patient!". The voice acting is done right in my opinion and boosted the overall sound score. Overall, the sound is pretty good, but it is less of an experience because of the annoying sound effects you get when you do anything to the patient.

Overall:
Trauma Center: New Blood is definitely a game veterans will just gobble up. I, loved the game, but I guess I'm a little bit of a fan boy when it comes to the series. You might want to rent the game first, as the game is quite challenging for first time players. If you plan on buying this for another, I suggest it for those with patience and no prior anger issues as the game can go deathly hard, to easy as pie, from one mission to the next. Trauma Center: New Blood is definitely a game you should at least rent in my opinion.