jeff_melvoin's Full Review: Trauma Center: Under the Knife for DS
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date: 10/4/05
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Ten years ago, a game like Trauma Center never would have made it out of Japan. Precisely what about the video game industry has changed over this last decade to make such a release possible? I wouldn't know where to start. What I can say is that Trauma Center for Nintendo DS is one of the most unique video games you'll ever play.
In Trauma Center, you assume the role of a master surgeon through a series of increasingly complex operations. Using the touch screen, the player actually performs the operations by selecting the tools and putting them to use. For example, if you need to make an incision, you'd first select the antibiotic gel and then rub the stylus across the area to be cut in order to disinfect it. Then you would pick the scalpel and carefully slice across the indicated marker.
Once inside the body, you may need to remove pieces of shrapnel embedded in a major organ. To do this, you would choose the forceps and then carefully place the stylus on top of the shrapnel and slide it out of the wound and place it on a tray. Then you would need to select the suture apparatus and zig zag the stylus up the length of the wound in order to seal it.
Or you may need to remove a tumor. In that case, you would drain the tumor with a syringe, cut around the tumor to loosen it, and then pick it up to remove it. All the while, you would do well to keep an eye on the patient's ever fading vital signs, as well as the time limit, so you can complete the operation in timely and effective fashion.
As the game continues, the operations get more taxing, insidious, and unbelievable. While some levels will have you wildly brandishing the surgical laser to fry quick and shifty viruses, others resemble a logic puzzle where you must remove tumors in the correct sequence in order to keep more pieces from materializing. Sometimes, the situation will get totally unmanageable and you must use what the game calls "The Healing Touch" to slow the passage of time for a few precious seconds. To be sure, the game in no way is a realistic simulation of proper surgical technique.
Despite its soapish story and progressively outlandish operations, Trauma Center is quite an enjoyable game. A clever mix of puzzle and simulation elements, there's truly nothing else out there like it. Just as frequently gut wrenching as it is addictive, the game offers a wealth of missions, grades you(quite harshly) on your performances, allows you to selectively replay operations for high scores, and even offers extra-difficult bonus missions to unlock after you've finished the game.
Aesthetically, Trauma Center is functional at best. The story is explained through a series of spartan, anime-style freeze frames, while the surgical portions take place in a very unadorned method of 3D. The game's music is quite forgettable, as are the situational voice samples such as the nurse's exclamation of "Doctor!" whenever she has something to interject. Such criticisms, however, quail in the presence of such fresh and intriguing gameplay.
Trauma Center is a one-of-a-kind game-- one of the very few thusfar for Nintendo DS that truly could not have been done for any other system. Though you'll need an open mind and a steady hand to succeed, I suggest at the very least that you give this game a try. It's certainly not for everyone, but those who are looking for something fun and original may just find what they've been seeking.
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