Wii Review: Trauma Center: New Blood

Review by: Pierst179

Trauma Center is indeed one innovative franchise. Who would have imagined twenty years ago that we would currently be playing a game that simulates surgeries? Most people would think, and with some reason, that such a formula would never work because it has a need for extremely responsive and precise controls, and even short five years ago, having such controls seemed unlikely.

But Nintendo is an innovative company itself, and the creation of the Nintendo DS gave developers a massive amount of opportunities to build new games that wouldn't be so fun if they were played using a regular control scheme, and Trauma Center was one of the best games created because of this gameplay revolution.



The series was born on the Nintendo DS and it made full use of the Stylus during a huge variety of surgeries, when the Wii was announced it was obvious that a sequel for the DS titles would be only a matter of time, and as soon as Nintendo's new system was out so was the sequel, Second Opinion.

If you are not familiar with the gameplay then allow me to explain it to you. In Trauma Center you will control a doctor that constantly has to perform surgeries, during them you will have to use a set of tools to save your patient from an impending death. As I have previously mentioned, having a responsive control scheme is necessary on a game like this and Trauma Center New Blood is a complete success regarding this specific area.

There are six different tools to use during the surgery, each one corresponds to a certain direction of the analog stick, to use them all you have to do is to push the stick into the desired direction and use the tool by pressing the A-Button. This quick access may seem a tad complicated once you start the game, but when you get to more critical missions you will be thanking the producers for allowing you to continue the procedure while switching from one object to another.

Speaking of critical missions, the game's difficulty can be set by the player before all the missions – the only exceptions being the Challenge Missions where you can't change the difficulty – so anybody must be able to enjoy the game. If you are too lazy and just want to finish the game just play it on the easiest difficulty and cruise through most missions, if you are the kind of player who has been looking for a real challenge and thinks that games are getting way too easy then the Extreme Mode will probably change your mind.

The missions are increasingly difficult which helps the learning curve and more unskilled players. By the end of each mission you will be awarded a number of points based on your actions during the full procedure and also a rank that varies from C to S. The scores can be sent to Nintendo via Wi-Fi, so that if you are a competitive player you will always have a good reason to come back and play some more.



New Blood doesn't bring too many novelties when compared to its predecessor, it is basically the same game but with a bunch of new missions to be completed. This time around the characters start their careers on a small hospital located somewhere in Alaska, but as the storyline unfolds you will end up having to save the world from a dreadful disease called Stigma. The story involves so much drama, that you will feel like you are watching a medical series on TV.

This feeling is also perfectly captured by the game's soundtrack. During bad moments of the procedure, such as when an unexpected illness is discovered during what seemed to be like a routine surgery the music automatically changes, setting a mood of urgency, it is up to you – as a doctor – to stay calm and keep focused on your ultimate goal.

Before each surgery you will have to watch scenes where the characters talk to each other and deal with their daily problems, although these scenes are interesting their presentation is lacking. All you will see are motionless character models appearing on the screen and saying something in front of a scenario that is also still. Despite the nice voice acting I can't help thinking how it would be better had they produced some actual cutscenes.

Maybe the developers wouldn't be able to put so much talking into one DVD had they made the cutscenes given the huge quantity of dialogues, but since the story isn't the main factor of the game most people won't feel too bothered by it. In fact, for some people this presentation may give the game a unique feel.

One of the best aspects of this game is that, despite the looming threat of this extremely harmful and crazy disease, you will also be performing a lot of surgeries on which you will have to deal with tumors, massive internal bleedings, organs transplants and other procedures that often happen in real life, but according to the producers despite the real diseases, the procedures that are present in the game are not based on the actual procedure used by a true doctor, however the game doesn't lose its charm.

The graphics aren't very detailed because there isn't actually much to be shown. Since all you will be performing throughout the game are surgeries, all you will see is the patient's body that obviously has a cartoony look since there aren't many people who would buy a surgery game that has realistic graphics. The colors are well used and the organs can be quickly identified by most gamers.



The game also features a very nice Cooperative mode where you and a friend will be performing a surgery at the same time. During some surgeries you will clearly notice that the producers tried to make the Cooperative mode as enjoyable as possible, because from time to time you will come across a mission where you will need to perform two actions simultaneously, and with the assistance of a good friend they will seem less impossible. The Cooperative Mode is very nice especially when it is played on the harder difficulties, for some missions are way too easy when they are done by tow surgeons.

Finally, Trauma Center New Blood is not a franchise-changing game, it is pretty much the same as its predecessors. However, if you are a big fan of the series or if you have never played any of the previous titles it is definitely a must-have game. The most alluring factor is that, differently from a ton of other Wii games, Trauma Center is designed specifically for the system, it is one of the few true creative titles produced by third-parties, without a Wiimote and a Nunchuck, this game would be a major flop.