Trauma Center: Under the Knife

Atlus Software’s newest release, Trauma Center: Under the Knife is an interesting and unique title that DS owners should take notice of. Since the release of the Nintendo DS, we have seen all sorts of software that illustrates many new, crazy, unique, innovative, and fresh ways to enjoy gaming. Early titles like Feel the Magic: XX/XY taught us that we can expect just about anything to show up on the handheld while more traditional titles such as Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow have proven that more familiar experiences can also be expected to grace the DS library. Trauma Center is another one of those titles that give as a new way to play and experience games while reminding us of the good times we had as kids while playing the popular board game Operation.

Presentation
As Dr. Stiles (get it? D.S.), you’ll operate on many patients to save lives and combat a dangerous plague in the year 2018. Several medical advances over the past few years have improved medical procedures dramatically. As a rookie doctor, you’ll be out to not only save lives, but to also gain a reputation as a great doctor. The story is a bit silly, but it gives you a reason to get from patient to patient as the game progresses. The fact that the storyline isn’t a major player in the game is actually a bonus in this title since it makes it easy to come back to randomly without having to worry too much about remembering what’s exaclty going on.

At times the dialogue is witty and fun, but in most cases it’s a tad cheesy. Whether this is by design or unintentional, it’s not a big enough factor to matter much. If the story doesn’t interest you much the length of conversations can become tiresome; but skipping them won’t disorientate to the point where your enjoyment of the game is hindered. I’d recommend that you hold off skipping the drama though. Overall, the presentation is nice and clean; something that a few developers have struggled with in other DS titles at times.

Yeah, that’s a lot of blood he’s losing there…

Gameplay
With Trauma Center, you are guaranteed to have a fresh and interesting gameplay experience. The pacing of the game is quite fast, so you will have to learn how to use your surgical equipment quickly and efficiently. The action takes place on the bottom screen while the top screen is used to receive advice and hints from your assistant and to monitor your time limit. When crucial messages appear on the top screen, the time limit countdown pauses so that you can read the messages at your leisure; something that will be appreciated by all, especially in the harder stages.

The first couple of operations do a great job of orientating you within the game and teaching you proper technique and when is the best time to use each tool. After these initial two or three simple operations to begin the game, the difficulty begins to pick up. Operations become longer, more delicate, and more complex in technique. After a few operations the gameplay can become a bit repetitive, but the operations are unique enough to avoid bogging things down too much.

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The use of the stylus in operation is executed with perfection. None of the tools feel clumsy or difficult to use while switching from tool to tool is fast and easy. Trauma Center is truly a game that needs the DS hardware to be played well, anything else just wouldn’t feel right.

Graphics and Sound
The graphics in Trauma Center are nice and crisp. The cutscenes are nice anime-style animations that are full of charm. While performing operations, you’ll be happy that the textures and modeling in the game are clean. It’s easy to identify the problem areas during an operation due to the nice details used. The DS 3D capabilities are used during the operations, but the DS hardware really isn’t pushed to the limit in any aspects. In short, the graphics are sharp and executed well, but they won’t wow anybody.

Dr. Stiles, saving lives one day at a time.

The sound in the game is probably the weakest aspect of Trauma Center. The spoken dialogue that is present is limited to simple phrases and single words. Usually these words are meant to draw your attention to the top screen during surgery, but it would have been nice to hear a larger variety of phrases used.

The music is, like the sound, a bit weak. If you closed your eyes, you’d swear you were on an elevator for the larger part of the game. It would have been nice to see a more engaging soundtrack, but none of the music is guilty of being annoying or grating. Basically the soundtrack lacks any sort of intensity that would be hoped for in a game like this.

Closing Comments
Trauma Center: Under the Knife is a very enjoyable title. It’s nice to find something that is not only unique, but also very fun. Trauma Center is one of those titles that grew out of a brainstorming session on how to approach the DS hardware innovatively and managed to become an engaging experience. Some might find the gameplay to become a bit repetitive, but the challenge will keep most hooked. As a nice bonus, a challenge mode is included to help you find replay value in the title even after you’ve managed to cure anybody that wonders into your office.
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