Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii, 2006)

Note: This game is a remake of the DS game, but is improved in many ways.


Trauma Center is a medical drama about a lazy intern at Hope Hospital named Derek Stiles. You do about 60 surgical procedures with Derek as the surgeon, and a nurse assisting you. There are also about 10-15 bonus missions not in the DS original, playing as a different surgeon. Fortunately, the visuals are not creepy, so the squemish should be able to survive. Oh yes, and there are plenty of plot twists that are mostly unexpected.
This game has a smooth control interface. You do actions (Like cut with the scalpel, remove glass with forceps, and others!) with the remote and switch tools with the nunchuck. I like to hand my friend the nunchuck to be 'nurse' and give me tools while I save the patient, which makes for some funny situations, especially if your friend is not close to as experienced as you.
The sound gets the job done, but isn't outstanding. The graphics are more impressive and stylized.
New features: New, more convenient, control scheme, 10-15 more missions, including some challenge missions, revamped graphics, and new tools like the defrillabrater.
The Verdict: This game is a must buy if you don't own the DS game, and still is a good option if you do own the DS game, but if you have the DS game, it might be a better idea to get Trauma Center: New Blood, an original title, which comes out November 2007.

This is a great, fun Game for the Nintendo Wii system. I would recommend it for anyone over 9-10 years old. I have younger cousins who found it enjoyable, however they needed help and got frustrated with the later early stages. The game focuses on performing operations on many different scenarios. The game does a great job of making the operations feel "real" without including a lot of blood and gore. The game does have varied mild language throughout the game, however overall it is appropriate for younger ages, shockingly for a "surgery game" there is no nudity. The game takes place in a anime type world. I personally am not a big fan of anime-type games, however I found this one very well done, by the end of the game I was closely attached to the main characters and was interested in the story line. At times the story can be semi-predictable and like any anime game there are a few corny lines throughout the game, however the story is still very endearing and will get you excited. I received complaints from my roommate when I began to encourage my patients out loud screaming, "Hang in There!" and "C'mon pull through this!"

I was very impressed on how natural this game felt on the Wii. The Wiimote blends in seamlessly in allowing you to easily manipulate the different tools and lets the game feel as real as possible. Instead of having to use a small control stick to cut with a scalple and risk over/under cutting when you are trying to move fast, you now have the great accuracy of the wiimote. The nunchuck is used in this game and allows you too easily and quickly switch tools while continuing the operation with your other hand.

Overall This is a great game for the Wii system. For any DS owners most of the game is the same as the DS version, additionally there are a couple new tools, a new episode, and a new character with her own missions. At this time (Christmas 2006) the only game I see on the Wii that is better would be Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (definitely a 5/5 on my scale). I would say this game is a great choice for anyone +10, especially if they are interested at all in medical/surgery tv shows/games.

This was the most wanted game for me,besides Zelda of course.There is a story about a rookie doctor and it goes to show you how much of a rookie he is in the first couple of missions.The game teaches you step by step on how to use each tool correctly and where exactly it needs to be used at.At first it lets you use one tool at a time.Then the hard part comes when you go to mission 3 and beyond,basically you have to remember which tool to use on the patient for the specific sickness they have.The nunchuck is used as the tool selector,and the remote is your guide.There are little dotted lines that you must follow or else your patient can end up dead and it's back to the drawing board with you.Any mistake with your tools and your patients heart beat will drop dramatically.This is a one player game but I tried it out with a couple of friends and it was ending up to be a late evening on a Tuesday night,all we did was take turns on each mission.The game is great and has some replay value to it,such as if you would like to try it on a harder mode,or beat your current rank score with a better grade.But don't try and be a real doctor because I'm sure it's worse in person then it is on a big screen t.v. with a controller as your guide.

Trauma Center is an awesome game. It places you into the role of the aspiring doctor Derek Stiles who must frantically work to stop a plague from killing all of mankind. The story is surprisingly engaging and deep, with a quirky sense of humor and memorable characters. It's all told in anime stills which works well within the game, seeming right at home with the cartoony gameplay visuals and music. Speaking of the gameplay, it is very challenging and fun at the same time. The Wii controls are very intuitive but the mission difficulty (which is adjustible) offer you a lot of challenge. Once you've overcome the obstacles, you'll feel that much more proud of your skills. This is one of the best games available for the Wii so far and is a must-buy.

After loving the two DS Trauma centers, Second Opinion was a must buy! More adventures in surgery are awesome, hmm?

Second Opinion is essentially a remake of "Trauma Center: Under the Knife", so expect mostly the same storyline, with a slightly redone script and a new section with an all new doctor. If you have played the "Under the Knife" it might seem repeditive, but if it's been a while since you played the game (about a year for me) or have never played it, the story will be good, or at least worth it to read.

The gameplay is good, but has a few flaws. It is fairly easy to switch tools, but everything else will require a bit of effort. Having to use the Wiimote to move the cursor takes some getting used to, and it is harder to do things quickly and precisely than in the DS versions. Don't expect to get more than a C the first time you do most operations. These harder controls make me less likely to go back and redo operations over and over to get a rank of S, like I did on the S games.

All in all, it is a fun and challenging game. Fans of the series and new gamers would both enjoy it. ^.^