Trauma Center: New Blood

Trauma Center: New Blood is the second title in the medical drama series on Wii. While the first title, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, was a remake of the Nintendo DS original, New Blood is a totally new entry in the franchise. For those unfamiliar with the Trauma Center operating room, the series puts players in the scrubs of a talented surgeon with mysterious abilities that must be harnessed in order to save lives. Players manipulate a number of surgical apparatuses with the Wii Remote to cut, suck, pry, press, twist, sew, mend and zap the ailing innards of their patients.

Man vs Bear - never good odds

New Blood introduces some "new blood" into the cast of characters. This time around, players will control Markus Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock - two doctors working at the Montgomery Memorial hospital in Alaska. At the beginning of each surgery, players can select which doctor they wish to operate with. At this early point in the game, I cannot discern a difference between the doctors; they don't appear to have any effect on one's ability to perform surgery aside from changing which avatar appears in conversation. A big difference in New Blood compared to its predecessor, however, is that a second player may jump into the action and assume the second doctor's role in a full blown co-op mode. This is a feature I'll explain in greater detail during Stage 2.

In terms of the basic mechanics, New Blood does not stray far from Second Opinion's successful formula. During an operation, players select an instrument from a carousel using the Nunchuk's analog stick; the Wii Remote then assumes the role of that instrument. After choosing the scalpel, for instance, players are able to point at the screen, hold the A button and drag the cursor across the screen to slice into their patient's flesh. If players select the forceps, they must press the A and B button simultaneously to "pinch" items like glass shards or pieces of broken bone and remove them from the body. As was the case in Second Opinion, the majority of these controls feel great and really give players the impression that they're reaching into a body cavity, operating with speed and efficiency.

...and all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again.

Speaking of speed and efficiency, they are the keys to success in Trauma Center: New Blood. During the operation, the patient's vitals slowly drop. Mistakes cause the vitals to plummet, and allowing bleeds to continue is a good way to ensure the patient ends up in the morgue. Players are asked to juggle several tasks all at once, and it takes a cool head and a steady hand to rise to the challenge. I've noticed the learning curve is significantly steeper in New Blood compared to Second Opinion, however. Players are asked to do more complex and difficult operations earlier in the game as opposed to being eased in one new instrument at a time. The difficulty curve is also steeper, as even the Normal difficulty level may surprise veteran players with unexpected failures. Luckily there is an Easy setting, but even this is fairly difficult and new players may find themselves initially overwhelmed.

One significant improvement New Blood brings to the table is in the presentation department. Second Opinion took a hit due to the game's lack of widescreen, but New Blood thankfully sports a full 16:9 display. The cinematic portions have also been enhanced with better art, along with some basic animation, but the plot is still moved forward with 2D animated characters against static backgrounds. Fully animated sequences would have been nice, but the present style suits the game and the artwork looks great. Luckily for queasy gamers, the visuals in surgery itself do not strive for realism, but rather look like a futuristic simulation complete with wire frames and soft, cel-shaded organs. Aside from the new widescreen presentation, gamers would be hard pressed to notice any difference between New Blood and Second Opinion in the surgical scenes.

While the cinematics are largely static, the 2D art still looks great.

On the audio front, the game's conversations are fully voice acted - gone are the silent pages of text. Most of the voice acting is, at least, passable and it helps enhance the drama and urgency of the OR. The soundtrack remains excellent and provides some memorable ambient tracks. Fans of the television series House will find the game's intro eerily reminiscent of that show's opening. It's a nice nod and helps bring players into the game world.

Does New Blood stay fresh, or does it need a transfusion? Keep checking The Wiire's homepage for Stage 2 where I'll explain the game's multiplayer mode and online leaderboards.