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Aside from all the next-gen talk, one thing was made crystal clear at this year's E3 conference -- developers are finally starting to "get" the DS. After a lackluster year that had many, myself included, wanting to sell their DS and hailing the coming of the PSP, the DS managed to have a great showing of really fun and inventive games. One such game is Trauma Center: Under the Knife from Altus, which lets you put on the surgical gloves and mask of an ER doctor as you try to save lives.
Truama Center is just the type of quirky title you'd expect from Atlus. The DS's touch screen and stylus are your main tools as you dig around a patient's body. During a standard operation you'll have access to a variety of tools to help you diagnose all sorts of medical problems. These include a scalpel, tweezers and assorted medications. Operations basically play out as a group of timed mini-games. For example, one operation has you opening up a patient, fixing an internal inflammation and then stitching the patient back up; all done by using the stylus and your set of tools which are lined up along the side of the screen for quick use. If time runs out, your patient dies and you?re hit with medical malpractice (okay, so I?m making up the last part? but still, this is not a game you want to lose).
Operations won?t just be random occurrences. Altus is promising a good story to go along with the fun digging around amongst someone?s innards provides ? making it the perfect game to pass around the dinner table. In addition to your trusty nurse, you?ll also interact with other doctors and other hospital staff.
Those without a medical degree shouldn't worry too much. The action takes more of an arcade slant and isn't built to be a perfect medical simulation. You'll also have your nurse around at all times to help out and give hints if you need it. Her advice, however, tends to make the game a little wordy and text heavy -- which may turn off people who just want to get in and operate.
The bad news is that Trauma Center isn't slated for release until later this year, so fans looking for another DS game will have to wait. However, if first impressions are any indication of the final game, this should be one to add to your ever-growing collection of DS titles |
