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It's a rare game that allows you to save both friend and foe en route to victory, but then again there a lot about Trauma Center that sets it apart. Second Opinion gives you the chance to take a patient's life into your own hands, and fulfill all those dreams your parents had of you becoming a surgeon. This iteration is the second go-around in the surgery series, but for the most part it's a remake of its DS predecessor. However, the new incarnation features a few upgrades, like the addition of a second playable character, a defibrillator, and some all-new surgeries as well.
While it certainly seems as though pretending to perform your hundredth appendectomy might get a little boring, Trauma Center gives the experience a shot in the arem in the form of an interesting story. As in the DS version, Second Opinion follows the trials and tribulations of rookie surgeon Derek Stiles on his quest to rid the world of a new bioterror disease, GUILT. This Wii version also features Nozomi Weaver, a second playable character with her own surgeries and connected storyline. It's a shame, however, that this new adaptation uses the same text-based cutscenes as it's DS brother.
It's particularly annoying to have entire text-based story chapters between the surgeries. While you can essentially fast forward through these with the push of a button, if you want to enjoy the story you have no choice but to wade through it. The text-based commentary continues into surgery as well, effectively taking you out of the moment as the surgery stops while you cycle through or fast forward the nurse's advice. The addition of a little voice work would have gone a long way to keep you engrossed in what are often fast and furious surgical strikes.
...if this were real surgery you'd be leaving patients with some nasty scars from that scalpel.
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One of the main complaints lodged against the DS version of Trauma Center was its difficulty. This new iteration of the game thankfully features difficulty levels that are adjustable on the fly, so there is no need to take out your frustrations on your Wii remote. However, there are two specific situations that may spike your blood pressure. The problem boils down the relative inaccuracy of the Wii remote and nunchuk compared to the DS stylus. Simply put, the Wii remote and nunchuk just are not accurate enough for a game of precision such as this, and to compensate for this you're allowed some leeway during surgery. It's a good thing, too, because if this were real surgery you'd be leaving patients with some nasty scars from that scalpel.
With forgiving difficulty for shaky hands, most of surgical tools function well, especially squeezing two buttons to pick up objects with the forceps. Unfortunately, that generosity is not enough when attempting to use your Healing Touch, a move that allows you to slow down time, essentially keeping a patient from dying while you patch them up. To pull off this maneuver, you need to draw a star on the screen. However, due to aforementioned inaccuracy, it can take a few tries to get it right. Thankfully, if you're playing on an easier difficulty you really don't need the Healing Touch, except for two specific situations where it's required. Unfortunately, in these scenarios you have mere seconds to pull the move off before your patient dies and you fail. With this major control issue one of the coolest aspects of Trauma Center is transformed into one of the most frustrating.
The oscillation between joy and frustration encapsulates the Trauma Center experience. For every welcome addition and improvement, there's a DS vestige that hinders the experience. Like a patient lying on the table somewhere between life and death, Trauma Center: Second Opinion is stuck somewhere between the original DS game and a full-fledged Wii title. I just hope it doesn't take the Healing Touch to save it.
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