Trauma Center : Under the Knife

Reviewed by Alex Tiedemann
February 2, 2006

Developer: Atlus Software Publisher: Atlus Software Platform(s): Nintendo DS Numbers of Players: 1 Website: Click Here ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Screenshot of Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Courtesy Atlus. Click image to enlarge.

Following the career of a young doctor who has just completed his residency, Trauma Center can best be described as a medical simulator. As the rookie doctor Derek Stiles (get it? D.S.) players perform increasingly complicated operations, saving their patients and eventually the city from a dangerous plague. Available tools include lasers, scalpels and forceps as well as bandages, sutures, anti-inflammatory and disinfectant. During later operations, Derek also has access to an almost magical ability called “the Healing Touch” which gives him heightened focus, effectively slowing time for a short while.

The first game to truly take advantage of the Nintendo DS, Trauma Center simply would not work without the touch screen. Using the stylus to slice, stitch and swab a patient feels very natural. Selecting tools is beyond easy with icons for each at the sides of the screen; a quick tap is all that is required. During each operation the attending nurse will usually prompt players to perform the next task, so knowing what to do is rarely a problem.

The challenge then, comes from facing the clock and the patient's dropping vital signs. Despite the intuitive control scheme, Trauma Center is not for the casual gamer. The difficulty is quite high starting with the third operation and gets dramatically more difficult from there. A determined player will eventually master the skills necessary to advance through all thirty-seven missions, but it should be known that progress is slow. Those that choose to face the challenges, however, will find an intriguing story and will get a sense of accomplishment not usually seen in video games.

Once story mode is completed, there are bonus missions to unlock if a player is so inclined. These X missions are similar to operations in the story mode, but the patient's vitals drop more quickly and the organisms infecting them are faster. It should be noted that the difficulty level on these bonus missions is extremely high, even by this game's standards.

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