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They'll survive

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 141 / 144
Date: October 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

There was a time when the closest I came to becoming a doctor was my handwriting. Thanks to Atlus, now I can at least save lives with my stylus. Yes, the library of innovative, interactive DS games doesn't seem to be drying up, and in Trauma Center: Under the Knife, we've another quirky Japanese title that somehow makes playing games fun again.

Assuming the role of Derek Stiles, a rookie surgeon, your task in Trauma Center is to save the world. Blessed with a unique gift only known as the "healing touch", which gives you extraordinary speed and concentration when performing a surgery, you'll take on a group of terrorists who've brought upon a mysterious, yet life-threatening virus called GUILT upon the world.

Of course, as a surgeon, you won't have to take on these people head on, Street Fighter-style. Instead, each attack from the terrorists is sent to you in the form of a patient. The injured parts are revealed as close-ups on the touch screen, while you use a host of items to salvage the situation within a time limit. Obviously, the cases get more and more complicated as the game progresses, and saving the lives of these patients becomes truly a race against time, as well as the strange ailments that befall upon them.

In essence, Trauma Center requires you to perform surgeries after surgeries. While this may sound a little repetitive, you probably won't even notice it in practice. The game is paced so quickly, you'd barely have any time to think about what to do next, and before you know it, you're on the job again. Sharp instincts, quick reflexes and a lot of patience are what will get you through the game. But if you're into unveiling the mystery behind GUILT and its perpetuator, you wouldn't be shortchanged too. The game did a good job of making a simple story interesting, and despite some insanely difficult to perform surgeries (and many lost lives), you'll get great satisfaction out of every soul you save.

Saving lives is not exactly rocket science in Trauma Center. It basically involves selecting an item from the icons on the sides of the touch screen, and applying them to the wounded areas. For example, you can suture a wound by stroking your stylus in a zigzag fashion over a cut, or remove a foreign object from the bodies by lifting it in the correct direction by holding it and slowly dragging it away with the stylus. Your assistant will also give you instructions on the top screen on what to do, so you ought to have some ideas on how to make things work like a real surgeon, even though you may never emulate the handwriting. However, as the action gets thicker and faster, you may simply find the advice being a bother rather than help.

And then they give you some cases when no one else is around to advise you.

Such is the pressure of Trauma Center, I'd only recommend it to gamers who have a strong heart (no pun intended). If you're not into looking at wounds and lacerations, the game won't shock you by the quite unrealistic graphics (for the bodies and blood and what have you - the nurses, I mean, people, are generally well drawn ). But it does have the potential of making you want to throw your DS towards the wall when you fail to save yet another a life, and that's when the real problem comes in. The game is very difficult to play, and as I mentioned, you'll need a lot of patience to engage it. But at least it tries to help you concentrate on the task by toning down the audios, which may not be a plus point for some, but definitely one for me.

And, if after all that I wrote, you still think you've what it takes to seek the truth behind GUILT, you should immediately turn off that episode of ER, and make an appointment with Trauma Center: Under the Knife.

Inventive and fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: August 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Of all the games on the DS, no other third party title has made this good of use of the stylus and touch screen than Atlus' Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Playing as a young, inexperienced surgeon, you use the stylus to cut, suture, bandage, and more in an effort to save your patients. You have a certain amount of time to do these tasks, as well as keeping an eye on your patient's vitals while doing such surgeries like removing glass shards and re-starting the heart of a flatliner. There's a storyline to Trauma Center, but it's only here as a way to make the game move along. The highlight of the game and what makes it worth picking up is the fact that this is one of the titles that makes the DS the best portable system out there today. The level of interactivity is inituitive, but the game loses steam because it is ultimately too short. After completeing each surgery, you'll be able to re-play them to boost your surgeon rating, which is a nice little bonus in itself. All in all, Trauma Center: Under the Knife is a definite must check out for all DS owners, but keep in mind that the game isn't for everyone.

Being a Doctor is hard

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: January 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I almost didn't buy this game since it just sounded weird, but I did buy it. It is weird. It is also very fun to figure out the what to do and keep up the pace so you didn't kill people. The operations are really great, don't worry it doesn't really look like the inside of a body at all. There are two detracting points to this game. One, the art just isn't that good, this may be a blessing as it would be pretty gross otherwise. Two, there is two much talking and down time between operations. The operations are really fun and interesting, but then you have to get back to the story. The story was pretty boring to me as you don't get to make any choices you just read it. Overall, I really like this game, at least the operations, you can speed up the talking so you don't actually have to read. Only the most squimish will have a problem with it.

Intense, emotional, and just plain fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: October 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Trauma Center, is the first game to come out, in a very small niche genre that I had thought dead. If you can recall games like "Life or Death", then you will be right as home here...but there is a twist.

In Trauma Center, you are thrust into the role of Dr. Derek Stiles, who while being called a doctor, comes off aloof and unaware that, he is deal with life or death here, real people...and this, is where the game grows on you.

You will experience what Derek does, his ups, his downs, and you will experience what it means to truly play God, as Derek learns about his special ability. Taking a page from all good anime, Atlus has created a game where, the basis is quite simple, but by infusing you into situations that seem insane, and impossible, the game will push you to succeed, and ultimately, learn what becomes of Derek.

That is however just scraping the surface. Through the course of the game, you will not only deal with emotions, but with medical terrorism, and ultimately, Derek's "Gift". This game is good as is, but had the writing and characters been flat, it would not be interesting enough to keep playing. Fortunately, what you get here, is top notch presentation, and great dialoge.

Not to dive to deep into the story, as to spoil anything, but lets just say, if you think this is going to be ER with anime style characters, and 3D operations, think again.

This game proves why you need a touch screen, and why the concept works so well. As soon as you dig into this game, you will realize first hand, why this game will only be available on the DS, or a system with a touch screen. You will perform life or death operations, in 3D, and with the stylus, so every twitch you make, every wrong slice, will cost you dearly. However, it is the intense pace, and stylus, that make this game what it is.

Graphically, it works. It's nothing all that impressive, and while its about operating, the gore is kept to a respectable level...still, there are moments where you might cringe or go "eww". There are also moments when, you'll think your done, and then all hell will break loose. It is then, that you must learn to use Derek's special gift, and your own split second operating skills, to overcome what the game throws at you.

Simply put, it's intense. Trauma Center is an emotional rush, an addrenialine pack romp of playing doctor and learning the cost of human life, and above all else, a fun game.

So whats the verdict? If you have a DS, you have no reason not to own this game. After the storyline ends, you can go back to any of the operations, and try to beat your skill record. This is not easy, hence, to get the best rank for all operations in the game, you will need time. So the game has replay.

Aside from all this, it's that rare gem from Japan, that infuses two types of gameplay, and mixes them into a pot, with good gaming elements already found in the US, and comes out with a awe inspring tasty mix, that you won't want to put down.

Buy Trauma Center now, or miss out on what could be considered one of the best games of the year.

An Inverse Relationship Between Fun and Blood Pressure

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: September 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is a novel idea for the Nintendo DS. It's creative and it can be fun at times, but its got major issues bogging it down. The most previously mentioned of which are its sometimes doggy controlls and extreme difficulty. First of all, the difficulty curve is all over the place. This game bounces between having operations that are simple enough to get on the first time and then will switch to missions that are on the "this is impossible" difficulty level. Some of these super hard operations almost seem like they want you to fail. I base this on the fact that on operations I struggled many times to get through I would get a high grade at the end of the mission. I didn't perform it skillfully at all, but it seem like the game knows that keeping the patient alive is a monumental task in and of itself. Adding to this is the dogy controls for some of the tools. The Magnifying Glass is a pain to use. Not only must you draw the circle precisely, but quickly too. Sewing closed wounds is also hard. Sometimes the game will register it and sometimes it won't. As the patients life meter drops quickly when you have a bleeding wound, this can be the difference between success and failure on some missions.
Despite the off the charts difficulty on the most the of missions, some of the easier ones are very fun. It's quite fun to go back and perform them again in challenge mode to get a higher grade.
Even if you find the super-hard parts of Trauma Center to be a blast, I doubt any but the most dedicated of virtual surgeons are going to play through the entire game a second time. For one thing, this is a very talky game. It's fourty or so missions are spliced between a liberal amount of story. It's not a particularly interesting story, but there is more of it than most handheld RPGs have. Secondly, it is so annoying when the nurses stop you in the middle of the operation to yammer on about something. As most of this mission will require multiple tries, you'll soon feel like telling them to shut up because you already know what do.
In the end, for all its novelty value, Trauma Center is just an average game. It can be really fun, but at others it almost feels like it wants to drive your blood pressure to point that you'll have to visit the real life trauma center.

Nurse, I need a 4-0 Vicryl on a... stylus?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 15
Date: July 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

(Full disclosure: The reviewer is a healthcare professional.)

While playing this game, I was reminded of another medically themed game from my childhood, a PC/Windows game that put you in the role of a cardiothoracic surgeon. It had a neat concept and great graphics, but it was literally impossible to play. As a joke, I installed the game in the OR staff lounge at the hospital where my parents worked and dared the staff to try it out. Out of over a dozen highly competent real-world surgeons, not one could get past the initial incision without killing the patient and ending the game.

I suspect that if any of them got a hold of "Trauma Center," we'd see an epidemic of trauma - to DS handhelds.

Leaving aside the rather unrealistic plot aspects and concept errors (who knew you could cut viruses out of patients?!?), I found the following to be among the more glaring flaws in the gameplay:

1) Maybe it's a case of bad screen calibration on my DS, but several of the controls seem quite poor - not at all what you'd want in a game that emphasizes precision. Most notably, it's almost impossible to get the game to recognize a proper suture. Grant you, this and problems like it have been endemic to medical games since the dawn of the genre, but you'd think someone would try to come up with a decent model for patient manipulation by now.

2) Unrealistic difficulty settings. It should not take an average player a score of dead "attempts" to figure out how to debride and suture a clean forearm lac. This becomes exponentially more annoying when you can treat such injuries in your sleep in reality.

"Trauma Center" is a good try at an innovative gameplay model. Sadly, despite all its promise, the flaws are just too severe to be survivable. To me, at least, this game is DNR.

A Game That the PSP could never duplicate

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 18
Date: December 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Well the Nintendo DS has finally created a game that the boys at Sony could never duplicate. The DS now has a game that is a VERY challenging version of the board game "Operation". Honestly, this is the type of game that the DS was created for.

As a quick reset - "Trauma Center" has you a rookie surgeon trying to learn the ropes and save a few lives. Sound easy?... Well the first few operations are pretty easy, but then it becomes difficult... and I do mean DIFFICULT.... the game is rated "T" for teen... probably just for the difficulty level.

In short - "Trauma Center" is unlike any other game for any other system - the touch screen stylus is incorporate in a way that it was designed for. If you can handle the challenge - buy it!

True Innovation.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

There is really nothing else like this game out there. Nothing. This is what the DS can really offer in terms of revolutionary new gaming experinces. Trauma Center is not a surgery simulation, which is what one is tempted to call it. Unlike most "simulation" games it has a storyline. Its fairly dramatic, almost to the point of unreality, as I cannot imagine any nurse getting so upset as the second nurse does during surgeries.

The gameplay itself is what the real draw is, however. Suturing, draining, disinfecting, incising, burning things with the laser, and many more tools are used in a variety of operations from tumor removal to removing glass imbedded in someone's arm from a car accident.

While not perfect, and a bit too demanding at times, this game is simply wonderful, and it shows that the DS can offer up gaming experiences no other platform can.

Fun, And In-freaking-sanely difficult.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is a surgical puzzle game slightly similar to those 'Emergency Room' PC games from the mid to late nineties. You play as a Dr. Derek Stiles, and you go on an odd surgical 'adventure' involving terrorism, & anuerisms. The gameplay is fun and fast paced, but the difficuly curve is steeeep. I had no trouble... For one chapter. Right when chapter two began, it got hard. Overall, anybody who has a strong stomach and likes innovation will have fun with this game.

Essential DS game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Trauma Center manages to take the title away from Kirby for the best usage ever of the DS touch screen. This is exactly the kind of game the DS was designed for and the kind of game that could exist on no other platform ever created. Trauma Center literally gives you a hands on experience at being a surgeon. Although the surgeries are often more fantasy than reality many of the terms and procedures are real.

Early surgeries are pretty easy and most can be conquered on a single try but the game ramps up fairly quickly. The strange thing is that one of the toughest surgeries in the game appears rather early in the game. After quite a few tries I managed to complete it but I certainly can imagine some people getting absolutely stuck. Fortunately the game is so much fun that repeating the surgery dozens of times never grew tedious.

Surgeries generally last from 3 to 10 minutes and the game often reaches a level of tension that players may literally feel like they just completed an actual operation. Many of the reviews I've read online claim the game is an upgraded version of the old board game operation. That is a complete mischaracterization. The only similarities are that both use the surgery theme. In Trauma Center you create incisions, drain tumors, slice and reattach veins, laser polyps, suture wounds and so much more.

Trauma Center is a game that combines a great idea with stellar execution. The only other game by Atlus I ever played was Astro Boy for the GBA. It got great reviews and had terrific game play but settled for some mediocre sales. Hopefully Trauma Center will do better because DS owners really owe it to themselves to play a game that capitalizes so successfully on the strengths of the DS. It's also a decent bargain at $29.95.

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