Health Care Reformed-Trauma Team Review

Mirroring their Hollywood counterparts, game development studios rarely tamper with success. Sequels grudgingly offer a modicum of innovation, favoring the safe trajectories forged by a predecessor. Beyond a two player co-operative mode and online leaderboards, 2007’s Trauma Center: New Blood presented the same gameplay mechanics shown by the title’s forebear, Second Opinion. It might be reasonable to assume that the third entry into the Wii franchise would follow this precedent. Yet, Altus’ latest release- Trauma Team, radically changes the structure. In the process, the developers have given the franchise a healthy revitalization similar to one of the life-saving procedures depicted in the series.

Franchise enthusiasts will immediately note the absence of reoccurring protagonists Drs. Derek Stiles, Markus Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock, as well as the removal of the incredulous Healing Touch. Whereas, previous games focused on the relationship between two surgeons, Trauma Team presents an interweaving ensemble of six separate characters. From bumbling superhero/orthopedic doctor Hank Freebird to Japanese princess/endoscopist Tomoe Tachibana and even an amnesic criminal with prodigal surgical skills, the title’s offbeat roster is wonderfully loopy. Skillfully, Trauma Team allows gamers to select and play through each storyline in any order, permitting players to freely switch characters and specialties at any time. With five or six stages for each team member, as well as a number of unlockables, and additional difficulty level once the game is completed, Trauma Team offers player at a solid twenty-five hour playtime.


“But, Maria, it’s important. Throw the towel away immediately. Don’t ask why”


While convict CR-S01’s operations will recall classic Trauma Center elements, as players select different tools with the nunchuck and implement them with the Wiimote, other characters present varying amounts of deviation. Freebird’s stages forgo the instrument selection, allowing sim-surgeons to focus on the free-flowing tasks. Maria Torres’ first response duties require her to aids victims with urgency, and often tasks player with working on multiple patients simultaneously. Tachibana’s stages require players to snake through intestinal passages, repeatedly moving the Wiimote toward the screen to imitate a penetrating probe.

Most dissimilar are both Gabe Cunningham and Naomi Kimishima’s duties. Instead of reflex-based tests of skill, both doctors are required to perform more cerebral undertakings. As a diagnostic physician, Cunningham studies CT scans, X-rays and MRI results, meticulously scanning each image against a standard image. Alternatively, Kimishima gathers forensic evidence in a manner not unlike Capcom’s Ace Attorney series as she conducts postmortem examinations. Players comb crime scenes, scrutinize testimonies, and examine corpses in an effort to build enough data to accurately determine a cause of death. Both vocations vaguely recall the protracted pace and thought provoking design of a point and click adventure.


Like Detective John Kimble famously said, “It is not a tumor!”


When performing surgery, the title maintains the co-op mechanic of New Blood, elevating the challenge slightly to offset the assistance of a second physician. Orthopedics requires gamers to take turns, while the title’s investigative stages constrain the fact-finding to a single, active participant. I longed for a more a collaborative effort in these stages; ideally Trauma Team would have offered an option where examiners raced to spot an abnormality on two side by side images. Inexplicably, online leaderboards have been omitted from the game.

The Trauma Center series has consistently sidestepped the gristle and gore that might be expected from a surgical simulation. Trauma Team furthers this trend, transforming globular tumors into innocuous abstractions, suitable for a widespread audience. When players aren’t wielding a scalpel, the game offers an accomplished comic book aesthetic, where carefully drawn panels come alive with flourishes of animation. Sonically, the game’s voice over is competent, while the quirky soundtrack endows Trauma Team with indispensable eccentricity.  


Doctor, this patient is suffering from cerebral atrophy, induced by a lack of gaming.


Trauma Team, the latest entry into the popular Trauma Center series has made to substantial changes to its formula, ensuring the vivacity of the series. With franchise faithfuls will find a substantial amount of panacea providing, the title’s new investigative and diagnostic components have the power to lure in a new audience. Coupled with the title’s attractive $39.99 MSRP, Trauma Team is the type of health care plan convincing enough to garner support from all audiences.

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

40 comments

  1. Haha, great caption, gang!

  2. Milky Way Walker

    I never understood this game. You can buy an Operation set for like 10 bucks. Same thing.

  3. When this one out?

  4. Looking at thwe second pic. WoW 🙂

  5. Good review. Any cameos by Derek Styles? That could be kind of cool.

  6. Nice review. Well written as usual.

  7. I forgot this was comking out. I remember heearing about it at E3 last year.

  8. How are the controls? Because the Cooking Mama games always have at least one move that the game doesn’t seem to recognize.

  9. I cant wait to see the cheap ass plastic stetoscope and shit that people might try to sell. You know like that useles tennis racket and baseball bat handle.

    Then can turn the wiimote into a giant syringe.

  10. That tumor looks like something out of Bejeweled.

  11. I cant look at the bottom image and NOT think of Homer Simpson.

  12. Excellent review. I may have to preorder this.

  13. I don’t think this isn’t anything like Cooking Mama. You do more onscreen stuff, where in Mama in gestures.

  14. hoo-hoo, and I usually don’t like cartoon girls. Just the real ones.

  15. Kindergarten Cop reference FTW.

    I liked the previous two, but I’ll be honest the story bored me. If you skip the story (can you) do you still get the feel of the game?

  16. The story sounds like it might be confusing with six characters.

    When RPGs have too many different guys, I get lost.

  17. Some site are saying the forensics part is boring or frustrating. Did you Deagle? I know you don’t like puzzle games.

  18. This wasn’t really on my radar. $40 bucks is good, but $30 would have pushed me over the edge.

  19. May 18th, 2010

  20. I bet they’re make a branch off game for the CSI type characters. From what Ive heard you either like them or not.

  21. Dude, this is NOTHING like Operation. Have you even played any of the Trauma games. There’s story, multiple tasks, and coop (in some)

    Think before you post.

  22. Another game I have to buy? You guys are making me broke.

  23. Decent enough looking graphics for the wii.

  24. Do you have to play them to beat the game or can you totally skip them?

  25. $40 isn’t too bad for this. But maybe I can wait for a sale.

  26. I haven’t played a Trauma game since the DS one game out LONG ago. Sounds good.

  27. I’m glad you mentioned that the game isn’t gory. Maybe I can get the wife to play along.

  28. How many difficulty levels are there in all? One of the last operations were pretty hard in the second Wii game.

  29. New Blood was balls HARD! I hope this isn’t as difficult.

  30. The Chef of Death

    Much better than that shitass Ryan Clements review on IGNorant gamers.

  31. Good review, I’m looking forward for this one. Kudus to Atlus for releasing at $40.

  32. There seems to be a pretty big divide between the cutscenes and the surgery sections. WHY?

    Other than that, it sounds fun. I always like the concept of the games. I’m surprised more people dont copy them.

  33. This seems like one of the few games that really needs the Wiimote.

  34. I bought Second Opinion on Wii. Pretty good game, and especially good for the price I paid- 8 bucks.

  35. HalfMan HalfHorse

    Nice! You a fan of the series, NOLA?

  36. I got 5 on it.

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