Trauma Center for the Nintendo DS received praise for it's innovation, difficulty, and surprisingly fun interface. With Wii's version, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, puzzle fans are once again treated to some quick-thinking problem solving fun.
Puzzle Game In Disguise
Let's get this out of the way right off the bat. Trauma Center: Second Opinion is not a surgery simulation, it's a puzzle game thinly disguised as a surgery simulation - emphasis on thinly. Sure, the game starts off innocently enough, with you (a new doctor) looking to make an impact on a hospital by tackling some standard surgical procedures; like suturing cuts, pulling out glass, and removing tumors. It doesn't take long, however, for the real game to show through - which is repeatedly removing scifi-esq viruses that look more like aliens than anything else.
Your objectives quickly change from helping the cut and bruised, to those infected with GUILT (the weird virus/creature/things that start attacking people). Most of the game will have you learning about the different types of viruses and how to go about defeating them. It's little more than determining which tools to use and when. Of course, your trusty nurses will usually tell you exactly what you need to do, so there's no need to worry about figuring it out for yourself.
Savings Lives is a Tough Business
You may not need a PHD to be a doctor in this game, but many challenges will sure make it seem like you do. Luckily, Trauma Center gives you the ability to change the difficulty for any mission before you try it. This means that you can start off on normal and once you hit a mission that seems impossible, you can bump down the difficulty and try again. I played through all the main challenges on "Normal" and I was tempted on multiple occasions to succumb to the "Easy" mode (my stubborn nature wouldn't let me though). Of course, once you beat the main story, you're given some extra levels with only one difficulty available - "Extreme".
Rinse and Repeat
Perhaps the biggest problem with Trauma Center is the repetitive nature of the missions. The Wii version throws in some unique situations (such as diffusing a bomb), but you'll mostly be doing the same procedures over and over again with only slight variations. You'll be cutting open patients and stitching them up during nearly every mission, and that definitely gets old fast. The ramp up in difficulty keeps it interesting, but it would have been much better if there was more variety.
Good But Not Great
As with many current Wii games, Trauma Center: Second Opinion is a good game that falls short of greatness. With a little more variety in the missions and a stronger emphasis on more "realistic" medical procedures, the game could have nudged itself closer to being a "must have". As is, the game is still quite good and really should be at least a rental for puzzle fans or for those looking for a game with real challenge.