Hospital Tycoon makes the rounds on PCs

A new tycoon game is coming to PCs this June that will let gamers visit the wards of a hospital and kill or cure the patients. Codemasters has announced it will be publishing the new title, Hospital Tycoon. The game has been developed by the Milton Keynes, UK-based team that worked on other Tycoon games, including Tycoon City: New York, Monopoly Tycoon, and Beach Life.

The game, in the same vein as gaming classic Theme Hospital, is described as a combination of traditional tycoon gameplay and a soap-opera-style storyline. The story will progress in episodes, with storylines including potential romance between Nurse Susie and Dr Dave, who seems oblivious to her charms. To see more of the gameplay, check out our exclusive trailer.

Hospital Tycoon takes a more lighthearted approach to the medical profession than games such as Trauma Centre: Second Opinion, with patients developing bizarre and humorous diseases including explosive sneezing, which launches them into the air, and monkey nuts, which makes them sprout hair and generally go ape.

The game is set at the Sapphire Beach Medical Institute. Players must train staff to improve their skill levels, choose to develop friends or make enemies, and maintain the different departments of the hospital--including surgery, diagnosis, and physiotherapy.

Codemasters producer Jamie Firth commented, "The game's characters all have individual personalities with likes and dislikes; it's up to you to put them together (or keep them apart) as you see fit. Encourage a particular doctor and nurse to spend more time together, for example, and you'll soon see their relationships take on a flirtier or even downright amorous tone. (Yes, even kissing has been motion-captured). Likewise, you can put chalk-and-cheese characters together to watch the sparks fly."

Hospital Tycoon will be a PC-exclusive game and will be released worldwide in June.