<i>ER</i> game now operating

It's one of the longest-running prime-time hospital dramas, and today ER officially crossed over to the world of games. ER is rated T for Teen, costs $29.95, and is now available in stores around the US for the PC.

Players will spend six separate stints of 48 hours each on call at Cook Country General Hospital as a newly arrived intern. Rather than emulate previous hospital-and-doctor games of the surgery-simulation variety, ER takes a page from The Sims by offering players the challenge of dividing their time between patients, nurses, and hospital politics.

ER features the voices of cast members Noah Wyle, Mekhi Phifer, and Sherry Stringfield. The game is being published by VU Games and was developed by Hollywood-based Legacy Interactive. Legacy is also the developer of the Law & Order series of PC games based on the popular television crime drama. Both Law & Order and ER air on NBC, part of the NBC Universal group, which is partially owned by Vivendi Universal.

For more information on ER, head over to GameSpot's previous coverage, stat.