Atlus reveals DS surgery game

TOKYO--Last week, Atlus announced five titles for the Nintendo DS, one of which was a previously unknown game named Caduceus. Today Japanese Web site NTT EG disclosed that Caduceus will be a sci-fi surgery game and that it has been tentatively renamed to Caduceus: Surgical Operation.

The player steps into the role of a talented young surgeon who must operate on different maladies in each of the game's stages. Caduceus will take advantage of both the handheld's stylus and voice recognition capability. Actions such as cutting the patient or getting rid of an unidentified parasite are done with the stylus. In addition, while operating, the player must cheer on the patient using the device's voice recognition.

Caduceus: Surgical Operation follows a sci-fi storyline, meaning that all the illnesses and operation procedures in the game will be fictional. Atlus labels Caduceus as a "sci-fi surgery action game," suggesting that the game also has some action involved.

The game is slated for release in spring 2005 in Japan.