One of the DS's pioneer games returns with a bang, bringing less infuriating difficulty and a much more believable plot.
Story: To be honest, the Trauma Center games don't have that believable of a story. I mean, there are killer viruses that slice open spleens, dig into stomachs, and lay webs in the heart. It's kinda silly. But if you can play along and believe this all for a second, then you can see the fantatic story's true worth. UtK focused a lot on GUILT, the monstrous disease that took the world by storm. In UtK2, the diseases are still a huge element, but the story focuses more on the physical and emotional stress placed upon the doctors, the patients, and the rest of the world. GUILT returns (somewhat) in the form of Post Guilt Syndrome (PGS for short), which acts upon those who had GUILT from the past. Due to this disease, many familiar faces return, such as Linda Reid, the emo girl in UtK who was finally given a reason to live by Dr. Stiles, only to fall victim to GUILT. There is one scene in UtK in which you are forced to watch a patient die; I won't spoil it, but there is nothing worse in a game about saving lives than having to watch someone you've grown attached to die before your eyes. Also, there's a Spider-Man 2-esque subplot, in which Dr. Stiles temporarily loses his power because of his loss of confidence, but eventually regains them to fight medical terrorism once more. Despite PGS, GUILT, and Neo-GUILT (oops, spoiled too much already), UtK proves its worth with an engaging and believable story, with old characters and new fleshing out all the sides of their personality and making them true players in this farce we call life.
Control: As I may have mentioned earlier, this game is stylus-based. Hell, the main character's name is Derek Stiles. Not a very subtle pun, but I digress. Unlike the Wii versions, which will usually find you fumbling through the analog stick, desperately looking for the proper tool (unless you've memorized the tool locations, like me, in which case after returning to the DS, you may wonder why twicking your thumb doesn't bring out the antibiotic gel), each tool is accessed by tapping one of the icons on the screen. Every one of these tools is unique and necessary in its own way. The laser burns through polyps and inflammation; the scalpel carves through skin and tears out tumors; the syringe injects stabilizers and other important liquids, such as nanomachines designed to destroy viruses. Never once will you say "gah, why the hell is this even here, anyway", but more importantly, it all feels comfortable. Although you may occasionally throw your DS against the wall (as I was tempted to do many times) due to its nightmarish difficulty (luckily, this time around there are multiple difficulty settings, for the challenge squeamish), you'll always know what you did wrong, and it'll always be your fault, not the game's fault. Except that fact of life, and move on.
Graphics: I guess you shouldn't expect that much from a DS game; the graphics aren't stellar, but they aren't bad, either. Personally, I'm happy with the level of realness here; any more realistic, and it would be way too bloody gory. An interesting note is that this game does not continue the art style seen in the original Under the Knife, but rather borrows that of the Wii games. As good as it is to see Derek not have his hand on his hips every two seconds, it may turn off people who only played the first DS rendition, as while some characters are barely altered, some are entirely changed (see Angie). An interesting note is that the games have all used Second Opinion's art style, and Second Opinion added to the story of Under the Knife, practically making it obsolete in the franchise. But bah. I still love it.
Audio: I'll be brutally honest...among all of the games I've reviewed as of yet (except Phantom Hourglass...*shiver*...), this game probably has the least impressive musical score. And that's disappointing, since I really liked the soundtrack of Under the Knife. Sure, there are a few catchy songs, but not to the degree of the aforementioned prequel. I do love the song that plays when you battle the final strain of Spo-ILERS, though. Another disappointment is that, after having heard complete voice acting in New Blood, we return to minimal sound bites. And I know it's a DS game, but come on. TWEWY had more voiceovers than this. Well...if there's anything good to be said about the voices, is that they all sound good, and they match well with their characters. Gotta love the noises for each of the tools, though; they sound exactly like rolling tape, defibrillators, or lasers would. Except the scalpel's lightsaber noises. Maybe an in-joke to the Family Guy skit in which Luke performs eye surgery with a lightsaber? I dunno...
Length: Depends how much you wanna milk this game. If you play it on easy, you'll probably be done in 10 hours, max. If you challenge yourself, though, you'll squeeze in a few hours. Plus, there's the challenges at the end of the game (which are surprisingly easier than those found in Under the Knife, but still hellishly hard). I'd guess you'll spend a good 15 hours on that game; that doesn't mean you'll be itching to come back for more, though.
Replay Value: This game has quite some replay value, what with its multiple difficulties and its insane addictiveness. Chances are, you might find yourself under the covers attempting to get an S rank on that mission till the sun rises. It's a lot of fun, and unlike Wii games, in which you have to go through the hassle of pulling out the controllers and turning on the Wii and turning on the TV and selecting the game and waiting for it to load and then finally start playing, this is the kind of game that you can just pop out when you're bored and attempt to do something that you didn't do before.
Multiplayer: N/A (which is also kinda disappointing, after New Blood's two-player slash-off)
Boss Fights: Hmm...it's really hard to critique something like this. I mean, the puzzles range from fighting diseases to mending broken bones, removing bullets and shards of glass, and surgically dismantling a security system. I guess you could either classify bosses as a) any of the PGS/GUILT/Neo-Guilt surgeries (though there's so many, it's hard to do so), or as the missions at the end of each chapter, which are usually climactic and sum up the whole chapter (set of episodes/missions). Either way, the surgeries that are supposed to be epic are, and they are exceptionally hard, often times forcing many (myself included) to revert to an easier difficulty, lest your DS run the risk of meeting the flat side of your house head-on.
Final Boss: Now THIS isn't hard to qualify. It's plain and simple; I won't explain the details, but there is one finally disease that you have to eradicate in a very certain patient, and unlike the other final surgeries of Trauma Center, this one has much heavier repercussions. As in, if you don't heal her, a million tanks of GUILT will erupt, spreading through a laboratory and killing hundreds of soldiers (and you; did I forget to mention?). The music is pumping, the dialogue is heavy, all of the different strains of you-know-who gather together in a single body to stop you, and to describe it all in one word: awesomeness. That's right. Got past the spell check.
Extras: Other than extra difficulties and missions, I guess there ain't nuthin else.
Final Statement: A lot of people complain that the DS doesn't have enough games that fully utilize its potential. Well, here's one right here. Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 is the best thing to happen to the DS since The World Ends With You. Sure, it's not as good...but then again, hardly anything for the DS is or ever will be. But this isn't about TWEWY; my point is, this is what a DS game is made of. A perfect combination of utilization of both screens, a touch-based control scheme that could only be performed on the DS, and a rich anime-inspired art style sell this as one of the best games on the DS out there. I highly suggest DS owners, especially those who are fans of puzzlers, get this great game. I give it 9 scalpels out of 10. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the Great Orgy of 9/29.