Trauma Center has a strange premise, but is a surprisingly fun game.
Trauma Center has a unexpectedly deep story. It may not be something worthy of primetime TV, but is better than you would expect from a little DS title. You play the rookiee doctor, Dr. Derek Stiles. Starting out at Hope Hospital it takes him some time to get himself steady and takes a few blunders until finally getting into a groove. Come to find out a he has a special super-concentration known as the "Healing Touch" allowing him to work unbelieveably fast in surgery.
The game is played exclusively with the touch screen. Lined up on each side of the touch-screen are your tools. It's not quite realistic, but it's a believeable representation of the operating experience even though it's more of a simplified representation of it. The bottom screen is the work area where you'll be doing everything from removing tumors to stitching wounds. Above on the top screen is where other characters will offer you tips. The first few operations help you get acquainted with surgical procedure and getting you familiar with the tools. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it. However, sometimes operations can be pretty hard, you have to work really fast in order to be successful.
It's nothing really stunninf visually. Sparse use of 3D models and the graphics are overall just pretty simplified. Not to say it looks sloppy though. It's easy to navigate during operations and really isn't too gross for those who may be a little squeemish. The character art is really well done and looks fantastic. You'll be giving most of your attention to these during the cutscenes. The game is pretty text-heavy so there is quite a bit of reading.
The sound is really very good. Aside from the gameplay, the sound is probably one of Trauma Center's best features. The music sounds great and is really clear, most of it is dramatic in style to give the stress of operation on a patient, something alongs the lines of what you would hear on a show like ER. There are a few sound clips of speech that characters will blurt out which also are of an excellent quality.
As for replayability, there's the option of being able to go back and try and get better rankings on previous operations. Overall, Trauma Center is a fun an unique game. Gamespot put it well that it plays more like a puzzler than a simulation game, which makes it addicting and fun. It's fast paced and really just a terrific game.