Though there's room for improvement, Trauma Team is an excellent doctor game with it's stunning storyline and gameplay.
Though I've never played any of the Trauma Center games, I knew that this entry in the series would be the best one, and I was right. I looked at the video review of this game, and then it hit me. BUY IT! And it was a steal. Usually when new games are released, they start at a whopping $50. This game, however, I bought on Amazon for only $37. But I'm not gonna get too carried away. I'm just gonna say, this game is spectactular.
Though there are other fun modes, like first Response and forensics, surgery (obviously) is the heart of the game. Does it succeed? Absolutely. The point of surgery is to save the patient by doing cool things like removing tumors, stopping viruses, burning small wounds, draining blood, and more while keeping said patient alive. Though the removing of a timer eases some tension, surgery is one of the best modes in the game. Is there any frustration? Not really, but it's praticially easy since you have an unlimited amount of syringe to keep the patient alive. The man you'll be working with is called CR-S01. Apparently, he's responsible for a bio-chemical explosion that occured at his college, and has been sentenced to 250 years in prison. Seriously, did they think he was gonna live 250 years? I don't think so.
First response holds the most tension the game has to offer. Knowing that there are multiple patients to be kept alive and healthy, and that you have less tools to work with is cold-hard, heart-pounding action. Like I said before, all you have to do is the patients alive by using the tools you have in your hands. You use antibiotic gel, syringe, tape, guaze, scissors, and everything thing else you've from your (just a guess) first-aid kit. There is also a limit to how many people can die before it's game over. There's really no problem with this expect you have no one else working with the tough Maria Torres. She's gets in fights and fits with the paramedics that are "helping" her.
Orthopedics means bone surgery, and it's one of the modes in this game, too. How does it play out? Pretty great. First of all, you have a limit instead of vitals, so that takes away less anxiety. Still, there is a way to lose. You have 5 hearts at what's called your limit meter. If you use up all of them, it's game over. Next reason orthopedics is fun is because instead of choosing the tools you need (Like in surgery and first response), you are given the tools right away. The final reason is that these tools make great use of the Wii's motion sensitive controls, so you can cut, drill, place, or hammer your way in order to save your patient's life. You'll be playing with the strong, yet lighthearted, Hank Freebird. He's known as the Eagleman that appears in the game, which makes up for his huge goofiness. Yet, he's very persuasive, so don't be surprised if he preaches in some of the cutscenes.
Endoscopy is another unique feature of Trauma Team, but is not as exciting as the others. You're controlling an endoscopic machine that is moved by constantly thrusting the Wii remote forward and back, which can become very tiresome. All of the controls deal with the Nunchunk. It makes good use, but it still doesn't make endoscopy very fulfilling. Like surgery, you have to get rid of whatever disease or virus your patient has, and keep him/her alive while doing so. Unlike surgery, you'll be entering the patient's lungs, intestines, and stomach, which are mainly what you'll be in. You'll play the charming and honorable Lady Tomoe Tachibana, a young lady from a royal Japanese family seeking honor by living on her own. It's typical for someone like her, but she's a stunning character in the game.
Diagnosis is another feature that could use some work. Finding out what disease your patient has by looking at them, their diagnostic, real x-rays, CTs, and more is fun and adds to the game's replay value, but I'm not sure if anyone who's not going to med school would understand the names of certain symptoms and diseases. Sure, they would understand stomachache and chest pains, but what about tachacardia and those other ones? You could figure what they mean, but they could have used simpler words like, Increased Heart Rate. The best thing about diagnosis is the compelling Dr. Gabriel Cunningham. He's easily the funniest and most downright fun character in Trauma Team. Struggling with divorce and possibly separation, he tries to find a way to make everything better in his life.
Forensics is my personal favorite. It just wasn't the duo of Naomi Kimishima and her FBI friend she calls Little Guy, it was the mysteries, the corpses, and everything else. Obviously, in forensics you have to find the cause of death for each corpse that is brought to you, and how it happened. You will do this by looking for evidence from the corpse, recorder, crime scene, replicating them via cards, combine them, answer questions, and get to a conclusion. These mysteries will keep you on the edge of your seat, and you'll be wanting more.
Overall, Though there's room for improvement, Trauma Team is an excellent doctor game with it's stunning storyline and gameplay. The voice acting was incredible, and you could recognize some of the voice actors. For example, Little Guy is the voice of Ben Ten during the second, third, and continuing fourth season, Tachibana is the voice of Hinata Hyuga from Naruto, and you'll find more things along the way in this gem.
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sounds and Music: 9.5/10
Story: 10/10
Replay Value: 10/10
Fun: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
POSITIVES: Excellent story and characters; Outstanding gameplay; Much less challenging than the other ones in the series; Variety of careers; Some great voice acting; Superb replay value; Some LOL moments.
NEGATIVES: There is some frustration during the job; Some of the cutscenes drag on too long and can occasionly get boring.
Final Word: Let's just say, the entire story in the game is plausible.