It may be a DS port, but the Wii's controls turns this into a completely new game.
>Incredible controls, they make you feel like you really are performing the operation
>Mulitple difficulties add more challenge and replay value
>Really show what the Wiimote is capable of
>Engaging Story
...::The Bad::...
>No voice acting
>Alot of text at times
>Can get rather difficult, even on easier difficulty settings
I should first point out that this is indeed a remake of the DS game, Trauma Center: Under the Knife. But that isn't bad. The game has been highly improved, and feels like something new.
You take control of young doctor, Derek Stiles, who is indeed the games main character. But Second Opinion contains lots of great characters who help move the story on.
You soon find out that Dr. Stiles has the Healing Touch ability which is inherited from ancient Greek times. Derek is called to use this ability to help stop a world-threatening epidemic believed to be the work of bioterrorism.
The story is really engaging and the dialogue is well written to drive it forward. But there can be times where you have a lot of text to speed through.
The anime is very nicely drawn and is a tad better than the original DS version. But it could look alot better, as other Wii games has shown. The 3D surgery sequences feature just the right level of detail to make them a little unsettling or intimidating, without being gruesome. So players that can't stand to look at real life operations taking place, will be fine with Second Opinion.
The games soundtrack makes the operations that more involving. It really adds to the atomsphere, and gives you a surge of urgency. But where the audio does lack, is in voice acting. Yeah, there is a few sopken lines in there from major characters, but some more wouldn't hurt.
Now down to Trauma Center: Second Opinions controls. They're great. They show what the Wii mote really can do control-wise, and it's easy to get used to. You'll be removing tumors in no time!
The analouge on the nunchuck controls which tools you have equiped. This is far easier than on the DS. Pressing A then lets you use your selected medical tool. The Wii Remote feels responsive as you work away, and some of the tools are simulated particularly well. The best example of this occurs when you pick something up with the forceps: You have to press and hold buttons A and B on the remote using your thumb and index finger, much like you would to squeeze the tongs in real life.
Second Opinion features some bonus operations and re-designed tools. For example, if the patients heart stops, Angie, your assistant will get the defibrillator, which you'll need to push down onto the patient's chest by moving your arm toward the screen and pressing the required buttons at the right time.
New operations see you doing things like rotating pieces of bone so they fit back in place, and performing a transplant.
The game is a little on the short side. It is divided into a series of 6 chapters (plus some bonus missions). You can finish all of the operations in 10 hours or so. But you'll want to go back and replay them on different difficulty settings, while trying to get a better grade.
It would of been nice to see some sort of co-op mode added, or multiplayer. But the game is still worth your money, especially if you never got a chance to try out the DS original.
Second Opinion may not look the part, but it will wow you with its innovatice controls.