Atlus was kind enough to let us scrub in on surgery. They’re still operating onTrauma Team, the next the series ofTrauma Centergames, and they wanted us to see the insides of this patient. We got avery quick look at E3, where we spent most of our time admiring the nurses, and now we’re finally getting a better look.
How did it go? Surgery was a success, I’d say. Let me clean up, get this bloody smock and mask off, and then I’ll tell you all about it.
TRAUMA CENTER(Wii)Developer: AtlusPublisher: AtlusTo be released: Spring 2010
I joined some other members of the gaming press for a short look at how the game works. We got to see one of the team members in action: Tomoe Tachibana, the endoscopy specialist.Trauma Teamis a bit different from other series games in that it has characters taking up specialized medical roles. Later we’ll hear more about the surgeon, the EMT, the orthopedic doctor and more. Most interesting to me is the forensics specialist, which we hear will tie into more story-based gameplay, giving us a bit of somePhoenix Wright-style gaming.
Our first look was in-body, as Tomoe pokes around with her endoscope and attached microtools, looking into the body in a first-person view. There looked to be a pretty good lighting engine in place, as the light coming from the endoscope shining on slippery looking innards impressed. The control here was also pretty impressive. To push on further into the body, the Nunchuck is used to control the camera and the Wii Remote controls movement. By pushing forward with the remote (holding A and B buttons in), much like you would with a real endoscope, you’ll move further inside. Pull backwards and the scope will move back. It looked to be very precise, and we hear it moves on a 1:1 scale. WiiMotion Plus? They didn’t need it, they said.
I watched on as the patient was cleared of pooled blood, ulcers, and other complications. Coming across a bit of blood, hitting the C button selects a tool wheel. After the proper tool is selected, the Z button uses it. I watched on as the scope moved into the stomach through some gross spamming sphincter, where we found ulcers. This time, instead of a drain, a syringe was selected from the tools, and the ulcers were injected. Later, coloring spray was used to uncover hidden ulcers.
All the while a radar on the upper right hand side of the screen gave not only direction indication, but also the location of complications. This is one of many efforts they took to makeTrauma Teammore accessible than the older series games. There are now also clear instructions, in the form of pop-ups, on what tools to use in arising situations. Other modes, like orthopedics, drop the time limit and let you focus on doing a good job. More approachable was definitely the way to go. Much appreciated, Atlus.
I only saw one of the six operation types inTrauma Team. Makes sense, as the game is not done yet. Atlus estimates that they are 70-80% complete as of this week. Things like event scenes and translations are still being worked on. Even though the preview was short,Trauma Teamlooks to be shaping up into a betterTraumagame. More realistic and less over-the-top, I’d say. The game is also going to have a lot of two-player co-op, and is going to expand on the multiplayer ofNew Blood, letting you hand off medical responsibilities to other “doctors.”
I think I’m ready to scrub in again, Atlus. We’re looking at a Spring 2010 release forTrauma Team. Here’s to hoping we get another look soon.
