The Trauma Center series is, if nothing else, different. Both the DS and Wii installments in the Atlus-developed franchise have made good use of each system’s unique control schemes, and as it turned out, the stylus and Wii remote were perfectly adequate for performing intricate surgeries. Despite the serious nature of medical emergencies, the Trauma Center games have always had a quirky sense of humor, and realism was secondary to fun gameplay mechanics. I’ve enjoyed the series from the start, but have to admit that the games aren’t without fault. They can be frustratingly and unnecessarily difficult at times, and sometimes the over-the-top drama was a little too ridiculous, which pulls the player out of the game. With Trauma Team for the Wii, Atlus wants to create a new entry in the “medical drama universe”, updating the mechanics from Trauma Center and adding many new gameplay elements. I got a chance to see the game in action today during a live web demo, and as a Trauma Center fan, Trauma Team definitely looks promising.

The first things to note in Trauma Team are the obvious differences from the Trauma Center series. Instead of one (sometimes two, depending on the game) doctor performing the same types of surgeries over and over, Trauma Team has six playable characters, each with his or her own story and specialty. In addition to the surgery department, which one could assume would be most comparable to the Trauma Center games, Trauma Team also features First Response (an EMT), Diagnostics, Forensics, Endoscopy, and Orthopedics. Multiplayer will make a return in Trauma Team, but only in specialties where it is applicable. Additionally, there will be more of a division of labor this time around, instead of both players vying for the same tasks, which could be awkward at times.



Trauma Team also has more of a focus on realism than its spiritual predecessors. It’s still a fictional near-future, taking place shortly after the last Trauma Center game, and does exist within the same universe, though the only real tie is Naomi from Trauma Center: Second Opinion. However, there is no Healing Touch, and while healing gel still exists, it’s not a magical cure-all. The game still takes some liberties, because many elements of the medical field simply wouldn’t translate to a fun video game, but there’s no major worldwide disease threat, and no supernatural medical powers. This should change the tone of Trauma Team somewhat, and I imagine that it won’t be quite so over-the-top.

As we got a look at two different parts of the game, smaller differences became noticeable as well. First up was an early endoscopy procedure, the first major task in that particular campaign. I watched as Atlus PR Guru Aram Jabbari used the Wii remote to gently push the endoscopic camera through some patient’s intestine, cauterizing blood vessels and treating ulcers. I was also treated to a glimpse at the orthopedic specialty, which requires the setting and fixing of bones. At first, this seemed similar to the many “arrange bone fragments like a puzzle” segments of the Trauma Center games, but it does actually go more in-depth than just sticking bone pieces together and slapping on some healing gel. You will have to carefully screw in plates, cut artificial bone, and replace missing segments of the skeleton. While each operation or procedure will rank you based on performance, time and vitals have been eliminated in some parts of the game. It’s still possible to mess up and do poorly, but you won’t have to worry about a ticking clock for the most part, a refreshing change. There were also some familiar things, like the tool palette in the bottom left corner, and the life-saving stabilizer needle. Of course, you can also expect new tools.



I haven’t gotten a chance to play Trauma Team yet and therefore can’t speak from experience about that game's difficulty, but Aram did tell us that the developers strove to make a more balanced experience this time around. It will still be challenging, which is something we all want, but it will also be a little more accessible. The game will start with Easy and Normal modes available, and Hardcore can be unlocked after finishing all of the campaigns. There are “forty-something” operations or procedures spread across six specialties, but, Aram said that may not be all there is to the gameplay. The campaigns are linear, but can be played in any order; I’m interested in the variety involved in different specialties, particularly Forensics, which was compared to an adventure game. There won’t be Motion Plus support, but the graphics have been given a notable overhaul, with a visually improved interface. The impression that I got was that the development team took the constructive criticism from Trauma Center: New Blood into account, and really tried to improve the overall experience of the medical simulation.

We still have months before Trauma Team comes to stores, but I think it looks like a lot of fun. Of course, I still have to try it for myself to see if the controls are intuitive, the difficulty is balanced, and the different stories are interesting, but so far it seems to have a good amount of potential. I hope that the campaigns don’t feel too disjointed, and it will be strange not to have a giant, life-threatening disease as an antagonist (or the Healing Touch, for that matter), but this could be a really good direction for the franchise.

Trauma Team will be out in the spring of 2010, exclusively for the Wii.