Nintendo World Report

Impressions

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Second opinion, same as the first.

Even though it's "just" a remake of one of the best Nintendo DS games, I've been eagerly awaiting Trauma Center's debut on the Wii, and I finally got a chance to play it today. Not surprisingly, it feels familiar to me since I played the DS version about six months ago, but the surprising tweaks here and there play upon the expectations of knowing fans. More importantly, the Wii controls feel so much different (especially tool selection with the nunchuk) that I'm having to learn the game all over again, and that's actually a very good thing.

The art has been greatly upgraded, as you would expect, and the game looks very nice overall, without any splashy effects. Everything is still 2D as far as I can tell, and the soft edges and pastel colors reinforce the anime stylings of the story and character art.

Chapter Z is a new set of content which chronicles the adventures of Dr. Weaver, a young (but silver-haired) Japanese woman. These new episodes become unlocked one by one as you play through the game, so although Dr. Weaver's story may feel disjointed, as least you don't have to wait until after beating Dr. Stiles's missions to try the new material.

Also notable is the fact that you can change the difficulty level (Easy, Normal, or Hard) before any mission, so if you're completely stuck on Normal or Hard, you can bump down to an easier setting and keep going. Of course, you can go back to previous missions at any time to try them again on another difficulty level.

I haven't even battled the first GUILT, but I can tell that Trauma Center is a beautifully presented launch title that should hold enough fresh appeal for fans who have already worn out (or been worn out by) the DS version. And if you missed the first game, this is a great chance to catch up on a brilliant and unique (until now) game.