New Blood is a rare sight; a third party exclusive that’s built from the ground up for the Wii. This alone is reason for Nintendo fans to be interested, but the fact that it’s the first true sequel in one of gaming’s most unique franchises really makes this a noteworthy title.
Of course, being an all around solid game doesn’t hurt, either.
It’s back to the operating room, but this time Atlus has provided a brand new story with all new characters and locations. This time you’ll be filling in as Marcus Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock, two surgeons with the Healing Touch ability from Alaska. At first their work in the medical world is kept within The Last Frontier, but soon enough they’re recruited to the Concordia Medical Institute in Los Angeles. There they learn of a deadly man-made organism known as “STIGMA”, and when one of Vaughn’s old mentors is kidnapped, he and Val are thrust into a biological crisis that spans the entire United States.
Much like Second Opinion, the plot is completely outrageous, so don’t go in expecting a video game version of The Andromeda Strain. Don’t expect the presentation to be dramatically different, either, as New Blood’s visuals aren’t much changed from the previous entry in the series. The graphics during your surgeries are pretty much identical to Second Opinion’s, and once again the story is progressed by 2D still conversations. The only difference is that these hand-drawn sequences are a little more detailed, specifically when it comes to the backgrounds.
While what you’re looking at may be more of the same, what you’ll be hearing is something very new. Like it was stated when the game was first announced, New Blood has full voice-acting during cutscenes and operations, instead of the occasional “Doctor!” or “Let’s begin the operation!”. The actors all do a very good job, and the only reason they would ever be a nuisance is because of the hammy writing which surfaces from time to time. Those who played Under the Knife or Second Opinion will also notice a change in the soundtrack, which in New Blood is provided by Kenichi Tsuchiya instead of Shoji Meguro. This time the music is more techno-orientated and peppy than before, making the atmosphere slightly more dramatic. It may not be a ‘better’ change, per se, but it’s hardly anything bad.
Of course, anyone who comes to Trauma Center in hopes of being blown away by cinematics and graphics is coming to the wrong game. Now, if they’re looking to be amazed by the gameplay, they’ll be glad to know that New Blood does the series proud. Once again Atlus has nailed the Wii controls, providing an immersive control scheme that makes the player feel as if they’re actually in the operating room. Your methods of surgery are basically what were found in Second Opinion; same motions, same tools (save a few extra bells and whistles), same types of operations etc.
But don’t let this fool you, as New Blood surely isn’t a rehash in this department. On an overall scale the procedures feel much more complex and detailed, even early on. Multiple phases are more common, and each one seems like it lasts longer than it would in the other games. The size of the surgeries appears to have grown as well. Some are so big that you’ll have to scroll across the screen to reach a different area of the patient to continue the operation.
These factors help to contribute to the game’s insane difficulty, which is quite the leap from the last Trauma Center. If you thought the franchise was hard before, then New Blood will surprise you. It’s punishing, to say the least, even on the easy setting. That’s right; the crutch that players could originally lean on to get through the toughest operations has been pretty much tossed out the window. Naturally, the incredible challenge will lead to moments of frustration, and at times the game may seem impossible. But if you can handle some abuse, just bite your lip and keep pressing on, as eventually you’ll be able to get things right. Hey, no game is unstoppable.
Of course, there is one other back-up plan that could help you progress through the brutal campaign, and that’s the new cooperative gameplay. New Blood allows a friend to join you to play any single level from the story mode together, fixing up the unfortunate patient in tandem. While it would’ve been nice to see a few surgeries created strictly with the multiplayer in mind, very few operations will ever feel awkward when you have a pal joining you. In fact, given the game’s difficulty and the complexity of the missions, co-op play seems like the factor that the whole game was built around.
That alone is a great addition to the series, especially since it lengthens the value of New Blood, but the online rankings which debut in this newest entry also add a lot of replayability. Being able to go back to old operations is something Trauma Center has seen before; though being able to show off your high score to the world is something completely fresh. At least, the world of Wii owners that can actually tough it out through this game.
