GENRE
	Simulation
	DEVELOPER
	Atlus
	PUBLISHER
	Atlus
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	Yes
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	May 18, 2010
	BUY NOW AT

We recently were invited by Atlus to get a sneak peek at an advanced build of the English version of Trauma Team for Wii. The game represents a sea change for a franchise that has been, up to this point, all about the operating room. In Trauma Team, surgery is just one aspect of a much larger, much deeper gameplay experience.

Trauma Team features six different gameplay modes, each of which revolves around a different doctor: first response, diagnosis, forensics, surgery, endoscopy, and orthopedics. The surgery mode is very similar to Trauma Center, while the other modes are entirely new experiences. Some of them, like first response and surgery, depend more on action and speed, while others, like diagnosis and forensics, have no time limits and are more like an adventure game.

For our demo session we were shown the diagnosis mode, which features a doctor shamelessly channeling the abrasive bedside manner indicative of famous television doctor Gregory House. As stated earlier, diagnosis mode offers a more paced adventure-style approach, and in practice it feels a great deal like Capcom’s Phoenix Wright. Because there is no time crunch in diagnosis mode, players can carefully peruse their options and examine evidence carefully before making each decision. In another nod to Phoenix Wright, players have five health icons (hearts) that are lost in sequence of players make a mistake. Five mistakes, then, and it’s game over.

Diagnosis is itself divided up into a few components. Players can question a patient, probing for answers that yield clues. Players can perform vitals work and compare a patient’s readings (such as platelet count and blood pressure) against norms. Patients can further be probed under CAT scans, X-rays, and echocardiograms, in each case scouring for deviations. These probes operate a bit like Memory, as players have to go back and forth between a normal scan and the patient’s scan and then point to the abnormality in the patient.

It was clear from our time with the preview build that Trauma Team seeks to be a more authentic medical experience all-around than its predecessors. Medical terminology and real-life procedures and protocol abound in this game, although the game appears to present it in a way that isn’t overly technical. At the risk of being repetitive, Trauma Team again channels Phoenix Wright in that the former makes medicine accessible in the way that the latter does so for law. One way the game accommodates for that is by framing the gameplay in such a way that failure only happens through failing to find symptoms; it is not possible to come to the wrong diagnosis, for example. Instead, players are given a probable diagnosis and have to find sufficient supporting evidence through examination to confirm that diagnosis.

In keeping with the realism, we were also told that some of the more fantastical elements of previous games were out. Otherworldly sci-fi diseases like GUILT and Stigma, for example, are not present in Trauma Team. That doesn’t mean that paranormal elements are gone, though; our Atlus rep was noncommittal about Healing Touch but did suggest that the plot could contain supernatural strands in the tradition of Medium or Pushing Daisies.

During the course of our eyes-on we were able to learn a few other important bits about the game. The main plot is advertised to be about 20 hours long, not including some as-of-yet-unannounced post-endgame elements. Cooperative multiplayer is back for four of the six gameplay modes (the more adventure-focused diagnosis and forensics modes are the exceptions) but in offline form only. Moreover, the game will not have any online functionality of any sort. IR control is back, though, and looks very similar to previous Trauma Wii titles. The development team opted not to include Wii MotionPlus functionality, saying that it is not necessary given the game’s design.

One final note regarding the build we saw: the localization appears to be coming along nicely and the game looks polished. The scenes we were treated to featured artistic, storyboard-style cutscenes that were fully voiced, and Atlus has promised more voicework in this game than in any of its predecessors. Gone are the static cardboard models; in are shots that feature more animation and movement.

Given what we’ve seen so far, the game certainly looks promising, and we’ll be keeping an eye on this one as the English build wraps up. Expect the retail version of the game to hit North American shelves on May 18, 2010 for $49.99. There is not yet any firm timetable for a European release.