Other than a brief trailer at the last E3, Atlus’ Trauma Team has largely remained a mystery. Here’s what we do know - the latest entry in the popular Trauma Center series expands the focus from standard surgery to a variety of techniques. Oh, you’ll still have to open up a few patients, but you’ll also spend time conducting investigative forensics, orthopedic medicine, endoscopy, first-response aid, and diagnostics. Each type of surgery will correspond to one of the six doctors, all of whom have their own quirky personalities and dirty secrets.

Today, the kind folks at Atlus lifted the hood on the game just a tiny bit. We were on the scene, scalpels ready, to slice out whatever information that we could.

Read on for our diagnosis.

Trauma Team has been redesigned from the ground-up to shed the series’ image of being completely inaccessible. Not only are the instructions clearer this time around, icons will pop up throughout operations hinting at which tool to whip out next. The vitals bar will also flash to tell you when to start pumping stabilizer into the patient. Additionally, while surgery and the first-response missions are carefully-timed affairs where every second matters, some of the other missions won’t have time limits at all.

In some of these, like endoscopy, you’ll still have to keep an eye on the patient’s vital signs. Others, like orthopedic surgery, will display a number of mistakes that you are allowed to make (in the form of heart-shaped icons). Hardcore surgeons shouldn’t worry about the “dumbing down” of the series - an unlockable hard difficulty should keep them busy (easy and medium difficulties will be open from the start). The truly obsessed players will want to focus on improving their rankings, as each operation appears to rate you in several areas.

The plot of Trauma Team puts you in the shoes of six doctors as they struggle with the day-to-day stress and emotional hell that exists in a busy hospital. Each doctor’s story is independent of the others; however, as they all exist in the same ecosystem, there will be some overlap as their plots progress. We were told to think of it like a season of House or ER, where each character gets some screen-time. Right now, there are roughly forty operations in the game (this may change later in development), so you’ll progress through six or seven operations of each type.

The actual plotlines will reflect the type of doctor that takes on the starring role. Maria Torres, the first responder, is constantly on the move and racing against the clock, so the plots that she is involved in will also be very fast-paced. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Naomi (who you may recognize from Trauma Center: Second Opinion). As a forensic specialist, her levels are more akin to a first-person adventure game similar to the Phoenix Wright series. Therefore, while we are assured that her subplot will be just as exciting, it will move at a slower pace. We were denied any actual details about the storyline, but the developers are pushing for a more realistic approach this time. Some of the futuristic medical equipment will still be there, but the “healing touch” that you’re used to is a thing of the past.

During today’s preview, I only got to take a look at one of the new operation types - endoscopy - but it was clear that the gameplay differences between modes are pretty huge. You are dropped into (presumably) the patient’s intestines and you must snake a tube through there until you find exactly what needs to be fixed. The pointer of the Wii remote acts as a flashlight, highlighting the area of focus. As you dig deeper into the patient’s stomach, the screen will grow darker, which means that this light element is rather important. The nunchuck lets you move the camera, and pinching the A and B buttons whole moving the remote lets you push forward or retract the endoscopic instrument.

A number of surgical instruments were shown during the operation (which was one of the early tutorial levels). For instance, the forceps are used to clamp a wounded spot. You have to hold it in place until the blood flow stops, but you must then let go before you hurt the patient. When you spot a tumor, you can drain it by aiming a plus-shaped pointer into the center of a small circle and pressing a button. Can’t see anything? You can try moving the camera in for a closer look; though, if you get too close, you can’t use any of your tools. Still can’t see anything? You can spray a special chemical to look for hidden trouble spots. A radar in the top-right corner of the screen will help guide you to the next objective.

Endoscopy operations can be dangerous, and they require a high level of finesse and precision. These missions are less about the race-against-the-clock and more about maneuvering through the tubes and pathways that make up the body. The IR pointer is used extensively, and the developers claim that they’ve achieved 1-1 movement without the MotionPlus add-on. Trauma Center: New Blood had well-executed, if a bit sensitive, motion controls. So, as long as they tighten those controls up a little bit, I’ll be satisfied.

Though the game is still in the middle of development, the user interface and graphics look pretty good. The on-screen elements are useful, and the endoscopy operation highlighted a few of the usability tweaks that I mentioned earlier. During the mission that we saw, both dialogue boxes and icons in the user interface popped up to help the player figure out what to do next.

Trauma Team will also feature the return of the excellent co-operative multiplayer from New Blood. You’ll be able to tackle most of the gameplay types with a partner; one notable exception being the forensics operations, which are single-player only. Atlus spokesman, Aram Jabbari noted that while we will not see multiple operation types in the same level, the players in a multiplayer mission will trade off responsibilities. While I could be reading into that a little too much, it does suggest that the mutliplayer levels might have a little more structure than the straightforward “same operation with multiple players” that we had in New Blood.

Although we just got a tiny dose of Trauma Team today, it was more than enough to get me excited. I’ve loved this series with a passion since the first crushingly difficult game. We’ve been promised a chance to see the other operation types in the near future, so stay tuned to our front page for more updates as they hit us.

Trauma Team is currently scheduled for release in the “Spring” of 2010 for the Wii.

Official Website
Review - Trauma Center: New Blood