Trauma Center: Second Opinion was released by Atlus in North America in late 2006. As you can probably tell, it's a medical simulator of sorts, but unlike Life and Death, it makes no attempt to be realistic. It's really more of an action/puzzle game with a medical theme.

However, as the subtitle suggests, this wasn't the first Trauma Center release. The original was Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the DS.


Second Opinion isn't a sequel, but was billed as a "Wii-make" of the original game. Some complaints about the original included it's punishing difficulty, and the large number of repeated operations later in the game. Second Opinion attempted to address these issues and bring the game to the Wii with a number of new features, such as:

-Better difficulty balance, and the ability to choose difficulty levels.
-New stages, featuring more types of operations, some designed with the Wii remote in mind.
-A completely different final chapter with more interesting operations.
-A new art style, which is honestly pretty ridiculous at times.

Second Opinion still has it's issues, many of which are more effectively addressed in the proper sequels, Under the Knife 2 for DS and New Blood for Wii. Having said this, I still like it a lot, which is why I'm going to be showing it to you.

Watch the intro video here: Gamevee Viddler

It has some spoilers, in that it shows operations from the middle of the game. If you read Cherrydoom's LP then you have no worries.

Characters


Derek Stiles
The main character of the story, as the game likes to remind you. Dr. Stiles became a surgeon after losing his father to an incurable disease. Having just completed his residency, he lacks experience but has an earnest desire to help people. Of course, it helps that he has anime plot powers like you wouldn't believe.


Angie Thompson
A young, but skilled, nurse, and Derek's assistant. The manual says she "can be childish and moody from time to time," which translates to "total bitch."


Nozomi Weaver
Veteran Surgeon and resident badass. Dr. Weaver is new to Second Opinion, and the playable character in most of the new operations. She comes from Japan, but has been operating in America for the last year in an exchange program. She has a pretty blatant "secret past" thing going on.

Tools

In Second Opinion, tools are selected with the nunchuck's control stick. Here are the tools of the trade.


A surgery classic. This is a small but sharp knife, used to open up the patient and excise harmful elements. This one's pretty self-explanatory.


Stitches/Sutures are used to close wounds and lacerations of all types. It's a basic surgery skill, and you'll be doing it a lot in this game. Getting good at it is key to scoring lots of points on operations.


Used to inject various fluids into the body. Most often, you'll inject a wonderful green goop called "stabilizer," which will keep your patient's vitals up. In some operations, you might have to inject anti-inflammatory and other special drugs.


Trauma Center takes place in the near future, where an actual, working cure-all has been developed. This stuff raises vitals slightly, instantly seals small wounds, and is used wherever the developers wanted to add an extra step but couldn't think of anything specific. Antibiotic Gel is helpful in curing everything from tumors to broken bones.


The drain is used to remove excess blood and other yucky fluids from the patient. Using this was kind of confusing on the DS, but it's much easier on the Wii. Just point and suck.


You might call these tweezers or tongs, but forceps is the medical term. They're used to pick things up, especially things that might be lodged in the patient's organs.


Now we're getting somewhere. The medical laser can burn away polyps, as well as... other things. It's fun to use, and only a little dangerous!


This device emits sound with a frequency greater than the upper range of human hearing. By analyzing how the sound waves come back, you can figure out the shape of something, even if you can't see inside it. For example, you can produce a picture of the fetus in a womb. Not in this game, though. Here, it's used to find tumors and other bad things hiding beneath the surface of an organ. It also somehow serves as a magnification tool in some operations.


Too hot for Wii
In Under the Knife, there were ten tool slots, but the control stick only has room for ten without being difficult to control. As a result, two tools from the original had to be removed. The first was the hand tool. It was really only used for two things. Both functions were removed or replaced, but I'll point them out when they show up. The second tool was the bandage, which is used after stitching the initial incision to cover it up and end the operation. It's still around in Second Opinion, but it only shows up at the very end of the operation, when it's needed.




Now that you know what's what, we're off on this magical surgery adventure!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Dr. Stiles
Standard Procedure
Learning the Ropes
A Farewell
Nurse Angie
Singing the Blues
A Real Doctor/Downpour
Life and Death

Z: From Overseas

Chapter 2: The Healing Touch
Dormant Ability
Master Surgery/Striving for Asclepius
Awakening/Paying the Price
Just Let Me Die/Reasons Why
Reconciliation/Please Let Me Live
Caduceus/For the Greater Good

Z: Miracle

Chapter 3: Caduceus
New Beginnings/GUILT
The Darkness Within/Something Precious
International Conference/An Explosive Patient
Footfalls of Terror/Caduceus on a Plane
Deserted Village/Pandora's Box

Z: Pursuit

Chapter 4: Bio Terror
Hope Under Attack/Race for the Cure
Nothing to Do but Wait/Stepping Up
Forboding Clues/The First Step
Medical Research/The Next Step
Progress
Prolonged Struggle/Incurable Disease

Z: Transplant

Chapter 5: It Never Ends
Caduceus in Action/Under the Knife
Shifting GUILT
GUILT Evolves
Infiltration/Infection
Delphi/A Devil
Death Awaits All

Z: Sayonara

Chapter 6: Dark Gospel
An Invitation/Caduceus Europe
Relapse
Second Opinion
Original Sin/The Future of GUILT
Fallen Heroes
Vulnerability/Epilogue

Operation X