Part 5: 5: Singing the Blues

Alright. As promised, today...



...we'll be dialing things up! You can change difficulties at any time on the operation select with C and Z. It truth, it just makes the patient lose vitals faster and makes special bonuses harder to earn. There are no major changed to the operations.

You can see I don't actually bother with it much. That existing rank is from the test run I did prior to recording.

Chapter 1-5: Singing the Blues





Angie: Hello, Dr. Stiles. You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. Your patients shouldn't have to wait just because you're behind schedule.

Derek: ...Uh, I'm sorry?

I can't decide if he's apologizing or just confused. Or both.

Angie: Anyway, I'll call in the first one.

Derek: (Man, she's strict.)

Angie: Please have a seat, Mr. Cox.



Hold on to your childish giggling for just a moment. Let's take a look back to the past.



As you can see, Mr. Cox looked totally different on the DS. I think I like him a little more here, if only because the look fits his character a little better.

Derek:During today's surgery, we'll be removing a polyp from your throat. How are you feeling? It's important for us to know about any changes to your condition. There could be problems if anything unexpected happens.

Cox: I dunno, fine I guess? I don't really know...

Derek: Huh?

People just aren't giving Derek the expected answers today.

Cox: It's just not fair, y'know? I spend years working part-time, keeping the dream alive. Now, we finally land a contract with a big-time record producer, and my throat's screwed up. So, what? If something goes wrong, I wasted my life? I have to work retail 'til I die because of this stupid polyp thing?

Derek: J-just try to relax. We're hoping for the best.

Cox: Oh, yeah, "hoping," huh? That's clearly all it takes, right? "Hope." Not practice, not discipline. If you could get by on hope, I woulda had a record deal years ago! Maybe dad was right... I was stupid to think I could be a rock star.

Derek: C'mon, try to stay positive. Everything's going to be fine. Really.



Part of me wonders if these names are significant in any way, but I couldn't find anything.

Cox: You guys fronted the money and I just ended up letting you down. I don't think I'll even be able to pay it back.

Angie: I need to take your blood pressure, Mr. Cox. This way, please.

Cox: Tch... yeah, whatever.



Meet "screaming Angie." You will become very familiar. To be fair, she's right about this one.

Derek: Wait, what?

Angie: Don't you even read your own notes? You knew he was nervous about this! Our job is about more than just treating illnesses. Proper bedside manner is an essential element in a patient's recovery! Things you say directly effect these people's attitudes. Don't you get it!?

For some reason it almost feels like we're about to get a tutorial for some ridiculous bedside-manner sidegame. Thankfully, this isn't that kind of game.

Derek: Y-yeah... I do.

Angie: I hope you handle things more appropriately during surgery this afternoon.



Another Scrubs character reference here.

A polyp is like a tiny tumor projecting from a mucous membrane. Some of them are attached by a stalk, in which case they are "pedunculated." Ones that are not are "sessile."



Angie: Let's review today's patient, Mr. Cox. He started feeling pain in his throat about a month ago. He's been coughing up blood since then, and now has trouble breathing. Since Mr. Cox is a singer, it's likely that a polyp has developed due to strained bronchial tubes. Obviously, it has started to hemorrhage.

So, is it A polyp, or is it clusters? Silly question, it'll be whichever makes for a better video game.

Angie: We attempted to treat it with a nebulizer, but his condition is getting worse.

A nebulizer is a device that administers medicine in the form of a mist that is inhaled. Useful for diseases in the respiratory system.

Angie: It's nothing life-threatening, but considering the patient's career, it's serious enough to warrant surgical intervention. It's still possible for him to fully recover. What's your opinion, Dr. Kasal?

Kasal: That sounds like a plan.

It's a little unnerving when it sounds like they just came up with this stuff.

Angie: Are you ready, Dr. Stiles? This operation has three objectives:

- Drain the overflowing blood.
-Locate the source of the patient's distress.
-Use the laser to remove it.

This is a delicate operation, so we'll need to use the magnification tool. Remember, this is the patient's livelihood, so tread carefully.

Kasal: Nice work, Angie. Derek, good luck.





OPERATION VIDEO
Gamevee
Viddler

As always, the choice of what to view is yours. If you watch the video, you can skip to the Operation Complete screen.



Angie: That should be our focal point. It's hard to see the affected area, so we'll have to magnify it.

This is the introduction to the magnification "tool."



In a few operations, the ultrasound becomes a magnifying glass, and you can focus on a specific area. This felt more necessary in UtK when you only had a little DS screen to work with.

The DS version was a lot harder to use, too. You had to draw a circle, but the game would usually refuse to accept it unless you left it partially open, making a C shape.



Now, to deal with the polyps. You can't work if blood is obscuring your view, so the first step is to drain the blood.



The next step is to use your final surgical tool-the laser. It can be dangerous, because keeping it on one spot will result in a big hole burned into the patient's organs. As long as you don't focus it on anything other than the target, though, you'll be fine.



Even if you do aim only for the polyps, you still tend to cause bleeding. You need to quickly gel the holes to prevent them from bleeding, since draining the pools is annoying and time-consuming. Also, you need below a certain number of pools for one of the special bonuses.



A good technique, which you'll need for the best possible score, is to spread gel around before you laser. The polyps will be burned away, and then immediately healed before they get a chance to bleed.



Once one group of polyps has been taken care of, you can zoom out and see the next one appear. You just need to repeat the process until they stop coming.



Bonus laser screen! Pew Pew!



Angie: Er, that is... good job, Dr. Stiles.





Remember these numbers are a little harder to obtain than they'd normally be, because I'm on hard. On normal, you'd only need two Cools. Since you should be able to get the initial incision and bandaging every time anyway, this operation is pretty easy to do well in with a little practice.



I remember when A was as good as it got. In a few years S will be the lowest possible rank you can get in video games.





Derek: Don't try to speak yet-your throat needs to rest for a few days. No worries, though. A week from now, you'll be belting out power ballads, good as new. Speaking of which... how about a few tickets to your next concert? Heh heh...

Angie: ......

End of chapter 1-5