Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the Nintendo DS

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is one of the most fun and challenging games for the DS so far, and will definitely be spend a lot of time on my play list. By the end of this review, I hope you can see how great this game is.

Gameplay:

This game is innovative, challenging, and just plain fun. The story mode will keep you busy for weeks, maybe even months, and the challenge mode will leave something else to be accomplished after you finish the story. The surgery is a very unique and sometimes unnecessarily hard type of game play. A little warning to those of you who don't own or haven't yet played this game: Don't expect this to be a traditional surgery sim. You spend more time trying to kill little creatures inside the body than you do performing actual surgery. It's more of a puzzle game than a sim. Nonetheless, this game is one of the most fun experiences you may ever have!

Graphics:

The graphics leave very little to be desired. In surgery the graphics are very smooth and clear, but out of surgery the characters don't look quite as good as they could have. The characters can have a bit of a white outline during the cut scenes in between surgery, like someone cut the pictures out of MS Paint. It really annoys me after hours of nonstop play, but it's really not that big of a deal. The graphics in surgery are really all that matters, being that you don't really accomplish anything from the cut scenes. You could just look away if you want, whatever works for you.

Sound:

The sound is not as annoying as I have heard in some games, but it's nothing worth listening to. It's better to just turn on the TV or some music in the background. That is, unless you enjoy the beeping of your patient's flat line (because unless you're a video game champion, you will be hearing it a lot).

Overall:

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is an engaging, yet underrated little piece of gaming technology. You'll most likely find yourself playing for hours at a time. One draw-back is the difficulty of the higher level surgeries. Casual gamers might find themselves stuck after the second chapter, but as long as you enjoy a challenge, Trauma Center is the perfect game. Definitely worth the $30, so pick it up today!