Trauma Center: Under the Knife
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- This page is about the Nintendo DS version. For the Wii version, see Trauma Center: Second Opinion.
| Trauma Center: Under the Knife | |
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| Developer(s) | Atlus |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus |
| Designer(s) | Kazuya Niino |
| Release date(s) |  June 30, 2005 October 4, 2005 October 4, 2005 April 28, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Medical Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) OFLC: PG PEGI: 3+ |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Input | Stylus |
Trauma Center: Under the Knife (超執刀 カドゥケウス Chōshittō Kadukeusu?, lit. "Caduceus: Super Surgical Operation") is a surgical simulation game developed for the Nintendo DS and the first in the Trauma Center series.
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[edit] Story
The player assumes the role of Derek Stiles (Kousuke Tsukimori in the original Japanese version), a 26 year old doctor at Hope Hospital who must perform medical operations. Derek is said to be a descendant of the Greek god of medicine, Asclepius, and is gifted with a unique talent for surgery known as the Healing Touch. After saving Linda Reid, a teen with a strange parasite, he learns of a new man made virus named "GUILT." Derek is then put on the front lines of the battle against GUILT when he joins Caduceus, a semi covert international medical organization.
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[edit] Gameplay
Trauma Center is divided into several chapters and operations within each chapter. Each operation must be completed in order to access the next one and progress through the game.
The lower screen on the DS is used to display the patient, the patient's health, the instruments available, and is where the operation is carried out. The top screen is used to display instructions, the time remaining, the player's miss limit and score.
A typical mission requires the player to operate on a patient. During each operation, the player is under a time constraint and must ensure that the patient's vitals remain above zero while not reaching a set error threshold; violating any constraint means the operation will fail and the game will end.
Upon successful completion of an operation, the player is ranked based on the time remaining, the health level of the patient, and a net score based on the accuracy of the operation. The total score is then ranked, with special score rankings for each operation. Rankings for these are graded:
- C - Rookie Doctor
- B - Specialist
- A - Senior Surgeon
- S - Master Surgeon
The player may repeat any operation in Challenge Mode and attempt to earn a better grade. Three save slots are available, but only the best score is recorded for each operation.
[edit] Instruments
There are a number of instruments available for surgery.
- Surgical Laser - Used to cauterize objects that are too small to remove from the body otherwise.
- Antibiotic Gel - Used to disinfect areas and treat small cuts.
- Drain - Used to remove excess liquid.
- Forceps - Used for removal of foreign objects and tumors.
- Hands - Used to massage and for the Healing Touch.
- Ultrasound - Used for finding objects, such as tumors, that are hidden inside organs.
- Magnifier - Used for zooming in on parts of the body.
- Scalpel - Used for making incisions.
- Needle - Used for suturing incisions.
- Syringe - Used for administering liquids.
- Bandage - Used to bandage sutured incisions.
[edit] The Healing Touch
The Healing Touch is an ability that, according to the ancient Greeks, descended from Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. It allows a surgeon to focus their concentration to superhuman levels in order to move extremely quickly and precisely for a limited amount of time. In the surgeon's mind, this appears to slow time.
[edit] G.U.I.L.T.
GUILT (Gangliated Utrophin Immuno Latency Toxin) is a group of deadly man-made parasites that start to infect patients later in the game. There are seven strains that the player encounters in the game:
- Kyriaki (Κυριακή) - A parasite that makes lacerations to organs. Comes in immature and mature varieties.
- Deftera (Δευτέρα) - A mobile tumor that comes in two types which attack each other on contact. Often comes in two pairs (two of each type) and attacks two different parts of the body.
- Triti (Τρίτη) - A triangular membranous mass, attached to tissue with thorns on each corner, that slowly petrifies affected organs. As parts of the membrane are removed, the mass will spread according to the placement of the thorns.
- Tetarti (Τετάρτη) - A virus that comes in three types and affects the liver. Creates poisonous abscesses.
- Pempti (Πέμπτη) - A gelatinous liquid mass that infects the lungs and targets the nervous system.
- Paraskevi (Παρασκευή) - A fibrous virus that makes lacerations as it moves. It first starts out in the intestines. When threatened, it moves through the body until it reaches the heart, where it will then kill the host.
- Savato (Σάββατο) - A virus that wraps a web around the heart and drains it of energy. Spawns multiple immature organisms that also attack the heart.
Strain names are transliterated Greek days of the week, starting from Sunday (literally "Lord's Day", "Second Day", "Third Day", "Fourth Day", "Fifth Day", "Preparation", and "Sabbath").[citation needed]
[edit] Main characters
Derek Stiles / Kousuke Tsukimori (月森孝介 Tsukimori Kōsuke) (age 26) - The main character and a surgeon at Hope Hospital. He is just beginning to realize his potential.
Angela "Angie" Thompson /Ange Tonegawa (利根川アンジュ Tonegawa Anju) (age 21) - A young nurse that works as Derek's assistant. She is part German and was raised by a very well-educated family.
[edit] Hope Hospital staff
Mary Fulton / Momoe Furumura (古村百恵 Furumura Momoe) (age 39) - The senior surgical assistant for Hope Hospital. She is a nurse who helped Derek learn the basics of surgery. She moved away from Hope Hospital, where Angie took her place.
Greg Kasal / Shinichi Kutsukake (沓掛真一 Kutsukake Shin'ichi) (age 35) - The senior surgeon at Hope Hospital.
Robert Hoffman / Iichiro Kitazaki (北崎威一郎 Kitazaki Iichirō) (age 62) - Dr. Hoffman was an exceptional surgeon who stopped practicing in his 40's. He's now the director of Hope Hospital.
[edit] Caduceus USA staff
Sidney Kasal (Age 35) - Greg's younger brother and director of Caduceus USA, who dedicated his life to the study of clinical medicine after his wife died of illness.
Stephen Clarks (Age 42) - Caduceus's head surgeon.
Cybil Myers (Age 34) Sayaka Myoujin (明神さやか Myōjin Sayaka) - The leading anesthesiologist at Caduceus. She was previously a policewoman.
Victor Niguel / Shuya Aragaki (新垣修也 Aragaki Shūya) (Age 26) - Head of research and development. He focuses mainly on his work and its uses. He is considered a recluse and can't stand the thought of "idiots" being near him.
Tyler Chase / Tohgo Sakura (佐倉東吾 Sakura Tōgo) - A former schoolmate of Derek's. He tries to keep everyone in a good mood.
Leslie Sears (Age 26) - One of the many nurses on staff at Caduceus. She looks after Tyler's sister, Amy.
Richard Anderson - The head director of Caduceus USA and Secretary of Health. Died after 3 treatments in a short period of time from Pempti.
[edit] Members of Delphi
Adam (Age 121) - Born Erich von Raitenau in Austria in 1897, he was the head of the Delphi organization. He has been sustaining his life deep within the Delphi Headquarters situated on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, and has been the main culprit in helping to create the GUILT outbreak. As the leader of Delphi he believes that humans deserve the "blessing" of disease as it is what God's will and it is his quest to rid the world of doctors using GUILT. He claimed that the GUILT virus originally came from his body before being modified by Delphi's scientists and then released into the world. However, the details of the origin of the GUILT and "Bliss" viruses and how he came to be in his current disease-ridden state, and how he can seem to communicate through the voice of others are not described within the game. Ultimately he escapes capture by Caduceus and is still at large at the end of the game.
Professor Blackwell (Age Unknown) - The father of Angie who left his family when Angie was only 8 years old. After discovering that Delphi wanted to use his own daughter in their GUILT experiments, he made a deal to join them and in return they let his daughter join his family.
[edit] Trivia
- Many of the patients' names in the English translation are names of either characters or actors from American medical TV shows ER, Scrubs, and House. This includes patients named Eric Dorian, Elliot Cox, Chi McGinley, Mario Kovac, Linda Reid, Elisa Chalke, Kevin Turk, Jack Reyes, Neil Spence, Omar Flynn, Greg Kasal, Hugh Vogler, Noah Laurie, Amy Chase, and Jesse Pratt.
- G.U.I.L.T. can only be detected by performing a test called the Chiron Wavelength Test. In Greek mythology, Chiron was a centaur who taught Asclepius the art of surgery.
[edit] Reviews
- In the January 2006 issue of Nintendo Power, Steven Grimm placed Trauma Center and its 9.0 score in the magazine’s review archive, reminding readers that it is “fiendishly addictive”.
- IGN gave Trauma Center an "impressive" 8.0 [1]
- Nintendo Official Magazine gave Trauma Center 80%.
- GameSpot gave Trauma Center a 7.8 out of 10, saying that it "succeeds because it strikes such a good balance between its medical theme and its puzzler roots." [2]
- Trauma Center has an average review ratio of 80% on Game Rankings. [3]
- Metacritic currently ranks Trauma Center at 81%.[4]
- X-Play reviewed this game and its sequel and gave them both 4/5.
[edit] Music
Shoji Meguro is responsible for the game music. Despite lack of information toward any soundtracks release, there are two music tracks offered in the official site.
[edit] External links
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Trauma Center video games
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Trauma Center: Under the Knife • Trauma Center: Second Opinion |
