A videogame is supposed to be an escape from the confines of reality. In reality, surgery is slow, precise, and mistakes cost lives. In Trauma Center 2, surgery is fast, precision earns you points, and a mistake can easily be fixed. And if things get to be too hectic, use the Healing Touch to slow down time.
As expected of a game presented by Atlus, the story remains interesting and tense. The disease known as GUILT, thought to be erradicated in the previous game, is back. As Derek Stiles, world renowned doctor and wielder of the Healing Touch, you'll go through about 30 surgeries. Surgeries vary from removing tumors, using skin grafts to treat burns, removing and replacing shattered bones, inserting a pacemaker, performing an appendectomy, and of course, the infamous GUILT battles.
The GUILT surgeries play out like puzzles that require you to do certain actions in the right order. Kyraki for instance requires you to locate the GUILT virus inside an organ with the ultrasound, cutting it out with the scalpel, and then burning it away with the laser. These GUILT battles are what will most likely have you rolling your eyes at how unrealstic they are. But once again, videogames.
It took me about 7 hours to beat the game, and for the whole time, I never got bored with the story that played out between surgeries. The characters are all distinct and likeable. The artwork is notably more mature and not all animey like the original game, which I think is a welcome change. Honestly, I was sad when it was all over. After an impressively epic final battle (which I found surprising since this is, well, a game about surgery), I reflected back on all those times that I felt like a virtual person's life was in my hands. It's the build-up to each surgery that really gets your heart pumping. And as you pick up your stylus and ready yourself, you see the message "The patient's life is in your hands" befoe beginning.
It may be nothing like real surgery, but it sure does invoke a profound sensation of relief when you successfully complete an operation. I can't wait to hunt down the original game.
