news via shacknews

Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
Developer: Atlus Co.; Publisher: Atlus USA

The characters and events depicted in this game are fictitious. Any similarities to organizations, people (living or dead), hospitals, or cutting-edge medical techniques are purely coincidental.

This is the disclaimer that prefaces Atlus' rage-inducing precision surgery sim, Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Given the increasingly bizarre medical situations that crop up throughout the game, as well as the anime-flavored hospital drama that unfolds, that warning very much goes without saying.

Second Opinion is a remake--and more--of Atlus' widely praised Trauma Center: Under the Knife, one of the games that really championed stylus control on the Nintendo DS. As in Under the Knife, Second Opinion puts you in the role of rookie doctor Derek Stiles, who must save the lives of patient after patient using an array of surgical tools. This time around, of course, you'll be operating with the Wii remote rather than the DS stylus. Like the original game, Second Opinion proves to be a worthy gameplay-centric title that exemplifies creative use of its system's controller. It also provides yet another counterpoint to skeptics' claims that Wii requires users to flail around wildly to progress in games. Quite the contrary; Second Opinion rewards--nay, requires--a steady hand to pull off its incisions, sutures, injections, and other surgical tasks. Like Under the Knife, Second Opinion is a hard game, and it becomes brutally difficult. Fortunately, Atlus has included three difficulty settings this time around, and you can switch between them before any mission.

One of the most significant additions to the game is the use of the nunchuk controller to select your implements. The eight available tools are displayed in a radial menu in the lower left corner of the screen, and you simply point the analog stick in the appropriate direction to select a tool, intead of than selecting each instrument manually with the pointer as in the DS game. This is a godsend when it comes to speed and efficiency, and as a side bonus it is a great boon to immersiveness. Using your left hand (or right hand, for the lefties) to grab your tools and the other hand to operate really brings to mind the classic O.R. scene with the doctor deadpanning the name of the tool he demands and holding out his left hand in anticipation. It's just a shame that there's no voiceover work saying "Scalpel!" when you grab the knife.

Second Opinion's presentation is very bare bones. The art design has been redone and made edgier from the DS release, but the story is still told in images and text, which some players may be inclined to simply skip. Hopefully, if Atlus continues the series on Wii, some more voice acting will be included, at least during key moments. As it is, though, it's hardly a deal-breaker; gameplay is where Trauma Center shines, and it holds up there.

Despite being a remake, there are some new elements thrown in, including a modified story and new character, and more crucially a whole new chapter and an added medical instrument. You now have access to a defibrillator during certain moments, which is perfect for a controller that consists of a separate component in each hand. As you would expect, you do indeed thrust the remote and nunchuk towards the screen to get that heart pumping. Still, gamers who have already played through the DS incarnation of the game will find that they recognize most of the missions. Much of the game, particularly early on, is taken directly from Under the Knife. Despite this, Second Opinion brings enough to the table that even fans of the first game should consider giving it a shot. To those who haven't played the original, this is an even more attractive entry in the Wii's launch lineup.

Red steel review

Red Steel (Wii)
Developer: Ubisoft Paris; Publisher: Ubisoft

Red Steel was the first full unveiled Wii game in the Western world--the second worldwide, counting Tecmo's Super Swing Golf--and it made big promises. The game plunges an American protagonist into modern day Japan, using firearms and blades as he gets further embroiled into the Yakuza underworld. A game full of gunplay and swordfighting is perfect for the Wii, as it is comprised of what are probably the two gameplay functions most likely to come to mind as appealing uses of the Wii remote. Unfortunately, Red Steel is very clearly unfinished. Whether this is the fault of the team, or a byproduct of trying to get what might have been an impressively ambitious game finished for launch, could be debated, but the game has many significant flaws.

Fundamental to the game are its control mechanisms. Aiming operates somewhere in between using a mouse and a console analog stick. The cursor, which ...

news via shacknews

Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
Developer: Atlus Co.; Publisher: Atlus USA

The characters and events depicted in this game are fictitious. Any similarities to organizations, people (living or dead), hospitals, or cutting-edge medical techniques are purely coincidental.

This is the disclaimer that prefaces Atlus' rage-inducing precision surgery sim, Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Given the increasingly bizarre medical situations that crop up throughout the game, as well as the anime-flavored hospital drama that unfolds, that warning very much goes without saying.

Second Opinion is a remake--and more--of Atlus' widely praised Trauma Center: Under the Knife, one of the games that really championed stylus control on the Nintendo DS. As in Under the Knife, Second Opinion puts you in the role of rookie doctor Derek Stiles, who must save the lives of patient after patient using an array of surgical tools. This time around, of course, you'll be operating with the Wii remote rather than the DS stylus. Like the original game, Second Opinion proves to be a worthy gameplay-centric title that exemplifies creative use of its system's controller. It also provides yet another counterpoint to skeptics' claims that Wii requires users to flail around wildly to progress in games. Quite the contrary; Second Opinion rewards--nay, requires--a steady hand to pull off its incisions, sutures, injections, and other surgical tasks. Like Under the Knife, Second Opinion is a hard game, and it becomes brutally difficult. Fortunately, Atlus has included three difficulty settings this time around, and you can switch between them before any mission.

One of the most significant additions to the game is the use of the nunchuk controller to select your implements. The eight available tools are displayed in a radial menu in the lower left corner of the screen, and you simply point the analog stick in the appropriate direction to select a tool, intead of than selecting each instrument manually with the pointer as in the DS game. This is a godsend when it comes to speed and efficiency, and as a side bonus it is a great boon to immersiveness. Using your left hand (or right hand, for the lefties) to grab your tools and the other hand to operate really brings to mind the classic O.R. scene with the doctor deadpanning the name of the tool he demands and holding out his left hand in anticipation. It's just a shame that there's no voiceover work saying "Scalpel!" when you grab the knife.

Second Opinion's presentation is very bare bones. The art design has been redone and made edgier from the DS release, but the story is still told in images and text, which some players may be inclined to simply skip. Hopefully, if Atlus continues the series on Wii, some more voice acting will be included, at least during key moments. As it is, though, it's hardly a deal-breaker; gameplay is where Trauma Center shines, and it holds up there.

Despite being a remake, there are some new elements thrown in, including a modified story and new character, and more crucially a whole new chapter and an added medical instrument. You now have access to a defibrillator during certain moments, which is perfect for a controller that consists of a separate component in each hand. As you would expect, you do indeed thrust the remote and nunchuk towards the screen to get that heart pumping. Still, gamers who have already played through the DS incarnation of the game will find that they recognize most of the missions. Much of the game, particularly early on, is taken directly from Under the Knife. Despite this, Second Opinion brings enough to the table that even fans of the first game should consider giving it a shot. To those who haven't played the original, this is an even more attractive entry in the Wii's launch lineup.

Red steel review

Red Steel (Wii)
Developer: Ubisoft Paris; Publisher: Ubisoft

Red Steel was the first full unveiled Wii game in the Western world--the second worldwide, counting Tecmo's Super Swing Golf--and it made big promises. The game plunges an American protagonist into modern day Japan, using firearms and blades as he gets further embroiled into the Yakuza underworld. A game full of gunplay and swordfighting is perfect for the Wii, as it is comprised of what are probably the two gameplay functions most likely to come to mind as appealing uses of the Wii remote. Unfortunately, Red Steel is very clearly unfinished. Whether this is the fault of the team, or a byproduct of trying to get what might have been an impressively ambitious game finished for launch, could be debated, but the game has many significant flaws.

Fundamental to the game are its control mechanisms. Aiming operates somewhere in between using a mouse and a console analog stick. The cursor, which ...

news via shacknews

Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii)
Developer: Atlus Co.; Publisher: Atlus USA

The characters and events depicted in this game are fictitious. Any similarities to organizations, people (living or dead), hospitals, or cutting-edge medical techniques are purely coincidental.

This is the disclaimer that prefaces Atlus' rage-inducing precision surgery sim, Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Given the increasingly bizarre medical situations that crop up throughout the game, as well as the anime-flavored hospital drama that unfolds, that warning very much goes without saying.

Second Opinion is a remake--and more--of Atlus' widely praised Trauma Center: Under the Knife, one of the games that really championed stylus control on the Nintendo DS. As in Under the Knife, Second Opinion puts you in the role of rookie doctor Derek Stiles, who must save the lives of patient after patient using an array of surgical tools. This time around, of course, you'll be operating with the Wii remote rather than the DS stylus. Like the original game, Second Opinion proves to be a worthy gameplay-centric title that exemplifies creative use of its system's controller. It also provides yet another counterpoint to skeptics' claims that Wii requires users to flail around wildly to progress in games. Quite the contrary; Second Opinion rewards--nay, requires--a steady hand to pull off its incisions, sutures, injections, and other surgical tasks. Like Under the Knife, Second Opinion is a hard game, and it becomes brutally difficult. Fortunately, Atlus has included three difficulty settings this time around, and you can switch between them before any mission.

One of the most significant additions to the game is the use of the nunchuk controller to select your implements. The eight available tools are displayed in a radial menu in the lower left corner of the screen, and you simply point the analog stick in the appropriate direction to select a tool, intead of than selecting each instrument manually with the pointer as in the DS game. This is a godsend when it comes to speed and efficiency, and as a side bonus it is a great boon to immersiveness. Using your left hand (or right hand, for the lefties) to grab your tools and the other hand to operate really brings to mind the classic O.R. scene with the doctor deadpanning the name of the tool he demands and holding out his left hand in anticipation. It's just a shame that there's no voiceover work saying "Scalpel!" when you grab the knife.

Second Opinion's presentation is very bare bones. The art design has been redone and made edgier from the DS release, but the story is still told in images and text, which some players may be inclined to simply skip. Hopefully, if Atlus continues the series on Wii, some more voice acting will be included, at least during key moments. As it is, though, it's hardly a deal-breaker; gameplay is where Trauma Center shines, and it holds up there.

Despite being a remake, there are some new elements thrown in, including a modified story and new character, and more crucially a whole new chapter and an added medical instrument. You now have access to a defibrillator during certain moments, which is perfect for a controller that consists of a separate component in each hand. As you would expect, you do indeed thrust the remote and nunchuk towards the screen to get that heart pumping. Still, gamers who have already played through the DS incarnation of the game will find that they recognize most of the missions. Much of the game, particularly early on, is taken directly from Under the Knife. Despite this, Second Opinion brings enough to the table that even fans of the first game should consider giving it a shot. To those who haven't played the original, this is an even more attractive entry in the Wii's launch lineup.

Red steel review

Red Steel (Wii)
Developer: Ubisoft Paris; Publisher: Ubisoft

Red Steel was the first full unveiled Wii game in the Western world--the second worldwide, counting Tecmo's Super Swing Golf--and it made big promises. The game plunges an American protagonist into modern day Japan, using firearms and blades as he gets further embroiled into the Yakuza underworld. A game full of gunplay and swordfighting is perfect for the Wii, as it is comprised of what are probably the two gameplay functions most likely to come to mind as appealing uses of the Wii remote. Unfortunately, Red Steel is very clearly unfinished. Whether this is the fault of the team, or a byproduct of trying to get what might have been an impressively ambitious game finished for launch, could be debated, but the game has many significant flaws.

Fundamental to the game are its control mechanisms. Aiming operates somewhere in between using a mouse and a console analog stick. The cursor, which ...

news via ign

November 21, 2006 - It looks like Nintendo isn't immune to releasing dud consoles, as DailyGame's Wii broke already:

Now that the Wii's on store shelves, it wasn't long before the problems started. Although Nintendo's known for having great hardware, stories are already popping up over the 'net about failing consoles. While this is to be expected of any new hardware, and we have a feeling Nintendo's got a lot fewer bricks out there than the PS3 or Xbox 360 had, their support service might suggest otherwise.

Take one example of our own staff - after enjoying about four hours with the Wii yesterday, the unit suddenly just gave up the ghost. A loud buzz in the middle of a Madden tutorial, and crunch - one dead Wii. The unit wouldn't respond to any inputs on the controller or the box, and after unplugging/replugging it in, it would boot up, but not show any video. Moving it to other TV sets (three total, two HDef and one Standard) along with trying to reseat the cables, hold down the power with the cord unplugged (sometimes works with home electronics) etc etc - this was one dead Wii. ...

news via ign

November 21, 2006 - It looks like Nintendo isn't immune to releasing dud consoles, as DailyGame's Wii broke already:

Now that the Wii's on store shelves, it wasn't long before the problems started. Although Nintendo's known for having great hardware, stories are already popping up over the 'net about failing consoles. While this is to be expected of any new hardware, and we have a feeling Nintendo's got a lot fewer bricks out there than the PS3 or Xbox 360 had, their support service might suggest otherwise.

Take one example of our own staff - after enjoying about four hours with the Wii yesterday, the unit suddenly just gave up the ghost. A loud buzz in the middle of a Madden tutorial, and crunch - one dead Wii. The unit wouldn't respond to any inputs on the controller or the box, and after unplugging/replugging it in, it would boot up, but not show any video. Moving it to other TV sets (three total, two HDef and one Standard) along with trying to reseat the cables, hold down the power with the cord unplugged (sometimes works with home electronics) etc etc - this was one dead Wii. ...

news via ign

November 21, 2006 - It looks like Nintendo isn't immune to releasing dud consoles, as DailyGame's Wii broke already:

Now that the Wii's on store shelves, it wasn't long before the problems started. Although Nintendo's known for having great hardware, stories are already popping up over the 'net about failing consoles. While this is to be expected of any new hardware, and we have a feeling Nintendo's got a lot fewer bricks out there than the PS3 or Xbox 360 had, their support service might suggest otherwise.

Take one example of our own staff - after enjoying about four hours with the Wii yesterday, the unit suddenly just gave up the ghost. A loud buzz in the middle of a Madden tutorial, and crunch - one dead Wii. The unit wouldn't respond to any inputs on the controller or the box, and after unplugging/replugging it in, it would boot up, but not show any video. Moving it to other TV sets (three total, two HDef and one Standard) along with trying to reseat the cables, hold down the power with the cord unplugged (sometimes works with home electronics) etc etc - this was one dead Wii. ...

news via gamespot

Virtual Console gets updated with first games from NEC's legacy system; Bonk's Adventure and Bomberman '93 selling for 600 points each.

When Nintendo launched the Wii on Sunday, it did so with the promised dozen downloadable retro games available on the system's Virtual Console. But while the initial 12 offerings on the service included titles from the NES, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64, the small slate of previously announced TurboGrafx-16 games was entirely absent.

Nintendo rectified that situation today, as the company has released a pair of TG-16 games on the Virtual Console. Gamers can now download Bonk's Adventure, the debut of the system's megacephalic mascot, and Hudson's Bomberman '93. Each game will set users back 600 Wii Points, or $6.

By the end of the year, Bonk and Bomberman will be joined on the Virtual Console by a handful of other TurboGrafx games, including Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, and Dungeon Explorer. ...

news via gamespot

Virtual Console gets updated with first games from NEC's legacy system; Bonk's Adventure and Bomberman '93 selling for 600 points each.

When Nintendo launched the Wii on Sunday, it did so with the promised dozen downloadable retro games available on the system's Virtual Console. But while the initial 12 offerings on the service included titles from the NES, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64, the small slate of previously announced TurboGrafx-16 games was entirely absent.

Nintendo rectified that situation today, as the company has released a pair of TG-16 games on the Virtual Console. Gamers can now download Bonk's Adventure, the debut of the system's megacephalic mascot, and Hudson's Bomberman '93. Each game will set users back 600 Wii Points, or $6.

By the end of the year, Bonk and Bomberman will be joined on the Virtual Console by a handful of other TurboGrafx games, including Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, and Dungeon Explorer. ...

news via gamespot

Virtual Console gets updated with first games from NEC's legacy system; Bonk's Adventure and Bomberman '93 selling for 600 points each.

When Nintendo launched the Wii on Sunday, it did so with the promised dozen downloadable retro games available on the system's Virtual Console. But while the initial 12 offerings on the service included titles from the NES, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Genesis, and the Nintendo 64, the small slate of previously announced TurboGrafx-16 games was entirely absent.

Nintendo rectified that situation today, as the company has released a pair of TG-16 games on the Virtual Console. Gamers can now download Bonk's Adventure, the debut of the system's megacephalic mascot, and Hudson's Bomberman '93. Each game will set users back 600 Wii Points, or $6.

By the end of the year, Bonk and Bomberman will be joined on the Virtual Console by a handful of other TurboGrafx games, including Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, and Dungeon Explorer. ...