Review: Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Rated M for Nintendo Wii

TRAUMATIC: In Trauma Center: Second Opinion you must perform a series of life-threatening but virtual operations.

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Originally released overseas nearly two years ago to coincide with the Wii console's debut, this unusual "surgery simulation" has finally found its way onto Australian store shelves.

Like its predecessor on the hand-held DS, this remake puts you in the surgical gown of young surgeon Derek Stiles who must perform a series of life-or-death operations.

You are assisted by knowledgeable (yet demanding) nurses and can use tools including scalpels, lasers, tweezers, antibiotic gels, ultrasound, syringes and sutures.

The controls work beautifully and the operations are varied. The Nunchuk controller allows quick selection of your surgical tools, while players need a steady hand and nerves of steel to use the Wii Remote in activities such as cutting out tumours, applying artificial membranes, removing glass fragments, repairing fractures, laser-zapping parasites, massaging a heart, draining fluid from a festering lesion and stitching wounds.

You must work under constant pressure during emergencies. Time limits are ruthless, and sometimes there are extra complications, such as operating on a plane experiencing turbulence or working in the dark.

If you take too long and a patient flat-lines you'll need to revive them.