Dr. Stiles returns to the DS for Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2
by Eric Caoili 
{ Mar 31st 2008 at 8:00PM }
The Nintendo Power news just keeps on coming in! If you're not already a subscriber, we very much suggest you pick up a copy of this month's issue when you can -- it's packed with exclusive announcements and screenshots.
Almost three years since Under the Knife captured the hearts of wannabe surgeons on the DS, Trauma Center is finally coming back to the handheld after a remake and an indirect sequel on the Wii. Dr. Stiles stars in the game, once again, and is joined by Nurse Angie Thompson as they deal with the effects and "unanswered mysteries" left by the defeated GUILT Virus.
Developer and publisher Atlus didn't reveal any new surgical instruments for this direct DS sequel, titled Under the Knife 2, but it did state that the old tools will have "improved functionality. Addressing difficulty complaints many often cited with the original game, Atlus has also included a mode for those of you with unsteady hands and frail nerves. Expect to hear a lot more about Under the Knife 2 from us before it hits stores this summer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Robert Baldwin @ Mar 31st 2008 8:14PM
Not the Lifesigns sequel I was hoping for, but if this has a lower difficulty I might can get it and give it a try. Either that or get it for my brother and borrow it, since I gave the first one to him because it was so hard.
Mad Martin Kinderhook @ Mar 31st 2008 8:37PM
Somebody else who even remotely liked Lifesigns?!?!? The much-panned soap opera element did indeed make it less enjoyable overall than Trauma Center, but you got to know your patients so much better and the patient diagnosis segments were great. I actually preferred the 2D surgeries; everything was easier to see and actually felt more realistic. If a Trauma Center game could incorporate the high points of Lifesigns while keeping its standard set of surgical tools, fantasy elements like healing touch, and better plot, it would be the best game on the DS hands-down.
Don't expect a sequel to Lifesigns, though. What we got was the second of two games in Japan's Tendo Dokuta series (the first was probably passed on because the character designs were just so fugly and it was slightly less interactive), the second having come out there long before it was released outside of Japan. Furthermore, it absolutely tanked in sales when it was finally released here.
GSR @ Apr 2nd 2008 6:31PM
Good lord, I thought I was the only person who liked it.
Honestly, it probably would've ended up getting much better reviews if they'd actually polished the game more in terms of script/other minor details.
Kouri @ Apr 3rd 2008 12:53PM
I liked Lifesigns too...
We Lifesigns fans seem to be a rare breed o.O
Or maybe we just don't show it...
One thing that really annoyed me was the whole -san -chan -kun thing... localisation could definitely have been done better. But it was so much more realistic and ok I admit it Trauma Center owned me. >_>; And I didn't feel any incentive to save the patients. In Lifesigns I was like HOMG NO I LOVE YOU DON'T DIE!!!!!!! *restart* *tries again* I mean, I actually knew my patients...
In TC:
*fails for the millionth time*
Ah whatever... *feels no attachment to patient. It's just a body diagram anyway..*
*doesn't play after that... leaves it for her friend to play..*
Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Mar 31st 2008 8:32PM
This best not be an April Fools joke, or heads _will_ roll.
LeChuck @ Mar 31st 2008 8:48PM
Happy happy joy joy! I was worried this had become a Wii only series once New Blood came out with no word of a DS sequel.
xeleion @ Mar 31st 2008 9:30PM
Who complained about the difficulty? Trauma Center was hard, old-school style. If you can't handle the final boss, then you need to become a better surgeon. :P
You know, about six months after beating the game I popped it in my DS and played the last stage again... and didn't last a minute. More games should be like that.
Joshua @ Mar 31st 2008 10:00PM
It was hard, but DAMN if it wasn't satisfying when I beat it.
Oh, and how does this game fit into the overall timeline??
rikki @ Apr 1st 2008 7:46AM
@Josh
Supposedly it takes place after the first game, dealing with the aftermath of GUILT and other mysteries about the virus.
I'm repeating hearsay, though, so hopefully someone with an actual copy of NP will drop by and confirm.
Scott @ Mar 31st 2008 10:06PM
I notice it's in the new art style. Always thought it was better looking really, so that's a plus. And it's good to hear the games roots haven't been lost by the shift to the Wii. It's a solid experience on both consoles. Plus, it's good to get a direct sequel too (I luff Stiles. XD).
And is that Victor I see there by Stiles?
TriptychR @ Mar 31st 2008 11:02PM
Looks like it. Victor was so cool.
Plokosh @ Mar 31st 2008 10:34PM
*sob*
Im one of those bad surgeons who couldnt deal with the last boss...
Jpop @ Mar 31st 2008 10:42PM
The guy with green long hair in the picture kinda looks like Hamasaki Ayumi.
Hame @ Mar 31st 2008 11:40PM
I still have nightmares about that last boss. I gave up in the end for the sake of my mental health.
Alexisonfire @ Apr 1st 2008 12:12AM
Is that.... Is that Fuuka Yamagishi in the background?
Atlus, you really should have varying art styles between your games.
rikki @ Apr 1st 2008 8:19AM
Agreed.
While the first artist's work may have been more generic and less-polished, it was relatively sound. He gave people different faces, and his guys looked masculine. (Cardinal sin in anime, I guess.) I was really hoping they'd bring him back.
This new guy (Masayuki Doi?) makes everyone look disgustingly pretty, and is hoping the style obscures his structural mistakes. It works on people who don't know any better.
(Out before anyone starts screaming THAT'S HIS STYLE and YOU CAN'T DO ANY BETTER SO SHUT UP and other such BS.)
Surgeon13 @ May 30th 2008 5:56PM
I just got the new NP issue. It shall take place after GUILT, and it shall be FLIPPIN' AWESOME! I've been itchin' for a new one for months. I beat New Blood in two weeks.
Oh and you guys at the top who are talking about LifeSigns...You actually found a copy?! I have been searching for it for six months!! Where'd you find it?!