Trauma Center: New Blood (Atlus)

It's been a while since we scrubbed in for some Trauma Center fun, but it looks like we have another reason to get back into the operating room now that the amazing Trauma Center: New Blood has arrived.

Paging Doctor who?

Taking a break away from crowded cities and harried emergency rooms, New Blood drops you in a remote Alaskan hospital where two talented doctors, Dr. Markus Vaughn and Dr. Valerie Blaylock are obviously wasting their talent on treating simple illnesses and maladies. Dr. Vaughn has mastered the invaluable healing touch, while Dr. Blaylock is getting close. However, the forces that be won't let the two doctors spend all their time on small tumours for long, and they are soon called upon to face a new terrifying medical menace named Stigma.

But with two surgeons in the same hospital, there's a lot more than just equal opportunity at work here. The best addition that New Blood brings to the table is its multiplayer co-op mode. Two players can work together to complete the various operations, with each doctor receiving their own separate score; naturally, this allows for a competitive angle that further ramps up the tension and anxiety already innate in Trauma Center series.

Order of operations

You can also add your scores to online leaderboards and take part in challenge episodes that have you racing against the clock to finish a string of operations against the clock. The game is a great follow-up to Second Opinion but the formula hasn't changed much.

It's disappointing to see that the graphics haven't been updated and that the gameplay hasn't taken a significant step forward, but there's still plenty of fun to be had. The storyline is great and the gameplay is as entertaining as you all remember from the other games.