About a year ago, GameSpy reviewed Atlus's crazy-fun DS title Trauma Center: Under the Knife. It was one of the most innovative and different games we'd seen at that point. Well, now it's time for Nintendo Wii owners to get a taste of Atlus's medicine with the release of Trauma Center: Second Opinion. For the most part, the story remains the same, but just about everything else has been fiddled with or tweaked.

In the year 2018 modern medical science has managed to overcome previously "incurable" diseases such as AIDS and cancer. This is a good thing. But as you'd imagine, there are new strains of viruses and diseases that still need to be conquered. One such ailment is a terrifying new terrorist-engineered virus known as GUILT, and before your time in the game is up, you'll be facing off against this bad boy. The game sees you assume the role of rookie doctor Derek Stiles, who has just completed his initial residency at Hope Hospital and is on the way to be becoming a fully fledged surgeon. You'll need to guide Derek through six chapters of storyline, performing progressively harder and outrageous operations in order to save the day -- and you'll have a great deal of fun doing so.

Dr. Stiles in the house.

New this time around are a number of things. The Wii incarnation offers a brand new motion-sensitive set of controls using both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The DS title saw extensive use of the stylus, but there's something a little more satisfying about using the Wii controls. A greater sense of freedom is one, but rest assured that you'll need a steady hand in order to use your medical tools to good effect. TCSO also offers some great updated visuals for the characters and the operations as well as a side selection of chapters featuring a female doctor named Nozomi Weaver. There's a new difficulty level and also a brand new ending for the final chapter in the game -- not to mention a slew of new operations smattered throughout the entire game.

But it's the Wii's awesome implementation of the controls that really makes SO a hit, in my eyes. Each operation will require you to use up to eight different medical tools, including a scalpel (used for incisions), a laser (used for zapping nasty growths), antibiotic gel (needed to close and sterilize open wounds), an ultrasound, forceps and many more besides. Some secondary tools include a defibrillator and a magnification tool, but all said and done, there are more than enough tools to keep your heart pounding, and hopefully your patient's too.