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Filed under: News, Video

Yesterday marked the last Trauma Center Tuesday before New Blood's release next week, and that means Atlus had more surgical goodies for us. The most notable treat this week was the video of the game's introduction, which we posted above for your viewing pleasure. Aren't we just the best?

Normally we wouldn't go all ga-ga over a game's opening (okay, well sometimes we do), but this is one of the best we've seen. The art, the effects, the music, and everything about this introduction makes us weak in the knees. It was like watching the opening to a TV show ... er, if TV show openings were actually good and made us want to cut people open.

Atlus, you sly dogs, now you have us looking deeper into our wallets during this video game glut, hoping that we can stretch them enough to pick up your game next week. Does anyone else feel our pain?

On a side note, you should check out the ridiculous poem Atlus sent us that's posted after the break. Atlus, stick to making video games and not poetry, okay?
You're lucky we love you and Trauma Center, Atlus, or we'd feel really, really inclined to make fun of that poem right now. And that would make us feel really bad, since you probably had an intern stay up all night to write it.

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Filed under: Video

Ever since Trauma Center: New Blood was announced, it seems we're awash in videos from the forthcoming title, but really, who can complain? This latest shows off some of the cooperative play, and by "some of," we mean an entire operation. Looks like nothing's decreased in intensity here, but really, what is Trauma Center if not an experience in getting your ass kicked? We're in!

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Filed under: News, Video

It's Tuesday, and Trauma Center: New Blood isn't out yet, so you know what that means: another Trauma Tuesday update at the game's homepage! Atlus has released a new trailer for the game, highlighting some of the new characters to be found, including ... some surgeon! Another surgeon! And a nurse! Maybe the addition of full voice acting will make us follow the plot more closely, but we doubt it. We just want to perform surgeries on people infected with bizarro alien viruses!

This week's update also brings news about preorder bonuses: if you preorder the game from Atlus's online store, you'll get one of the swanky Trauma Center syringe pens, which even people like us who can make ourselves pass out by thinking of syringes can enjoy. You'll also get (in the words of the press release) "a certificate to (virtually) operate on people!" Finally, a nice diploma to class up your wall.

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Filed under: Fan stuff

If, like us, you've been wondering where Atlus' creativity went with its terribly plain Trauma Center: New Blood boxart, you'll be happy to hear that we managed to find some of it in the latest issue of Nintendo Power. While not as hilarious or ridiculous as the Geometry Wars: Galaxies piece we featured late last week, this blood transfusion ad we spotted certainly is creative. Jump past the post break for the full page.

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Filed under: News, Video

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Filed under: News

Official Atlus Trauma Center: New Blood updates, or "Trauma Tuesdays," now have a new home at the official Trauma Center homepage. In addition to the weekly updates, there's new desktop wallpaper, screenshots, information about gameplay modes (including explanations of co-op play) and even character bios for those of you who care about the characters beyond the fact that some of them are doctors and some of them are annoying nurses who know more about surgery than the doctors.

Currently inactive links promise video tutorials for each tool, and a trivia game of some kind. We hope it turns out to be about Trauma Center and not ... trauma centers.

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Filed under: Features

Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

Thought of by many as the "Disney of video gaming," Nintendo has crafted themselves an image of family-friendly entertainment. But to certain generations and classes of gamers, the term "family-friendly" is synonymous with "kiddy," and immediately sparks disinterest. But ever since publishing Rare's Killer Instinct, they've been working on broadening the public's perspective. Trying to appeal to the bloodlust of the Mortal Kombat crowd didn't give them any headway, and as generations progressed and they've garnered more "mature-themed" titles, they still haven't been able to shake the "kiddy console" stigma.

Even after snagging the exclusivity to the Resident Evil series for a generation, Nintendo was largely overlooked by the Playstation-bred gamers that were brought up on the series. How much more will it take for Wii to be regarded as a platform that can satisfy the tastes of mature gamers?

We're still waiting on the official lab results, but it's commonly accepted as fact that with advancement in age, the ability to appreciate bright colors diminishes. Or at least, that's the impression you'd get from listening to the ramblings of Mario-haters. In some circles, liking a game with muted tones such as Gears of War precludes enjoying something more vibrant like Kameo. Nevermind the mature themes and violent gameplay of the latter title, which distinguish it from other games that are similarly colorful and cartoony. It's written off as kid's stuff and passed over. This predilection for prejudgment may be what led Rare to drastically change the themes and gameplay of their first Conker game, but kept the vivid style to catch a few people off guard.

Definitely NOT kid's stuff

Why do some people believe the cartoonish settings of a Mario game make the sci-fi worlds in Mass Effect or the fantastic multiverses of Final Fantasy seem real in contrast? A gamer looking for realistic gameplay scenarios that adults are used to living out should logically be attracted to Nintendo exclusives like Trauma Center, Cooking Mama, or the upcoming Disaster: Day of Crisis. Why is it that violence, sex, and profanity are the brightest beacons for attracting people in search of "mature" content?

Regardless of whether your interests involve chainsawing rival drug dealers, turning zombies into swiss cheese, flipping burgers, or swimming alongside dolphins, Nintendo likely has something to offer you. They've worked hard to change consumers' perceptions of them, but it takes fanboys like us to get the message out and convert others.

With a new focus on expanding the market rather than overtaking competitors for existing marketshare, does Nintendo even need to change their image? Leave a comment to tell us how you'd run things if you were heading up Nintendo's marketing departments. I hear they have some openings.

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Filed under: Wii Warm Up

We love Trauma Center. It's just good, clean, surgical fun, and the forthcoming New Blood just looks awesome. It's just this box art we're not sure about. Maybe it's just us, but it seems so ... plain. So mundane. So not in-keeping with the other games. What do you think of it?

Look, don't get us wrong. We're likely to sink an unhealthy number of hours into it anyway, because that's what we do in the seven minutes of spare time we have per week. It's just that sometimes, we're forced to shake our heads over boxart decisions, and this is one of those times.

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Filed under: News, Video

What's more fun than waiting around for a new Trauma Center? Getting an update on the title every week like clockwork. Today, Atlus debuted Trauma Center Tuesday, and they plan to put something new -- be it video, screens, or info -- on the site every week. The first update consists of the above commercial, which shows off a little coop mode ... as well as one particular gameplay style we do not recommend. Sometimes, cosplay and gaming just don't mix.

Though we must say, latex gloves probably cut down on Wiimote slippage.

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Filed under: News

A number of Wii games are going up against some of the industry's biggest contenders in this year's BAFTA awards. It should make for an interesting award session, because while the Wii is dominating console sales (along with the DS), many people see games like Gears of War as greater achievements. Despite that, Wii Sports leads the pack of nominations, having picked up the greatest number of nominations; the pack-in boasts nods in seven categories, including Gameplay and Multiplayer.

It's not the only Wii title to pick up recognition, however; The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Trauma Center: Second Opinion are up for awards, along with a few other games. Check out the full list of nominations after the jump.

ACTION AND ADVENTURE

CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Rod Fergusson, Michael Capps, Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Cory Barlog, Michael Cheng, Eric Williams (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
ORANGE BOX (PS3) - Development Team (Valve/Electronic Arts)
RATCHET AND CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION (PS3) - Development Team (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)


ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

BIOSHOCK (Xbox 360) - Development Team (2K Boston/2K Australia/2K Games)
HEAVENLY SWORD (PS3) - Development Team (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom)
RATCHET AND CLANK: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION (PS3) - Development Team (SCE Foster City Studio & Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
SKATE (PS3) - Development Team (EA Black Box/Electronic Arts)
VIVA PIÑATA (Xbox 360) - Ryan Stevenson, Ed Bryan (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)

BEST GAME

BIOSHOCK (Xbox 360) - Development Team (2K Boston/2K Australia/2K Games)
CRYSIS (PC) - Development Team (Crytek/Electronic Arts)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Rod Fergusson, Michael Capps, Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Eidos/Eidos)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

CASUAL

BIG BRAIN ACADEMY FOR WII (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
CAKE MANIA (DS) - Development Team (Digital Embryo/Sandlot Games/Majesco)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
MORE BRAIN TRAINING (DS) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
SINGSTAR (PS3) - Development Team (SCE London Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

GAMEPLAY

CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Cliff Bleszinski, Ray Davis, Lee Perry (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
SEGA RALLY (PS3) - Development Team (SEGA Racing Studio/SEGA)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WARHAWK (PS3) - Dylan Jobe, Bruce Woodard, Brian Upton (Incognito/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

INNOVATION

FLOW (PSN) - Jenova Chen, Nicholas Clark, Austin Wintory (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom)
SUPER PAPER MARIO (Wii) - Development Team (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
THE EYE OF JUDGMENT (PS3) - Kazuhito Miyaki, Yusuke Watanabe (SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
TRAUMA CENTRE: SECOND OPINION (Wii) - Development Team (Atlus USA/Nintendo)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

MULTIPLAYER

BATTLEFIELD 2142 (PC) - Development Team (EA Dice/Electronic Arts)
CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WORLD IN CONFLICT (PC) - Development Team (Massive Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment/Vivendi Games)
WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADE (PC) - Development Team (Blizzard Entertainment/Blizzard Entertainment)

ORIGINAL SCORE

FINAL FANTASY XII (PS2) - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy XII Project Team/Square Enix)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Clint Bajakian, Jonathan Mayer, Chuck Doud (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
LAIR (PS3) - John Debney, Ryan Hamlyn, Clint Bajakian (SCE Foster City Studio & Factor 5/Sony Computer Entertainment America)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover (Capcom)/Capcom)
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
VIVA PIÑATA (Xbox 360) - Grant Kirkhope (Rare/Microsoft Game Studio)

SPORTS

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 (PC) - Development Team (Sports Interactive/SEGA)
COLIN McRAE: DIRT (Xbox 360) - Gavin Raeburn, Matt Horsman, Alex Grimbley (Codemasters/Codemasters)
FIFA 08 (PS3) - Development Team (EA Chicago/Electronic Arts)
MOTORSTORM (PS3) - Mick Hocking, Martin Kenwright, Pete Smith (SCE External Development Studio & Evolution/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
VIRTUA TENNIS 3 (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Sumo Digital/SEGA)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)

STRATEGY AND SIMULATION

COMMAND & CONQUER: TIBERIUM WARS (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Electronic Arts LA/Electronic Arts)
FORZA MOTORSPORT 2 (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Turn 10/Microsoft Game Studios)
MEDIEVAL II: TOTAL WAR KINGDOMS (PC) - Development Team (The Creative Assembly/SEGA)
TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX VEGAS (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Ubisoft Studios (Montreal)/Ubisoft Entertainment)
WII SPORTS (Wii) - Development Team (Nintendo/Nintendo)
WORLD IN CONFLICT (PC) - Development Team (Massive Entertainment/Sierra Entertainment)

STORY AND CHARACTER

FINAL FANTASY XII (PS2) - Development Team (Final Fantasy XII Project Team/Square Enix)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Cory Barlog, David Jaffe (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
HEAVENLY SWORD (PS3) - Development Team (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover (Capcom)/Capcom)
THE DARKNESS (Xbox 360) - Denby Grace, Lars Johansson, Jerk Gustafsson (Starbreeze Studios/ 2K)
THE SIMPSONS GAME (Xbox 360) - Scot Amos, Jonathan Knight, Greg Rizer (EA/Electronic Arts)

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/ Microsoft Game Studios)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studio)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Tim Moss, Christer Ericson (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
MOTORSTORM (PS3) - Scott Kirkland, Martin Kenwright, Pete Smith (SCE External Development Studio/Evolution/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
OKAMI (PS2) - Atsushi Inaba (Clover(Capcom)/Capcom)
UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE (PS3) - Development Team (Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

USE OF AUDIO

CRACKDOWN (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Realtime Worlds/Microsoft Game Studios)
ELITE BEAT AGENTS (DS) - Development Team (iNiS/Nintendo)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) - Development Team (Epic Games/Microsoft Game Studios)
GOD OF WAR 2 (PS2) - Dave Murrant, Philip Kovats, Chuck Russom (SCE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
GUITAR HERO II (PS2) - Development Team (Harmonix/Activision/Red Octane)
SKATE (PS3) - Development Team (EA Black Box/Electronic Arts)

BAFTA One's To Watch Award in association with Dare to Be Digital

RAGNARAWK - Voodoo Boogy (Malcom Brown, Robert Clarke, Peter Carr, Lynne Robertson, Finlay Sutton)
CLIMBACTIC - Carebox (Jack Potter, Alan Campbell, Benjamin Rollinson, Zarek Cohen, Duncan Harrison)
BEAR GO HOME - Phoenix Seed (Fengming Bao, Xi Deng, Yi Li, Guangyao Wang, Christopher Isaacs)

THE PC WORLD GAMERS AWARD

DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING (DS) (Nintendo/Nintendo)
FIFA 07 (PS2) (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
FOOTBALL MANAGER 2007 (PC) (Sports Interactive/SEGA)
GEARS OF WAR (Xbox 360) (Epic Games/Microsoft)
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES (PSP) (Rockstar Leeds/Take Two)
RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN (PS3) (Insomniac/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)


[Via BBC News]

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