The breakneck speed of the first trailer for Trauma Center 2 is, frankly, all a bit bewildering. As we blog from our La Z Boys, margarita in one hand and our masseuses kneading our shoulders, we can't help but wonder: is watching this as downright stressful and frenetic as day-to-day life in a real trauma center?
Well, uh, probably not, but it sure is exciting. The pace of it does mean that it's a little tricky to pick up on footage of gameplay, but what's there is comfortingly familiar, and there are old faces (under their Japanese names) and new faces (including Adel Tulba, who we learned more about recently) alike. No sign of the "improved functionality" of the instruments that has been promised by Atlus, but there's plenty of time for that yet. We need a breather.
Yeah, we know that all the other ones did too, but all we ever remember of the story for any Trauma Center game is "surgery happens." Some guys perform surgery on some other people, because they are sick or injured. Trauma Center 2 is no exception: Atlus has gone to the trouble of crafting a narrative for the surgery game, and we guarantee it'll stick in our minds as "a guy gets glass in his leg for some reason."
This latest entry takes place in a refugee camp in an African country called Costiga, where a civil war and an outbreak of disease have led to an overload of patients and a shortage of doctors. Derek Stiles and his nurse Angie Thompson are in the area doing research, and are contacted by a young surgeon named, uh, Adel Chilba (or something like that) to help. Or at least that's how we understand it based on the translation. The point is (and remains): surgery happens.
Atlus just dropped a further six screenshots of Summon Night: Twin Age in our laps, and we'll say this much for the game: when you're not busy gawking at some of the finest ARPG greenery around, you can rely on the title to keep the battlegrounds densely populated.
Also in our PR package today was the U.S. boxart, as seen above. Equip yourself appropriately and hit our gallery for the screenage.
We're not terribly fond of insects in the real world, and we think we've been able to figure out why -- normal insects are not giant fighting robots that we can pilot. We wouldn't roll the window down to let one of those out. We can always escape into the world of Drone Tactics, where insects can awesomely shoot bullets at us instead of just being annoying.
New screens, which we've collected in a jar with airholes cut out of the lid our gallery, show off some of these cool insecto-bots and also their disappointingly non-insectile and non-robotic human pilots. Although nonchalantly playing violin as you engage in a robot battle is pretty cool, we must admit -- for a hu-man.
Good old Trauma Center. Preposterous storyline, not even remotely medically accurate, and a difficulty curve with all the consistency of lumpy custard. But hey, despite its flaws, we quickly fell in love with Atlus' unconventional surgical sim. It was one of the very first DS titles to really use the touchscreen convincingly, and the execution was, on the whole, superb.
And now -- rejoice! -- there's a sequel planned, complete with improved surgical tools and a lower difficulty level for scalpel jocks like us. That's all well and good, but is there anything that you'd like to see done differently in Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2?
Trauma Center, in case you hadn't already heard, is making a return to Nintendo's handheld to make ham-fisted would-be surgeons feel inadequate all over again, and Famitsu has just delivered an array of details and shots of the new game.
According to this, we'll be getting a sprinkling of old and new characters, a slightly more Wii-like user interface, and a number of operations that will be familiar with us all, including the really cringeworthy ones where you have to yank excruciatingly long shards of glass from your patients (well, they made us cringe, anyway).
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit to take from this scan, however, is the mention of a Japanese release date -- it's a little hard to make out, but the magazine seems to suggest the game will be released there on August 7th. That's by no means an official date, obviously, but if true it means we could be seeing a western release in 2008.
Posted Mar 31st 2008 8:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
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.
Still reeling from the news of a localized Etrian Odyssey II? Well, so are we -- June 17th can't come fast enough. That's why we've brought you some more goodies and details from one of our favorite (albeit punishing) dungeon-crawling RPGs.
If you've never played the original and don't know much about the series, the video above may baffle you a bit. Essentially, in the Etrian Odyssey-verse, not only do you have to battle monsters like in most turn-based RPGs, but you also have to navigate and map out the labryrinth-like dungeons.
The sequel will include twelve different classes, each of which are customizable in numerous areas (name, sex, skills, spells, etc). This game will also own your soul should you choose to play it, as Heroes of Lagaard will have over 100 side-quests. Furthermore, Atlus promises an improved mapmaking tool, which will add some new features. Sounds good to us!
We've included another video after the break for your viewing pleasure. It's only a short sampling of buying items, but we'll take any small morsels we can get at this point.
Sometimes, the expressions on character models just don't quite match up with the conversations they're having on screen, and this is clearly one of those times. Owl and Marie are way too cheerful for the dialogue we're seeing here, but it's cool. We'll go with it. Maybe this "rondo" isn't so much about swords as it is about maintaining an empty and mindless state of good cheer in the face of a crisis.
Hmm, on second thought, probably not. That wouldn't make for a very interesting RPG of any sort, but perhaps it's a valid strategy for facing danger. Or maybe we're just reaching for some sort of explanation here. We should put all those extra Sword Dudes on the case.
Check out other, less-mystifying new screens from Rondo of Swords in the gallery below.
Those of you who have been clamoring to play Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard because you either enjoyed the first game or wanted to play it and couldn't find it, have no fear! Atlus announced today that the game will, in fact, be localized.
Heroes of Lagaard will hitting American shores in June, adding to the DS's awesome Q2 schedule. There's still no announcement for Europe, but getting the game in English is half the battle, right?
If you just can't wait three months for this title, you can dabble around in Atlus' official (English) site. Of course, if you're an impatient wench like this blogger, seeing all the pretties might just make you want it more. A Catch-22, indeed. The site also promises to update every Monday, so if you have an interest in the game, you can check back every week to get your Etrian fix.
Atlus sent us some new media on their upcoming game Drone Tactics, focusing on some of the units that will be in the title. When this game hits store shelves come April, you can bet we'll be there to get our copy. Each time we see it, the game looks better and better.
We've got some nice in-game screens, as well as some rendered art, all available in our gallery below. So dive in and get that notebook out. Knowing is half the battle, after all.
2D action RPGs often have it rough when it comes to making impressive graphics. Due to the perspective, about 90% of the in-game graphics consist of grass, with the rest being tiny character sprites. Sometimes there are trees or shrubs in the grass. So to wow us with the graphics in an ARPG, you have to have awesome grass, and cram as much personality into the mostly-faceless characters as you can.
Summon Night: Twin Age manages to stick out from the crowd as an especially nice-looking ARPG. The graphics are crisp, the effects look cool, and, yes, the greenery is quite nicely done. We've summoned nine new screenshots of the stylus-controlled spinoff into our gallery.
In case you haven't already raided the cookie jar for the last of this month's housekeeping money after hearing of NEVES' universal price drop, allow us to further test your resistance.
Yuke's Company has placed an excellent (albeit brief) flash demo of the elegant puzzler on its site, giving interested parties access to three of the game's 500 puzzles. There's a time limit on each, and we cut it pretty fine with the third, but pulled through like heroes in the end. The controls in this PC demo are a pretty close approximation of those in the DS version, so if you like this, get reaching for your wallet. Just be warned that far harder puzzles await you in the real thing!
While the DS may be flush with strategy games lately, what it really needs is one that's all about bugs. Luckily, that need is set to be filled this May with Drone Tactics. Yes, that's right, May 13 -- pushed back from April, as rumored -- but from everything we've seen, it will be so worth the drudgery of waiting. Atlus isn't holding back on the media, either; they seem to want us to get an eyeful of the mecha insecta, and we're okay with that! Check out our updated gallery below for the latest.
Posted Mar 18th 2008 4:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
No more than two weeks after we goaded you into importing a discounted copy of Summon Night: Twin Age, Atlus has announced its plans to translate and bring the ARPG stateside this May 20th. If you're one of those unfortunate kids who made the mistake of following our advice, you have our apologies. Hopefully, you've learned your lesson.
As with Phantom Hourglass, Twin Age makes heavy use of the touchscreen, allowing you to explore maps, attack enemies, and cast spells using just your stylus. You'll have two heroes to manage, though: Reiha, a young girl versed in the "magical art of Summoning," and Aldo, a "Summon Beast." There's a lot to play with, too, including side quests, weapon crafting, and alternate story paths and endings.
Atlus has already set up a site for the English release, but you should still check out the Japanese page for its web-based demo! Click around the menu, and you'll see what we mean. If you'd rather not leave the safety of DS Fanboy's arms, you can still see more of Summon Night: Twin Age in our gallery below!
We're not terribly fond of insects in the real world, and we think we've been able to figure out why -- normal insects are not giant fighting robots that we can pilot. We wouldn't roll the window down to let one of those out. We can always escape into the world of 
Atlus, we knew you wouldn't let us down!
2D action RPGs often have it rough when it comes to making impressive graphics. Due to the perspective, about 90% of the in-game graphics consist of grass, with the rest being tiny character sprites. Sometimes there are trees or shrubs in the grass. So to wow us with the graphics in an ARPG, you have to have awesome grass, and cram as much personality into the mostly-faceless characters as you can.
While the DS may be flush with 
