Welcome to The TPS Report, home to video game blogs, mix sets and even the odd piece o' 3D art.

Broke arse student, freelance games reviewer and rambling obsessive that I am, I currently seek work in mags and web sites throughout the world. If you're in a position to make that happen - and like what you see around here - let me know. I've published work with the likes of IGN and Gaming Steve.

-Matt/Diggler

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28/7/2012 22:31

Preview Time! Games to Look Out For in 2011
8/1/2011 5:54

2010's Games of Shame
6/1/2011 22:47

My Fave Games of 2010!
6/1/2011 20:12

StarCraft II Review - Dig Loveth the RTS!?
7/11/2010 12:48

10 Must-Have iPhone Games
2/6/2010 18:09

A Little Hotlink to An Article I Stuck Up On GiantBomb
21/4/2010 15:01

Aliens Vs Predator is Here! Woo! Oh, Hang On...
6/3/2010 20:58

iPhone Games!
6/3/2010 20:40

The Top 30 Games of an Obscenely Packed 2009. Shit Gets Epic
7/1/2010 20:09

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If interested in discussing writing opportunities for on or offline gaming publications - either UK based or abroad - please contact me via E-Mail. Sparkling CV available on request

 

 

Dig's Been Slicing Up Dudes in Trauma Center For the DS!
Posted by Diggler - 21/8/2006 14:10

Trauma Center is an older DS game, one which I only recently picked up on the recommendation of that real life expert in the ways of slicing human flesh we call Tom. It's the sort of title that could only ever exist on the DS, as the thought of playing something like this with a controller makes one feel a little repulsed, truth be told.

You play Derek Stiles, a reckless young surgeon who's tasked with carrying out operations which you embark upon via the DS' touch screen and stylus. The game doesn't necessarily require any previous medical knowledge, talking you through the procedures step by step, but I must say working in a hospital myself did help out a fair bit in some of the more gruelling later stages. More on these in a sec.

Suppositories

As a virtual cadaver, Trauma Center is different and inventive, but far from perfect
The way the operations work is pretty darn sweet actually. The bottom screen provides a first person view of the operating table, with two toolbars down either side housing all your surgical apparatus.

These include everything from simple syringes and forceps, to ultrasound readers and laser cutters. Whether you wanna inject female hormones into some dude's coin purse, or just take a good old fashioned rectal temperature reading, it's simply a case of tapping whichever utensil you seek, then scribbling on the relevant body part to use it.

Okay, perhaps not. Trauma Center remains reasonably light and clean you see, avoiding the more mature sights of the human anatomy, not to mention the gorier elements of surgery too. You will still find yourself exposed to a wide variety of interesting conditions and treatments over the course of the game though.

Meanwhile the top screen is used to handle the storyline elements, and it's here where things become less pleasing for me. Very few operations go smoothly you see, so as crazy new twists and turns pop up mid-operation, various characters will appear along the top to talk you through what's going on and advise you on how to proceed.

This is all very Japanese in execution, with exaggerated manga characters who talk way too much, gushing volumes of incoherent text that unfortunately you can't skip, but I guess if nothing else it does garnish the game with a ton of style and colour that could otherwise have been kinda bland and sterile.

Let's Fighting Love

Trauma Center's plot quite frankly blows, and is featured way too prominently
I guess the real problem is, this emphasis on character interactions and huge servings of dialogue just goes way overboard. As the game progresses, the operations almost take a back seat to a (really rather lame) storyline in particular, one that goes completely fucking leftfield at times and just way too far into supernatural territory for me.

Personally, I dug Trauma Center the most in its earlier missions, when rooted more firmly in reality. Simple procedures like removing glass from an arm and suturing up the wound prove to be fun, simple little bite sized operations that work beautifully on a handheld. It's a blast to drag and scribble on the touch screen, "interacting" with the human body in a completely fresh and different way than we're used to. These sections are where the game truly shines in my book, and I just wish it maintained that simplicity and sheer fun for the duration.

Alas, it doesn't. As the aforementioned storyline progresses and convolutes, the actual operations themselves do too. They become so complicated and so glaringly difficult in fact, it just completely disrupts the entire flow of the game.

There's one op for instance, where a patient has numerous bursting aneurysms which need to be injected, excised and repaired in one super fast motion. This is fine by itself, but when five pop up simultaneously and can burst in all but a moment's notice (spelling instant death, I might add), it requires speed and dexterity even a real-life surgeon would gawp at. It just all becomes way too frustrating for me.

This isn't helped by what feels to me, like the first and only real time the DS stylus has failed to respond as fast as it should be doing. I've never encountered it before in any other titles on the machine, but here in Trauma Center there are definite moments where my taps and drags don't register, which in these high pressure, split-second operations, can make or break your success. Not cool.

Easy as the Real Thing

TC appears ripe for youngsters on the face of it, holding back on the gore and ER-style blood spurts. In terms of sheer difficulty though, only the most skilled surgeons need apply
True, while these super hard operations which the game tosses up in its latter half may annoy the piss out of you, at least when you do pull 'em off it can be similarly bloody satisfying. The tension and pressure mounts up so damn much at times, you not only find yourself sweating all over your touch screen, but even starting to feel like someone's life is actually in your hands.

I just dunno if I want something so ridiculously hardcore and brutal on my DS is all. I wanna play my handheld when relaxing on the train ride home, unwinding after a long, arduous day's work. Content, if nothing else, in the fact that I don't have to return to the office for another eight hours of hell 'til the following morning. I wanna bask in relaxation while I fiddle with my DS. Hell, I might even slip out a cheeky little guff when no one's looking. It's my quiet time at the end of the day. My DS time.

Yet Trauma Center gets so bloody difficult and involving I'm just rarely in the mood for it to be honest. The arse cheeks remain firmly clenched when this mother fucker's on the go, let me tell ya.

I hate to say it, but I wish as a surgical game, this one had in fact just stuck to the more bland, slower-paced realism of a proper hospital, than the barmy, supernatural bullet time-tinged Japanese craziness we get instead. With more of a focus on the early fun and simplicity which it showcases so pleasingly well at the start - as opposed to that end game frustration it slowly mutates into later - Trauma Center could indeed have been one of the DS' finest. How unfortunate.

About three quarters in now, I'll certainly try to finish it, as it ain't a long game by any means. I must say though, my patience is most certainly being tested at this point, and if this were real-life, I would have most likely taken the nearest scalpel to the eye of that stuck-up hentai knock-off of a female nurse constantly barking orders in my ear.

Err, anyway...

I can still recommend this sucker for the more enjoyable operations found at the front-end of the game, but as a full-blown DS title, there are better and more worthy offerings available.

Still, that upcoming Wii remake could be fun...

(Pictures courtesy of Atlus)

Untitled Document

The Polynomial. Like playing a rave

Untitled Document

Game
Fallout 3

Enjoying a fully modded out re-visit. Wow

Film
The Road

Pretty much due to the above

Show
Breaking Bad

Already shaping up to be the best season yet

Tune
Explosions in the Sky

Easing the pain of living in a post-Friday Night Lights world

Untitled Document

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Area 5
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Fully Ramblomatic
A hysterical gaming blogger posting what he calls "zero punctuation" video reviews that have to be seen - and heard - to be believed

A Life Well Wasted
Freelance journalist Robert Ashley's internet radio show, with a far more interesting and professional demeanor than your typical podcast. Interviews, fast-paced editing and catchy tunes abound

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The Hotspot
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Gaming Steve
A more mature podcast, hosted by a long-time games industry professional armed with a ton of insider info and loads of interesting opinions. The Dig's been known to post articles and stories on here from time to time

Consolevania
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Major Nelson
An interesting "blogcast" hosted by a Microsoft employee, featuring stacks of exclusive behind the scenes news and interviews relating to all things Xbox 360

The Kojima Productions Report
Official podcast from the team of Hideo Kojima, creator of the much-loved Metal Gear franchise. Full of news and interviews relating to all things Metal Gear, it's probably one for die-hard fans only

Pure Pwnage
Mockumentary series on the life of a pro gamer. Episode five is possibly the funniest thing on the internet

Other Sites

Kotaku
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Game Trailers
Easy to use multimedia-rich web site offering official trailers, video demos and sneak peaks at all the upcoming releases

Game Videos
Sister site to 1up.com, focusing on game trailers, video interviews and even the odd documentary

Gamespot
The Gamespot front-end, and the gaming equivalent of the Internet Movie Database. Includes detailed reviews and extensive video features on pretty much all systems and games ever made

Giant Bomb
Speaking of Gamespot, the controversial "letting go" of editor Jeff Gerstmann resulted in him starting up this new venture with fellow former writers of the site. Great podcast in particular

1up.com
Discounting the audio and video shows mentioned earlier, 1up's main site is also worth a visit in its own right. Not only bustling with quality gaming articles and extensive developers' blogs, it also doubles up as a massive friends network, ideal for meeting fellow gamers and joining like-minded communities

Live Marketplace Feed
The most up to date and reliable way to keep track of all the new Xbox Live Marketplace content, from new weapons and map packs, to movie trailers and game demos

Xbox Reloaded
360 backwards compatibility can be a minefield. This blog attempts to shed some light on the issue by playing original Xbox games for you and reporting back the results

GameFAQs
The ultimate resource for walkthroughs and cheats

Disposable Media
A wonderful (and free) E-zine, full of reviews and articles on gaming, movies, music and TV. Puts most high street mags to shame

X-Fire
A must-have for all PC gamers, X-Fire is a buddy list and communications tool that keeps constant tabs on what games both you and all your mates are playing, on or offline

Steam
A contender to the X-Fire throne that has pretty much overtaken it straight out of the gate. Valve's Steam client contains friends lists, downloadable games, Live-style achievements and plenty more to sink your teeth into

MyGamerCard.net
Convert your Xbox Live gamercard into an image, for use on forums and web sites for free. That's mine further down

Ain't it Cool News
The latest news, gossip and spy reports from the world of movies, TV and (occasionally) video games

Smodcast
Writer, director and actor Kevin Smith - he of Clerks fame - records a monthly podcast in which he and fellow pals discuss everything from trying to felate oneself, to the time his dog got covered in ejaculate. Riveting stuff

 

Matt Robinson, 2011

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