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"[GAME] Surgery Simulator - PC / Mac - Review"

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This thread has been linked to the game 'Surgeon Simulator 2013'.
Sun 04/08/13 at 00:54
Regular
"Braaains"
Posts: 439
Once upon a time there used be a game called Life and Death, which tasked you with conducting a number of highly detailed and half-way medically accurate procedures on a hapless patient. It was followed by a sequel called, unsurprisingly, Life and Death 2, which let you loose on a patient's brain with an array of sharp implements. And now, many years later, Steam has seen the release of the PC and Mac version of Surgery Simulator. Could it be that these games, which were, despite being really quite hard, were actually fairly highly acclaimed, have gained a spiritual successor? Er, no.

Despite its name, Surgery Simulator is actually quite a silly game. It started life as a single level game released as part of a 'Game Jam', where developers have a short period of time to come up with and create games based around a range of odd ideas. The game's controls are actually quite limited - you're given control of a surgeon's hand and can move his fingers using five keys, one for each finger. This means that actually wielding and using instruments such as a scalpel with any real accuracy is rather hard. So how are you expected to conduct a medically accurate operation? The answer is, you're not.

All you have to do to complete a heart transplant, for example, is to take out those useless bits on top of the heart - lungs, ribs, etc, and then drop a new heart into the hole. You can chuck the other bits off the operating table, if you so desire. In fact, the controls are so hilariously awkward, that'll often end up happening anyway. Completing the heart transplant operation usually involves whacking away at the ribs with a hammer, chucking them out bit by bit, flailing around with a scalpel till the lungs are cut free, then yanking them out. Granted, the patient may lose a bit of blood, but you can always poke them in the eye with a syringe of green gunk which will curtain their blood loss. Or you accidentally poke yourself with it in which case you start hallucinating.

It's all as mad as a it sounds - even the 'menu' has you sitting at a desk, poking objects about with your flailing hand. It's pretty damn entertaining, at least the first time you play it, and there are many Youtube videos showing people playing the game. In fact, it's a lot funnier if you have someone watching as you play. Once you've completed the heart surgery, you move on to a kidney transplant, and a brain transplant. Then, you get to do those in the back of an ambulance, and even get to do a heart transplant in space. Oh, and there's a hidden Team Fortress 2 level. The graphics are also suitably cartoony.

All of which might sound like a lot of fun, but there's a snag. Once you've played the first level - contained in the demo and the original game jam release - there's not all that much reason to continue. The kidney transplant is more of the same and the brain transplant level is really simplistic. All you do is crack the skull, cut and yank the brain out, stick a new one in and you're done. It's odd that the third operation is far easier than the first or second.

That's really the game's big minus point. It costs seven quid from Steam, and while I was able to pick it up for a few quid during a Steam sale, I've played it for a few hours and not gone back to it, despite completing the game. There's not a great deal of gameplay there, and you can also get the full first level for free from the makers website, which contains a lot of entertainment value. So in all honesty, you're best off just playing the demo. Surgery Simulator is fun, but the novelty does wear off quite quickly when you've finished the first operation. An interesting idea, but not one worthy of a full game.

Score - 5 out of 10.

Pros:
It's fun for maybe an hour or two.

Cons:
But subsequent operations are quite samey.
You can also get the demo which contains the first operation for free.
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Sun 04/08/13 at 00:54
Regular
"Braaains"
Posts: 439
Once upon a time there used be a game called Life and Death, which tasked you with conducting a number of highly detailed and half-way medically accurate procedures on a hapless patient. It was followed by a sequel called, unsurprisingly, Life and Death 2, which let you loose on a patient's brain with an array of sharp implements. And now, many years later, Steam has seen the release of the PC and Mac version of Surgery Simulator. Could it be that these games, which were, despite being really quite hard, were actually fairly highly acclaimed, have gained a spiritual successor? Er, no.

Despite its name, Surgery Simulator is actually quite a silly game. It started life as a single level game released as part of a 'Game Jam', where developers have a short period of time to come up with and create games based around a range of odd ideas. The game's controls are actually quite limited - you're given control of a surgeon's hand and can move his fingers using five keys, one for each finger. This means that actually wielding and using instruments such as a scalpel with any real accuracy is rather hard. So how are you expected to conduct a medically accurate operation? The answer is, you're not.

All you have to do to complete a heart transplant, for example, is to take out those useless bits on top of the heart - lungs, ribs, etc, and then drop a new heart into the hole. You can chuck the other bits off the operating table, if you so desire. In fact, the controls are so hilariously awkward, that'll often end up happening anyway. Completing the heart transplant operation usually involves whacking away at the ribs with a hammer, chucking them out bit by bit, flailing around with a scalpel till the lungs are cut free, then yanking them out. Granted, the patient may lose a bit of blood, but you can always poke them in the eye with a syringe of green gunk which will curtain their blood loss. Or you accidentally poke yourself with it in which case you start hallucinating.

It's all as mad as a it sounds - even the 'menu' has you sitting at a desk, poking objects about with your flailing hand. It's pretty damn entertaining, at least the first time you play it, and there are many Youtube videos showing people playing the game. In fact, it's a lot funnier if you have someone watching as you play. Once you've completed the heart surgery, you move on to a kidney transplant, and a brain transplant. Then, you get to do those in the back of an ambulance, and even get to do a heart transplant in space. Oh, and there's a hidden Team Fortress 2 level. The graphics are also suitably cartoony.

All of which might sound like a lot of fun, but there's a snag. Once you've played the first level - contained in the demo and the original game jam release - there's not all that much reason to continue. The kidney transplant is more of the same and the brain transplant level is really simplistic. All you do is crack the skull, cut and yank the brain out, stick a new one in and you're done. It's odd that the third operation is far easier than the first or second.

That's really the game's big minus point. It costs seven quid from Steam, and while I was able to pick it up for a few quid during a Steam sale, I've played it for a few hours and not gone back to it, despite completing the game. There's not a great deal of gameplay there, and you can also get the full first level for free from the makers website, which contains a lot of entertainment value. So in all honesty, you're best off just playing the demo. Surgery Simulator is fun, but the novelty does wear off quite quickly when you've finished the first operation. An interesting idea, but not one worthy of a full game.

Score - 5 out of 10.

Pros:
It's fun for maybe an hour or two.

Cons:
But subsequent operations are quite samey.
You can also get the demo which contains the first operation for free.

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