Why You Can Trust CNET Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game review: Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game
Have you always liked the game Operation, but thought there wasn't enough sexual tension? With Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game, you too can partake in the risky business of flirtatious surgery.
For many people, Grey's Anatomy is a fantasy world of romance and human relationships mixed with a smattering of medical drama. The video game is much the same, taking cues from the show and adding interactive elements to make you feel like an extra in an adaptation of the Operation board game — but with sexual tension.
Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Set in the wards of Seattle Grace Hospital, the game is organised into a series of episodes just like the TV show. In the vein of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, you get the choice between a series of actions to help drive the game forward. In the first scene you are initially assigned the character of Meredith Grey and the format of the game appears relatively straightforward — Meredith must choose whether to remain calm and collected or flirt shamelessly with McDreamy in the lift. But after that particular scene is finished you switch immediately to the next character, a seemingly random game of musical white coats.
"I'm ready for my close up, Mr DeMille." (Credit: Ubisoft)
The plot centres on an outbreak of Diphtheria in the hospital, meaning that the characters must remain in a form of quarantine throughout the game. When playing each of the characters you are asked to carry out routine procedures to help stop the disease from spreading, alongside the day-to-day activities that go on in a hospital (like removing pieces of glass from a wound and then stitching it back together). The surgery gets even more intense as risky procedures start to make their way into your repertoire, depending on which character you play: making incisions under general anaesthetic and mopping up blood is part and parcel of your role. In almost all instances, once a patient has been treated, post-surgery they appear to have miraculously recovered. Their scars, wounds and bruises no longer exist. No wonder McDreamy and McSteamy are getting all hot under the stethoscope — all that work for nothing!
McWhiny
After an hour of play, the game begins to grate. It's not so much the design of the game such as the graphics, sound effects or even the plot that's the problem. It's the characters that are the real problem as they come across as whining busybodies. People need medical attention, but McDreamy can't help seducing Meredith while in the middle of a risky operation. At this point in the game you may well wonder just who was responsible for giving these doctors their degrees.
Don't try this at home, unless you're a qualified surgeon or are playing Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game. (Credit: Ubisoft)
Even though the game centres on decisions that the user makes, even when you decide on a certain course of action for your character, you won't always get your way. In fact, the game is structured so that even if you have your heart set on choosing one outcome, the game has already decided what it wants you to do, and you have to start the task again.
Analysing the chart
In terms of actual gameplay, it's a very mixed bag. You perform all the tasks with the Wii remote such as operating on patients to unfurling scrunched up balls of paper that will help one of the characters decide what course of action to take, but you will need a steady hand to play this game. Usually the Wii remote compensates for the shakes in other games, but without a softly-softly approach you'll be repeating the bandage removal tasks and vaccinations again and again, which can be frustrating.
The game also misses little touches, like not having a screen at the end of each episode, asking if you want to quit or proceed to the next section. This isn't a necessary feature, but it does make you feel as though the whole game could continue quite happily without you.
The graphics, though, are good. There's clearly been a concerted effort to capture the likeness of the actors who play these characters on the show, and their dialogue and interactions are often hilarious. The same goes for the sound effects, particularly those during procedures — failing to correctly place a bandage on a patient results in a throbbing noise and a red mark around the skin.
The viewing gallery
Now that you can invest in a piece of the Grey's Anatomy franchise, is it worth it? Yes and no. Clearly this is a game for fans of the show, but it's possible to enjoy aspects of the platform without prior knowledge, though you may be put off after a while by the unsympathetic characterisation.