Join the cast of Another Videogame Webcomic as we peek behind the curtain to see what exactly goes into bringing your favorite video games to the small screen. It may be a job in video games, but it's still a job.
Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game
Platform: Nintento DS
Price: $29.99
Even though I heard about the Grey's Anatomy game a while back, I'm not sure any amount of time could have prepared me for what the game turned out to be. What could have been another in a long line of phoned-in licensed games turns out to be something much different and more bizarre than anyone could have anticipated.
Like the tv show on which the game is based, the gameplay of Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game consists of about ten percent surgical simulation and ninety percent relationship roleplaying via minigames. In the game, you take the role of every major character (and some minor characters) in five lost episodes, each episode is broken down into six acts, each act is broken down into a number of scenes and each scene is comprised of a few minigames. (And when loading your saved game you can see exactly where you are in completing the game... which is both good and bad. Good because you can see exactly how much you have left. Bad because you can see exactly how much you have left.)
The minigames are categorized into three different types, surgical, challenge and choice. The surgical minigames are pretty straightforward and vary from procedure to procedure. They run the gamut from making incisions, stitching and my personal favorite, "the hospital sprint". The challenge and choice minigames represent the thoughts of the characters you're playing. Challenge minigames have one particular solution and choice gives you two solutions to the minigame and leaves it up to you to choose which solution you complete. The minigames range from flicking away thought bubbles to assembling pictures of the characters from puzzle pieces.
When put together into one package, it makes for a surreal experience. It almost feels like a roleplaying game played through the collected minigames. The difficulty curve seems tailored to casual players as the majority of the game is pretty easy. But in the latter portions of the game, the game gets suddenly and outrageously difficult. It doesn't help that sometimes your objective in the minigames are obscure and presented with little instruction on how to complete them.
Rating
If you're not familiar with Grey's Anatomy, you must not have a working TV... and if that's the case, this probably isn't the game for you. I found the surgical portions of the game to be the most interesting, but they're few and far between. If you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy, then you might want to play the game just to watch the "lost episodes" (which, as far as I can tell, happens somewhere in Season 4
). If you're somewhere in between, I'd say it's worth a "rent" just for how surreal it is. It's not a bad game, but really, the only thing that entices you to finish the game is the story (or, alternately, if you need to review it for a webcomic you produce).
Recommendations
Trauma Center - If you're looking for more surgical action, try this DS Game
, it's sequel
or the Wii version
or its sequel
. Here the minigames are purely surgical, although I don't find them to be as interesting as the ones in Grey's Anatomy.
Player Two
After the resurgence of multiplayer co-op, GameBizCo Inc. hired Player Two to be the Goose to someone else's Maverick. His workload isn't quite as heavy as most of the other people working at GameBizCo Inc. and as a result, he spends a lot of time in the break room or playing computer solitaire.
First Appearance: Another Videogame Webcomic?!? An Introduction
Player One
Player One is top dog at GameBizCo Inc. Nearly every game, from Pong to Mario Bros to Grand Theft Auto, requires Player One's expertise. His cocksure and sometimes inappropriate attitude is an annoyance to his coworkers but seeing as every game needs a first player, they make due.
First Appearance: Bonus Stage! Here comes Player One!
Damsel I. Distress
Whether it be a castle, a dungeon or mystical island, Damsel always needs to be saved... and she hates it. Damsel longs for the day when she's given the role of a strong female lead character who doesn't have huge breasts with hyper accurate physics.
First Appearance: LittleBIGPlanet
Final Boss
Underneath the huge brute that is Final Boss lies a timid creature who wouldn't hurt a fly. He puts on his "angry face" when throwing barrels down ramps or breathing fire but deep down he feels sorry for doing so. He's been known to throw a game or two in the player's favor.
First Appearance: World Record
John Minion
John Minion, or Min for short, is the hardest working employee at GameBizCo Inc. Playing everything from Goombas to no name thugs, Min gets beat up on a daily basis but loves every minute of it. He always wanted to work in the gaming industry and was originally hired as an intern. After years of getting coffee, his big break came when someone called in sick... and the rest is history.
First Appearance: Watchmen: The End is Nigh
Middle Manager
Middle Manager works in the Human Resources department. He runs staff meetings and interviews prospective employees. The other 90% of his time is spent playing Freecell on his computer.
First Appearance: Another Videogame Webcomic?!? An Introduction