Jump to the official press release.

Famitsu Weekly's website has posted the first details and screenshots of Trauma Center: New Blood, the first real sequel to the popular surgery game. The game is to be officially announced this week by Atlas USA, and in fact there is currently no confirmation of a Japanese release. Both versions of the previous game were released in Japan before North America.

In typical Famitsu fashion, the details are very scarce, but here's what we do know: there is a cooperative mode in which two players, controlling two new doctors (Mark Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock), can operate on a patient simultaneously. The game also features widescreen support and some kind of online ranking. So far, there is no sign of the first game's protagonist, Dr. Derek Stiles. The two new doctors begin the game practicing in Alaska, but the scope of the game is purported to be much larger than before.

Please click the source link above to see Famitsu's screenshots of the game, and check back with NWR later this week for more info.

Thanks to Kairon for the news tip!

ATLUS U.S.A., INC. ANNOUNCES TRAUMA CENTER: NEW BLOOD™!

All-New Characters, All-New Emergencies, All-New Excitement!

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — JULY 10th, 2007 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced Trauma Center: New Blood, a new entry in the award-winning Trauma Center franchise, exclusively for the Wii™!

Keep your hands steady and your mind focused – this time around there’s a lot more on the line. Every cut of the scalpel, every pinch of the forceps, each and every second that ticks by is of the absolute greatest importance. If you think it's too much to handle alone, invite a friend to assist with the operation and work together to save patients from flat-lining. The adrenaline is pumping, lives are at stake, and only you can save the day. Have you got what it takes?

Trauma Center: New Blood has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

About Trauma Center: New Blood:

At a remote hospital in Alaska, Dr. Markus Vaughn quietly toils, a surgeon who has forsaken the politics and power struggles of his former ward. He is content to use the power he has discovered within himself, the Healing Touch, to positively affect the lives of those in need. His partner is Valerie Blaylock, a promising young doctor eager to unlock her own dormant abilities.

When the facility unexpectedly closes, they are forced to return to Concordia Medical Institute, where politics are more important than patient’s lives, and doctors more concerned with image than their ministration. There they are recruited into the government organization Caduceus, where they will learn of a conspiracy with dire ramifications, and their lives will be changed forever!

Key Features:

• Two Player Cooperative Play! For the first time in the series, work with a friend to race against the clock and save lives…success will require teamwork and communication – Every second counts!

• All-New Story, Characters, and Operations! Depend on a brand new medical team for support and advice as you tackle new emergencies.

• Fully Voiced Dialogue! Characters will come to life as never before as they speak to you during operations and story cutscenes.

• Full 480p and 16x9 Widescreen Support!

• Online Score Ranking System!