ER
Ages: Teen

Using the assets of the popular TV show, Legacy/Vivendi already has a built in audience for the game. Those fans of the TV show will be pleased with the realistic translation from show to game. From a 3D isometric view they can wander through all the familiar places in Chicago County General Hospital, while listening to the voices of Noah Wyle, Mekhi Phifer, and Sherry Springfield replaying their roles from the show.

The game is Sim-like but simpler. You basically control one character, who you can customize in a choice of gender, color, clothing, and one of six medical specialties. While your character, the newbie intern, starts out with simple tasks -- the pace increases to the proverbial "no time to sleep" schedule. There are triage situations, a patient running amok, and in the midst of all this, you have to establish relationships to advance. There are 12 episodes and each must be accomplished in 98 minutes, which adds real life tension to the game.

The player's skill in diagnosis is not taxed, as your character seemingly knows exactly what to do, and all it involves is shunting patients to one of three types of wards -- sub-critical, critical and the trauma center for those dangerously ill. In another of Legacy's games Zoo Vet the player must acquire the skill to diagnose and treat the animals.

But the game is fun, although the player must pay attention to the computer requirements for the game. It will only install on Windows 2000 and XP (in spite of the box stating 98 and Me) and requires a 1.2 GHz Pentium with a late model video card or a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4. I do wonder why a game that has seemingly been targeted for a general audience has such a disproportionate requirements for playing.

Reviewed by: Editor - 06/05

This game was a bit too complex for me. There were too many characters that you needed to remember and all of the challenges were timed. I found that it was very hard to get from room to room with the mouse. (this did not help the time factor) Many of the characters I met in this game were mean or rude. Almost none were nice or kind. I would definitely suggest to play the tutorial before you actually play. This game doesn't actually have a story. I think there should be a twist or a goal you try to reach. I can tell that it is trying to be like the Sims, but you aren't actually doing anything productive for yourself and you can't do whatever you want. Many orders given by higher ranking doctors were unclear and hard to do. I would give this game 4 out of 10.

Monica D. 13

Reviewed by: - 09/05