Grey’s Anatomy: The Video Game was developed by Longtail Studios, published by Ubisoft and distributed by ABC Studios on March 10, 2009. It is available on PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS.
Gameplay[]
It is an action game, only available in single player mode. The game is divided into three modes of play: challenges, choices, and surgeries.
Challenges and choices[]
The first two modes are explored through several types of mini-games that have to be achieved in a limited amount of time: Finding Strength, Setting Priorities, Forming Decisions, Digging Deep, Distancing Yourself, Powering Through, Seeking Focus, Matching Rhythm, Building Resolve, and Finding Comfort. They allow navigating through the characters' psychological state and are mostly related to their personal lives.
Surgeries[]
As for surgeries, surgical interventions have to be achieved by the characters as surgeons. They're all divided into simple steps and go from vital signs check to coronary arteries bypass, including injections, sutures, diagnoses (which are in fact a memorizing activity, forcing the player to remember pictograms), CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays' reading (searching for anomalies), blood suction, intubation, etc. Surgeries can be divided into several parts separated by mini-games.
Conform to the series' structure, the game is composed of scenes and acts within five episodes. The same title card is used. Each time a choice, a challenge, or a surgery isn't fulfilled within the range of time allowed, the player loses a heart. If all five hearts are lost, the scene has to be attempted over again. At the end of each scene, a ranking is given to the player, depending of the number of hearts remaining. Five rankings are possible, following the surgical hierarchy: Chief of Surgery, Attending, Chief Resident, Resident, and Intern.
Plot[]
Surgery.
The events of the video game take place during season four.
The plot focuses on an outbreak of diphtheria in the hospital. Other sub-plotlines are included, such as Cristina seeking a fellowship despite Derek's bad review before catching diphtheria, Alex hesitating between Lexie and Ava, and Derek and Meredith's relationship.
In addition to the show's season four regular characters, who are all included in the story, new characters have been created exclusively for the video game, such as CDC (Center for Disease Control) Agent Damon Birger, introduced to control the diphtheria outbreak, and Nurse Vince Bennet, who has Cristina as a love-interest.
History[]
Ubisoft announced it was releasing Grey's Anatomy: The Video Game, an adaptation of the ABC medical drama taking place in the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital.
Meredith and Derek.
In Grey's Anatomy, players will "make important personal and professional decisions, explore the direct relationships with each other, and perform ... delicate surgeries."
The doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital deal with life-or-death consequences on a daily basis -- it's in one another that they find comfort, friendship and, at times, more than friendship. Together they're discovering that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of gray. In this all-new adventure based on the hit TV show, players interact with the well-known faces from the series as they move from critical medical operations to life-affirming romantic entanglements.
General Features[]
Chief, George, Alex, Cristina, Lexie, Derek, and Bailey.
- Allows you to truly experience the world of Grey's Anatomy through the eyes of a doctor, the hands of a surgeon, the mind of a professional, and the heart of a romantic.
- Play as the Stars: For the first time ever, play as Meredith, Derek, Cristina, or any of your favorite cast members, with 3-D character models based on the original TV actors' likenesses. See the state of Seattle Grace Hospital's cast as it deals with one of the worst crises in the hospital's history!
- Influence the Storyline: Influence character dialogue and make critical decisions that affect the outcome of the storyline and the state of the hospital.
- Perform Surgeries: Take hold of your Wii Remote to perform multi-step surgeries as you tackle life or death situations in the operating room.
- Accessible Gameplay: User-friendly interface and innovative gameplay takes advantage of the freedom of the Wii Remote.