DS gets another emergency surgery simulator

While we weren't particularly impressed with the implementation or balance of touchscreen surgery simulator Trauma Center: Under the Knife, the basic premise of taking your stylus in hand and successfully overcoming medical emergencies is clearly a great one for the DS.

And Austrian publisher JoWood certainly thinks so too, as its first DS game, touchscreen medical simulator Lifesigns, has just been announced.

At this early stage, few details have been revealed but a quick scan of the (Japanese) screenshots [it's being made by Japan-based gamemaker Spike - Ed] demonstrates this is a game cut direct from Trauma Center's cloth, right down to the completely over-the-top manga graphics style, and what looks like a messy love triangle between the young buck surgeon, a cute nurse and a more experienced femme fatale. (Actually, that sounds more like C4 comedy Green Wing.)

Oh and there's some medical stuff too, where you use your stylus to tap touchscreen buttons to morph it into various medical implements, and save lives and everything.

As for the backstory, there's no mention (yet) of a Trauma Center-esque bonkers terrorist plot to kill the world with an evil virus, only gentle mumurings about starting your career as an assistant doctor and working your way to become chief physician. But don't be surprised if things get more bizarre as the game's release date – currently spring 2007 – grows nearer.