Legacy Interactive and Glyphic Entertainment are currently working House, M.D., a casual PC and DS game based on the TV series of the same name. I was fortunate enough to get some hands on time with the Windows PC version of the game, which will be released in September, 2010, to coincide with the new season. So let’s take a look at what the virtual House cases are like.
Much like the actual TV series, the cases in House, M.D. are separated into episodes. After exploring the main menu, it looks like you can return to any of the five episodes at any time, after you’ve completed one. Since this was my first time playing I decided to just start fresh with a new game and Episode 1: Globetrotting.
An episode of the House M.D. game begins and proceeds much like an episode from the TV show. An old man named Henry Richter, host of the show Globetrotting!, is just finishing an episode in Malaysia when he falls ill. He suddenly feels cold, despite the 100 degree heat, begins coughing and choking, and then passes out. As it’s happening, you can see a momentary peek at the inside of his throat, just as it would happen in the show.
The game then shifts to Princeton Plainsboro, where Dr. House is examing Henry. After a quip from House, I then began examing the patient, looking for any symptoms. I could check various areas of his body, and use a pen light, magnifying glass, stethoscope and gloves to check Henry out. After clicking on an area of Henry’s body, the notepad on the right told me how many symptoms in that area I had to find. For example, clicking Henry’s head, then the blue glove, then holding the glove to his forehead helped me see that he has a fever. Or checking his chest with the magnifying glass revealed tick bites. A flashing exclamation point let me know where a symptom is hiding.
I also got to ask the patient more questions. For example, while I was examing Henry, House was able to ask for more information on a few things. I chose to ask him about his collapsing. He then said that it happened in Malasyia.
After searching for initial symptoms, House them meets with his team, which for this episode consists of Foreman, Taub and Thirteen. (If you’re not a follower of the show, you won’t know who’s who since it doesn’t say their names.) It then launched into a diagnosis mini-game. Various ailment and affliction names will float around the screen as a word slowly reveals itself above House’s head. You have to pick the floating one that matches. This game replays a few times, as the diseases tossed out by House’s team may not fit.
After going through lots of possibilities, Taub comes up with one that could make sense. It’s time to do some tests to see if he has the right affliction picked out. But before that, I got a score for how you did during the diagnosis mini-game. House grades you, complete with a sarcastic comment, and I got my results for that mini-game (B-).
Now it’s time for tests to check the diagnosis and see what’s wrong. The first one performed in the first episode is a blood test. I drew blood, using the proper tools in the correct order. This means dragging and dropping. Or tapping and clicking. It varies. After getting five vials of blood, you’re done. Wilson appeared afterwards to grade me.
After a brief story segment with House harassing Cudy, it moved onto the next mini-game. Taub and Chase are performing a lung biopsy on Henry. For this mini-game, I would tap arrows to guide the bronchoscope to see what’s going on inside of Henry’s throat. If I saw something that didn’t look right, I needed to tap the biopsy button. There were eight anomalies to find, and the whole affair is timed. If you take too long, the patient chokes. You’re graded again, then the game proceeds.
Another mini-game involves helping Thirteen test the blood you took in the earlier mini-game. I had to move mouse to make the centerfuge spin, so it could maintain the speed necessary to perform a successful test. Like the previous test, it’s timed. So I had to keep spinning at the right speed so the test bar fills up before the timer bar runs out. As always, there’s a grade once its done.
The next mini-game has Wilson helping out by analyzing the blood samples. I was presented with a machine that had various intersections and areas labeled and numbered. I was then told which valves to open and touch so the process could proceed properly. It was fairly easy, though spinning the motors was quite trying with both a touch pad mouse and standard mouse.
After a few more mini-game tests proved the first diagnosis was wrong. So there’s another story segment, where House meets the Globetrotting! producer, Gwen. He questions her about Henry. Each time, I got three possible topics to ask about. Once I hit on the right question, you’ll get a question mark and get to proceed onto new subjects to continue the case.
After that, it’s spying time. Thirteen is sent to trail Gwen. Foreman and Taub are sent to Henry’s home to investigate. The Foreman and Taub investigation is a hidden object-ish mini-game, where you have to find and click on 18 clues. They’re pretty easy to find, since they’re the only ones which appear highlighted when I scrolled over and clicked on them. If you do start clicking randomly, Foreman chastises you. Once I was done, I had to arrange photos I found there to see a location. Rearranging them correctly reveals a bombshell breakthrough about the case.
Overall, House, M.D. seems very faithful to the TV show. The characters behave and look the same. It follows the same progression for each in-game episode. There are even story segment asides or an occasional extra clinic case for House to solve. From what I’ve played so far, it also seems like the mini-games cover a variety of genres and don’t just resort to casual game staples. We’ll see more once the game is released. Stop by Gamertell again in September for the full House, M.D. game review!
Site [House, M.D.]
Okay, I am playing the game and CAN NOT figure out how to actually spin the blood analyzer. My husband and I are pretty good at figuring out games but this one has me stumped. Please help!