Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Playing the Wii and cutting people open are the same things, really. Okay, not really. But, according to science, playing Wii games can help improve one's surgical skills.

Studies showed that trainees performed better in virtual reality surgical simulations after getting in some Wii time first. Those who played the Wii before testing their surgical skills scored 50% higher in the simulation than those who didn't.

Of course, not all Wii games are fashioned for improving dexterity. We don't imagine that Wii Boxing, for example, would be good for anything except tenderizing organs. Titles that require delicacy and precision, though, like Marble Mania, had positive results. We're curious to know whether or not Trauma Center would be useful to blossoming surgeons, but unfortunately, the game was not mentioned (and perhaps not used) in the study.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Ever since Trauma Center: New Blood was announced, it seems we're awash in videos from the forthcoming title, but really, who can complain? This latest shows off some of the cooperative play, and by "some of," we mean an entire operation. Looks like nothing's decreased in intensity here, but really, what is Trauma Center if not an experience in getting your ass kicked? We're in!

We love Trauma Center. It's just good, clean, surgical fun, and the forthcoming New Blood just looks awesome. It's just this box art we're not sure about. Maybe it's just us, but it seems so ... plain. So mundane. So not in-keeping with the other games. What do you think of it?

Look, don't get us wrong. We're likely to sink an unhealthy number of hours into it anyway, because that's what we do in the seven minutes of spare time we have per week. It's just that sometimes, we're forced to shake our heads over boxart decisions, and this is one of those times.

So we know that the Wii is a big hit in retirement homes and on cruise ships, and may even be featured in gyms across America, but one rehabilitation center is using Nintendo's latest to help patients recover proper muscle functions. The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Canada is using the Wii in lieu of traditional therapeutic techniques -- such as hour-long sessions of throwing a ball across a room. Visiting doctor Grigore Burdea of Rutgers University praised the program, saying that patients embrace Wii therapy, and it not only helps them recover, but gives them a chance to lose themselves in the game, which helps to mitigate their pain levels. 34-year-old Albert Liaw, a patient in the hospital, suffered a stroke that sidelined his career as a boxer, and he's been using Wii Sports Boxing to improve the range of movement in his left arm, and hopes that due to the game, he'll at least be able to enjoy a career as a trainer, even if he can't get back into the ring as a competitor.

But the real application, as seen by those who've worked with it, lies in software not yet created. The Wii could easily be used, with the proper software, in place of a live therapist, and allow patients in remote areas to go through therapy while being monitored by remote. Until then, therapists at Glenrose will likely keep using Wii Sports, as demand at the hospital has been huge.