Translating
Zoo Hospital to Wii is both a hit and miss from a gameplay standpoint. There's no question that performing operations and even simple treatments with motion control is a gas. The problems stem more from a relatively slow pace and repetition that attempts to draw out the game experience. If the rub of
Zoo Hospital on DS was the relatively light amount of gaming under-the-hood, it feels like
Zoo Hospital for Wii has over-corrected. As an example, early in the game there's a storyline about infected animals in the zoo that need treatment. This counts as a distinct stage within
Zoo Hospital, so it isn't like you can pass by it or take another path if you wish. Your response as a vet within the zoo is to quarantine and inoculate a number of animals to break the back of a bad virus that has crept in by way of an infected animal. The process for treating the virus involves a mini-game with a laser that is one of the more challenging procedures in the game. The first few times, it is fun to treat the virus, but by the tenth time, my patience and attention-span were wearing thin...
Several of the mini-games from the DS are brought directly into this version, but with slightly different mechanics. Games around giving shots, swabbing and stitching wounds, and extracting objects are virtually the same but use motion controls, where a button-press or stylus swipe had to suffice before. Shaving an animal prior to a procedure was always fun, but takes on a wonderfully tactile quality now with a buzzing Wii-mote in your hand. This kind of physicality works also for activities like dentistry, that wasn't as involved in the DS version. The improved graphics allow for more intricate procedures and tools, but also increase the challenge at times. There's a wonderfully implemented multiplayer that is co-op, that unlocks once you get a ways into the solo campaign. Two players will see each other on the screen and can attack different parts of a procedure or work together using the same tool. The increased challenge for some mini-games can be mediated through co-op, as in the case of one person swabbing while the other gives shots, or protecting cells while the other person pops germs. The only danger in making this an unlocked mode is that younger players may become frustrated and give up on the solo campaign before realizing they can get help later. There is also less focus on non-surgical treatments and animal care in this version, compared to the DS. Feeding animals is fine, but gets old after a few times, especially without any significant payoff. The grooming mini-games that were a facet of Zoo Hospital on the DS are absent with just a few exceptions on the Wii, damaging the replay value.
