Zoo Hospital for the Wii is, in this department, an example of "good done better." Moving the same gameplay we saw on the DS intact to the Wii seems like an evolution, but gamers will be pleasantly surprised at how much of an upgrade there has been visually. To butcher the old expression, you don't know what you've been missing until something better comes along. The very spare presentation through simple dialogue and "talking heads" is here as it was in the DS, although the Wii version of Zoo Hospital features much more interaction with characters. The nuance of hearing and seeing animals more to scale in Zoo Hospital makes this much more fun to play than its smaller brethren. The medical center is now more than just a table you look down on as you inspect your patient. Each time you start with a god's eye view of the zoo and zoom down into the medical center to treat a new animal, there's a little tingle of excitement and anticipation. Big animals are sprawled on the floor, aquatic animals are in a tank for treatment, and small animals or birds are perched on the table.

Each animal has a series of different sounds before, during, and after treatment. The reward for a successful treatment is being able to watch the animal cavort in its enclosure happily, and you can always come back to feed or pet your former patients. The more detailed graphics help draw attention to small touches during treatments such as the animals' fur or coat, and the condition of their bodies. The impact of each tool is animated well and creates a great sense of accomplishment. There is some subtle background music but appropriately nothing that stands out over the sounds of the tools for treatment and each animal's condition monitor.

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.

Nobody said treating animals in a zoo was going to be easy, but some things are made more difficult than necessary. The tools you'll use are sized rather small on the screen, making them hard to manipulate and easy to futz up with a shaky hand. Moving closer to the television helps, but the overall bias of Zoo Hospital on Wii seems to be toward precision. Argue all you like that this makes Zoo Hospital feel more "real," but if the end result is frustration, is the realism worth it? Mini-games like the laser, giving shots, and extracting objects can be unnecessarily twitchy. Solo games like treating mites or lasering boils require a considerable amount of coordination and timing, but playing with a friend greatly smooths out the challenge. These end up being accessible to older kids but completely frustrating for the younger set. The more passive, relaxed games that we saw in the DS around caring for well animals by feeding and grooming them have been replaced by a simple feeding that is token at best. The analyses of test results that played a big role in the DS game have been eliminated completely, which is unfortunate. All the stats on each animals are included, but nothing is ever done with them... The difficulty level makes this a stretch for young gamers, but multiplayer ends up being a saving grace for Zoo Hospital on Wii.

Our gripe about using the tools is no joke. This toolset was not incredibly well implemented compared to other games on the Wii. Some real precision is required to grab the right tool and use it in the right way, due to the small size of the icons. The procedures are relatively simple once the basic mechanics are mastered, but there isn't a robust help feature after you go through the first tutorial. Having a more interactive tutorial would have been nice. The different options in Zoo Hospital for treatment go way beyond what we saw on DS in terms of control options. Instead of just tapping viruses to kill them, you'll be able to laser a series of bugs that multiply, while using a shield to protect healthy cells or drive back the viruses. The minigame that involves killing pests on the animal requires several separate actions. You press (B) to spray and kill small bugs or stun big ones, then swat the stunned bugs by pressing (A) and swinging the Wii-mote, then use the swab tool to eliminate any bites left by bugs you didn't reach in time. When you run out of bug spray, you'll shake the Wii-mote like a bottle of ketchup to refill it. This process repeats through several waves of bugs, and is quite challenging for a solo player. There are plenty of animals, but not a lot of mini-games, meaning you'll repeat many games.

It's impressive that the entire game runs from the Wii-mote alone, rather than incorporating the Nunchuk and adding levels of complexity. Learning the toolsets can be a challenge since they will change in certain contexts. The dental tools are only available when you're doing a dental procedure, which avoids players having to cycle through too many menus or go beyond the palette of six or eight tools available at the bottom of the screen. If your home includes a fan of the original Zoo Hospital on DS, this Wii version will likely be a hit. There are some things missing in this version, but they've been dropped in favor of improved graphics and a very creative, well-implemented multiplayer. The animals are adorable and plentiful, enough to keep this on rotation for a few weeks until another shiny toy comes along. The perfect place for Zoo Hospital is in the rental queue, if you have that availalble, but it may even be a worthwhile purchase for big fans.