HOUSE M.D.: Critical Cases Facebook Game *Review*

I love HOUSE M.D.! I started watching it on the television the year after the big kiddo was born when it launched, and instantaneously got addicted. I don't know if I fell in love with the medical mysteries, or the crass attitude and demeanor of Dr. Gregory House himself, or the rest of the staff at Princeton Plainview.  All I knew was that I was hooked- an instant fan.

Now that the series is officially over, I'm heartbroken. Yes, I'll be able to live, but thanks to the new Ubisoft Facebook game, HOUSE M.D.: Critical Cases, I can get my dose of House any time I want to.

When you click on the game, the start up page brings you to a Dr. House avatar, that closely resembles Hugh Laurie himself, and the smaller version (on a segway!) moves from left to right to show its loading progress. The game loads and brings you to a scene that plays out by clicking the continue button. It has all of the great characters that the show has, Chase, Taub, Thirteen, and Foreman, and you- Dr. Whatever-your-last-name-is. The insults start right away, well, because you're fresh meat at Princeton Plainview. Then you are introduced to your first case in a soap-opera-esque story line (not narrarated, thankfully, just text). The patient is wheeled into the hospital, and you are prompted to click on the different tasks to help try to cure the patient.

Just like in the television show, some of the treatment options work, and make the patient feel better, while some bomb, and the patient crashes.. to the point where you need to click your mouse to charge the paddles and bring your patient back to life.

As you progress in this game, you unlock different parts of the hospital; the pharmacy, where you stock up and buy medications, the clinic and the lab, where you can play mini-games to diagnose your patients and unlock new items and levels. Take care of critical patients, "stitch" emergency patients, and share your progress with your friends on your wall.

What I like most is that I can leave my case, come back later, and my patient doesn't die. I'm sure it's not typical in Dr. House's world, but I live in the real world where kids and the husband need me.

I really love the fact that it's not run by the same Facebook game/app creator that most of the other games are, so there's no annoying gliches that I've discovered, no need to request nine-million things from your friends to the point that you're harassing them, but yet you can still have your friends send you gifts and vice-versa.

Finally, a Facebook game that you can play that's actually fun, and user-friendly.. for real people with a life, that like to pretend to save lives. I wonder if the scenarios are different for each player, or if my first case is the same as *YOUR* first case. I also wonder if perhaps in the future, Ubisoft might add an option to really interact more, and try to guess the diagnosis, the way the characters make guesses throughout an actual episode of HOUSE M.D. on television.

My disclaimer is that it uses words like "hell" and "ass", so you may not want to play it with kids nearby that can read, but other than that, I haven't really seen anything too bad to screen from the smaller kiddos. I don't recommend that they play it either, obviously, because there's pills, and other medical stuff that kids shouldn't touch. So just use your discretion and common sense.

I did have fun playing it, and intend to play it when I can.. specifically on late night insomniac evenings, or cluster nursing sessions with my new little bean. I can't wait to see what else unlocks, and how this game continues to expand.

So my advice is if you're a fan of the television program, give HOUSE M.D.: Critical Cases a try on Facebook, and share it with your friends!

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #UbiChamps