Game franchises based on movies have had at best a chequered past, and games built around TV series have hardly faired better. So when news came of a spin-off from the famous American medical drama that was being launched with a budget price, expectations were decidedly low-key.

The final product is better than feared, although the developers are still probably hoping to sell the game on the reputation of the TV show rather than any ground-breaking innovations.

You start in a Sims-like world where you choose the appearance and sex of your new intern, decide how many points to award for intelligence, constitution, dexterity and charm and then assign a bias to any of six possible medical skills (paediatrics, general surgery, toxicology, cardio, neurosurgery and orthopaedics).

You then coast through a tutorial led by Doctor Carter (voiced very jauntily by real actor Noah Wylie) where it's explained that the point of the game is to meet patients, assign them a bed, try to treat them and then call for assistance if you lack sufficient skills. At the same time you have to keep an eye on your energy, hygiene and composure levels which will affect your performance.

Get the latest Dell Coupons and other computer coupons at CheapStingyBargains.com.

The clock is ticking the moment you talk to your first patient and if you don't arrive at a satisfactory conclusion (even though other patients keep arriving and injuries become more complex as the game progresses) then the game's over. There's even an additional romantic element included in the mix as you can chat up nurses and keep other doctors sweet!

As a light-hearted and fairly frantic look at life in the famous Chicago hospital it works reasonably well, but if you're looking for any kind of in-depth gameplay you'll be sorely disappointed. Some of the controls are particularly annoying, as revolving the camera can only be done by passing the cursor over the corner of the frame and you can only interact with people who are within your surrounding circle of light.

Although there are three original cast members who lend their voices to the action (sorry, no George Clooney, girls) there's a lot of additional dialogue with non-essential characters which can't be skipped when you're racing against the clock. Too much of the gameplay is devoted to simply meeting, assigning and treating patients in a very perfunctory way.

It all adds up to a moderately amusing diversion that will occupy you for a few hours before heading back to a serious simulation or role play game, or until the next ER episode appears on TV.

An amalgam of The Sims and Theme Hospital with a few celebrity voice-overs and a dash of humour. This will briefly entertain fans of the show but won't keep serious gamers up long into the night.