Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Backbone Entertainment's Monster Lab, published by Eidos, seems better every time I see it. I don't think that this is a function of improvements being made to the game so much as it is a matter of me understanding it a little better and getting more into the gameplay. I hope this game doesn't end up as overlooked as I think it will!

My demo at E3 took me through most of the steps to monster-fighting success: creating parts, building a creature, and fighting. Parts for the monster are made in minigames, and come in three categories of mad science: mechanical, alchemical, and biological. Mechanical parts range from gear-covered steampunk-looking stuff to futuristic robot parts; biological parts are your basic gross monster stuff, and alchemical parts are magic-themed.

Those of us who aren't JC got our first extended look at Backbone Entertainment's Monster Lab earlier today, including a combat sequence and a couple of minigames from the title. To this blogger, the minigames looked a touch simplistic (more of which in a moment), but the combat, as seen in the video above, is slightly more interesting. Producer Kelly Teinton demonstrates how we'll be able to target individual parts (head, left arm, right arm, legs) of enemy monsters, and how knocking certain appendages from monsters will affect the outcome of battles.

We're less enamored by the minigames. The example above sees players having to smash open crates with swings of the nunchuk, while another (viewable past the break, along with a brief interview) is based on a basic shape-matching exercise. Neither look particularly taxing or engaging, and would pose little challenge to even the youngest of gamers.

Monster Lab puts the player in the role of a new assistant mad scientist, who has to help her boss in a power struggle against other mad scientists -- by gathering and creating monster parts. The story is presented in a '50's sci-fi-movie opening and an introduction from your mad scientist boss (and his giant robot arm).

Backbone Entertainment, the developers of the Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Super Street Fighter II remakes, as well as the DS Death Jr. game and various other projects, have announced a new original Wii game to be published by Eidos. Monster Lab takes place in the hilariously-named Uncanny Valley, in which the player, as a mad scientist's apprentice, mixes and matches monster parts to create original creations. The gameplay involves finding parts out in the wild, then taking them back to the lab and performing alchemical, mechanical, and biological experiments on them to augment them.

Once you've built a monster, you then take it out into the world and control it in battles! Monster Lab even features online battling and trading. With millions of possible combinations, this game could have some serious long-term replayability. Or you could just make monsters over and over.


[Via press release]

We spent yesterday going through the big releases that've been announced for next year so far -- Smash Bros. Brawl and/or Wii Fit likely topping your personal "must get" list -- but what about the second-tier games that don't usually receive much press or attention?

Though we haven't forgotten about the low-key releases, we've collected a selection of games and media to ensure that these titles stay on your mind too! Read on for our top ten list of awesome 2008 games that you totally forgot about!