Monster Lab is a video game for the Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

, PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

 and Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 that was developed by Backbone Entertainment

Backbone Entertainment

Backbone Entertainment is an independent video game development company located in Emeryville, California.Backbone Entertainment is the result of a 2003 merger between Digital Eclipse Software and ImaginEngine...

's Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

-based studio and published by Eidos

Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

. Debuting at the 2006 Comic-Con International

Comic-Con International

San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...

 convention in comic book form as Mad Science Alliance, the game is described as "Pokémon

Pokémon

is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...

 meets Tim Burton

Tim Burton

Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...

". The player controls a scientist and is helped by three professors to build his own monster. There are 150 parts to build a monster, and 300 items. The Wii version features Wi-Fi

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...

 online modes. In addition to turn-based combat, extensive use is made of the DS stylus and Wii Remote

Wii Remote

The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...

 in monster-building minigame

Minigame

A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...

s.

This game's original working title as conceived by Backbone was "Mad Science Alliance," not to be confused with the unreleased trading card game of the same name, conceived by Michael Pace and Dan Burton.

Mad Sciences

A main point of the game focuses on the three types of Mad Sciences. They are, mechanical, biological, and alchemical. Three portions of the Castle (your HQ) are the three areas of these sciences. They are the workshop, bio chamber, and arcanium (respectively). The mechanical science makes mechanical parts for your monster. They may be gear and steam powered or shiny and futuristic. The biology science makes living parts, a lot of plants, and things made of human flesh. The alchemical science makes (summons) magic parts for your monsters. Mechanical attacks are strong against biological parts, biological attacks are strong against alchemical parts, and alchemical attacks are strong against mechanical parts.

Reception

The Wii version was nominated for Best RPG for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.