With “Gears of War 2″ and “Resistance 2″ shipping this week, it is almost guaranteed that many gamers will ignore a few of the lesser-publicized new releases. These titles might not benefit from television commercials and huge marketing campaigns, but they still deserve consideration when you are drafting your letter to Santa. “Monster Lab,” which is being developed by Backbone Entertainment, is one such title. Do you like peppermints, picnics and puppies? Well, then you might want to skip this one. “Monster Lab” is all about dinosaur-riding hobos beating each other with large sticks of beef jerky. Interested? Of course you are.

Hit the jump for the skinny on this third-party title from Eidos Interactive.

Alright, so I fibbed a little bit. “Monster Lab” does not feature hobos or beef jerky. Sorry, but I needed a ridiculous statement to catch your attention. I was going to post a half-naked picture of Jessica Alba in the middle of this article, but that would have been a shameless attempt to attract page views. Hey, I might tell white lies, but I don’t support the distribution of dirty pictures*.

Though the game might attract a few older fans, its main audience will be children.  “Monster Lab” seems like it could easily become the newest Saturday morning cartoon.  There is some violence, but with an E10+ rating, I wouldn’t expect anything too gory. Shame, I was looking forward to curbstomping some chumps with my disfigured platypus monster.

Backbone’s newest title is all about collection, creation and combat. Alright, so that isn’t the official tagline for the game, but it would make a pretty sweet back-of-the-box slogan. As an apprentice for the Mad Science Alliance, your goal is to overthrow Uncanny Valley’s ruthless Baron Mharti. However, getting to the Baron won’t be easy. He has plenty of loyal minions that are more than willing to take a sizable chunk out of the young scientist’s hide. Therefore, players will have to collect various “ingredients” to construct their own battle-capable beastie. Once in the lab, players must complete various experiments (read: mini-games) to animate each creation.

Creatures can be upgraded by battling other nasties in turn-based brawls, completing quests and exploring the Valley’s six regions. New materials can also be acquired in the game’s multiplayer mode, which allows players to battle their monsters online. According to IGN, there will be “over 150 million monster combinations” in the final version of the game.

Embedded below is the “Features” trailer, courtesy of Gametrailers.

And the award for cheesiest Dracula impersonation in a trailer goes to…Backbone Entertainment!

“Monster Lab” certainly looks like a unique title, but it will undoubtedly be overshadowed by this week’s bigger releases. Perhaps this obscure game can find an audience on the Wii, which currently lacks a triple-A new release. “Monster Lab” is set to release for Nintendo’s waggle box and DS sometime this month. I have seen conflicting dates, but most seem to suggest that it will by out by week’s end. The Wii version will retail for $39.99, while the handheld version will set you back $29.99. Click here to check out IGN’s recent interview with the title’s associate producer, Devon Detbrenner.

*Hell yes I do.

Popularity: 1% [?]