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Monster Lab (Wii) new IP from Eidos
- Thread starter Endless
- Start date
It's pretty cool, indeed. There was an embargo until today, but it seems PN guys didn´t notice! 
Here are some points I have extracted in English from our Spanish impressions. If you want a google translated link of the loooong text, HERE IT IS (but the BD is going really bad today).
- Defined as Pokémon meets Tim Burton (I'd add RRR style mini games). Story driven action RPG.
- Build, experiment, explore, customize, fight...
- Help Professor Fuseless fighting the "bad monsters" that scare people
- Monster creation: lots of customization, 300 items, 150 monster parts (bio or mechanical). Parts include legs, arms, body, head...
- Wiimote and nunchuk creation process in form of minigames: wielding by pointing, "brain toss", etc: feels great, if you don't do well, your monster has worse abilities.
- Turn based fighting with your HP, attack, defense, energy points depending on your building process. Special attacks (transformations), you can choose which part to attack, you have to recharge your energy.
- Great style, rim lighting, poor textures (ATM).
- In development since Nov 2006. Summer 2008 release.
- Adam Beechen script, Crispin Hands music
- They'll try online features (DC, photo sharing)
Also, if you have any doubts, just ask!!
EDIT: sorry, it's "weld", not "wield" :lol
Here are some points I have extracted in English from our Spanish impressions. If you want a google translated link of the loooong text, HERE IT IS (but the BD is going really bad today).
- Defined as Pokémon meets Tim Burton (I'd add RRR style mini games). Story driven action RPG.
- Build, experiment, explore, customize, fight...
- Help Professor Fuseless fighting the "bad monsters" that scare people
- Monster creation: lots of customization, 300 items, 150 monster parts (bio or mechanical). Parts include legs, arms, body, head...
- Wiimote and nunchuk creation process in form of minigames: wielding by pointing, "brain toss", etc: feels great, if you don't do well, your monster has worse abilities.
- Turn based fighting with your HP, attack, defense, energy points depending on your building process. Special attacks (transformations), you can choose which part to attack, you have to recharge your energy.
- Great style, rim lighting, poor textures (ATM).
- In development since Nov 2006. Summer 2008 release.
- Adam Beechen script, Crispin Hands music
- They'll try online features (DC, photo sharing)
Also, if you have any doubts, just ask!!
EDIT: sorry, it's "weld", not "wield" :lol
Smiles and Cries
Member
wow someone... this... is really putting in some effort on this one... I dunno what else to say this is unexpected
Haunted
Member
Thanks for the impressions!CaVaYeRo said:It's pretty cool, indeed. There was an embargo until today, but it seems PN guys didn´t notice!
Here are some points I have extracted in English from our Spanish impressions. If you want a google translated link of the loooong text, here it is (but the BD is going really bad today).
- Defined as Pokémon meets Tim Burton (I'd add RRR style mini games). Story driven action RPG.
- Build, experiment, explore, customize, fight...
- Help Professor Fuseless fighting the "bad monsters" that scare people
- Monster creation: lots of customization, 300 items, 150 monster parts (bio or mechanical). Parts include legs, arms, body, head...
- Wiimote and nunchuk creation process in form of minigames: wielding by pointing, "brain toss", etc: feels great, if you don't do well, your monster has worse abilities.
- Turn based fighting with your HP, attack, defense, energy points depending on your building process. Special attacks (transformations), you can choose which part to attack, you have to recharge your energy.
- Great style, rim lighting, poor textures (ATM).
- In development since Nov 2006. Summer 2008 release.
- Adam Beechen script, Crispin Hands music
- They'll try online features (DC, photo sharing)
Also, if you have any doubts, just ask!!
Two questions that came to mind:
Is the gameplay arena-based? So are you just going from one fight to the next or are you directly controlling a character on some sort of overworld/world map before going into battles?
Are the Wiimote and Nunchuck functionality for the creation process of your 'monsters' only or do you use motion controls during fights as well? (slash the Wiimote to attack etc. or are the fights menu-based)?
Smiles and Cries
Member
Lobster said:
well I was not sure what to expect... after UBi and EA can you really put your hopes too high?
Spotless Mind
Member
Effort from a third party developer??!! Looks good.
Visualante
Member
WTF is wrong with saying it's a solid kid's title. It's clearly aimed at that demographic, collectible monsters in the Pokemon formula.Thunder Monkey said:
Jesus christ you guys are so defensive. I also feel the Zak and Wiki, Pixar and Lego Star Wars titles are really good for kids. Got a problem with that? I'm not saying you can't enjoy it. Besides the style is very distinct for a kids title, I think it will do well.
Endless said:
Wait, there are "madness" points for the "parts" ? Great
also, in these (http://www.enregistrersous.com/images/40976651520070827145001.jpg) sequences you control the "burning tool" with the wiimote to manually assemble your monster's "parts".
That's one good idea !
So having powerful "parts" is not enough, you also need to be a good builder in order to make a powerful monster. Sounds great.
PuppetSlave
Member
Visualante said:
I agree, nothing wrong with saying that. It does look like a solid kid's title. And one which has real potential too.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
Well excuse me mister.Visualante said:
I suppose Viva Pinata is a kids title as well, even though the majority of kids are stumped by it, and from what I've heard is Z&W more or less the same. Interesting art stylings notwithstanding, a games visuals don't determine it's place.
An Elmo title is a kids game, with the thrilling puzzle of collect the letters A-Z, a title like Viva and Z&W might look the part, but are far from that in content.
Visualante
Member
That's just bad game design. Hopefully this game doesn't suffer the same fate if it incorporates custom designs. And I disagree about Z&W- I don't think it will be nearly as complex.Thunder Monkey said:
Thunder Monkey
Banned
Damn near everyone that's played it has said that it is just that.Visualante said:
Cheap deaths and instakills with ingenius and challenging puzzles.
Viva and Z&W seem to be made for fathers or mothers to play with their kids. Like Mario. The parents gets a good game, and kid gets to watch and help.
And then there's us Nfans... well we're just weird.
Father_Brain
Banned
I'm skeptical (primarily because of Backbone's track record), but it at least looks good and sounds intriguing. Besides, it's both an original IP and an actual game, which is more than I would have expected from Eidos after that IGN interview following the TR Anniversary Wii announcement.
Stabby McSter
Member
Why does the art-style remind me of Bioshock?
Something right here just yells RAPTURE. Lighting, texturing, etc.?
Anyways despite what I think, I think it's sounding interesting. I'm watching. D:
Something right here just yells RAPTURE. Lighting, texturing, etc.?
Anyways despite what I think, I think it's sounding interesting. I'm watching. D:
TheKingsCrown
Banned
Eidos, there really doesn't need to be 150 of these things with 500 million variations. Make the variations more important than they are now, and make each one important, and you will start a new fad.
Pureauthor
Member
Interesting concept... will need to see more.
CubeRevolution
Member
Lobster said:
Yeah more games are coming. The game from Io-Interactive has big potential. I told weeks back Eidos put some effort in a Nintendo home console - but some people dont trust me.
Jme
Member
At first I wasn't too interested but after reading more and more about it I'm totally excited about this title. Finally someone is using the wii the way they should. Minigames are OK when they make up a small segment of gameplay, (thus the name minigame) and minigame collections are getting annoying fast. This is how it should be done - incorporated as a small part, while leaving in a real game complete with story and objective. I'm already impressed with nothing more than a handful of bullet points and screenshots. I wouldn't call this an insta-buy, but I will definitely keep my eye on it.
Souldriver
Member
That does indeed look very good. I like the artstyle.
Haunted One said:
You walk around something like a board with your monster, and it has people askgin for help, other monsters, events...
I thnk you don't use the Wiimote in battles: you select your arm or something, then your enemy's, then your monster attack. You have to consider for example if your arm is technological and enemy's leg is biological.
For the welding thing, it's kinda cool but I don't know how many different "maps" you'll weld. You build two pieces and then you have a welding screen (there're many, they told us). Then you see the gap between each part and the camera fastly scrolls to the right, so you have to quickly weld. If it gets too hot, you use the nunchuk to waggle the heat down
. The difficulty of each map is different, and the quality of your creation depends on your welding.This gave me a Z&W or Dewy feeling. It needs advertisement!
Also, don't be bad with the guy on the left! they were really nice with us! He had a cold on his throat and spoke really scary! First they made a video-based presentations since their devkit was broken, then they invited us to go the day after and share some gameplay when they get one. Then we had some beers
titiklabingapat
Member
The art style is perfect. Not "Mature" but not patronizingly kiddy. Can't wait to learn more.
titiklabingapat
Member
Whoever said the Trauma Center like "minigame" building process is spot. I can't wait to hear more about that aspect.
Same here, and it feels great.CaVaYeRo said:
I want to put my sales-age analysis on that.. This game was obviously born on the hype of Wii launch.
Remember Eidos saying that they didn't like PS3 and wouldn't be developing games for it this year? They probably have more Wii games on the way, i think, they saw they hype and knew it was coming, but they didn't go cheap route like Ubi. This is a real effort, it seems.. And it took them almost a year to show us.
So if believers are right (and we are), this is probably the first (real, good, well made) game of a flood we will see by middle of next year, one year after Wii lost it "fad" status.
JohnTinker
Limbaugh Parrot
Wow this looks great! I'm really eager to see some more of this, especially in motion.
Any word as to how much development is done/tentative release date? (Please in the spring, please in the spring spare my wallet this winter please)
Any word as to how much development is done/tentative release date? (Please in the spring, please in the spring spare my wallet this winter please)