DESCRIPTION

In the creature-creating game Monster Lab, the right parts in the right combination are the key to mastering a spooky world of combat and role-playing. Players earn new monster parts as they hone their skills under the tutelage of three different mad scientist specialists, by competing quests of exploration and combat in six areas. A mission-driven storyline leads players to continually uncover ingredients for new, more powerful parts, while the game's random monster generation system creates different computer-controlled opponents for essentially every fight.

Each of the three other mad scientists represents one of three monster types, biological, mechanical, and alchemical. In "rock, paper, scissors" fashion, each type is more powerful than one of its rival types and less powerful than the other. The 3D monster battles play out in a turn-based fashion. Different parts offer different defensive, offensive, and special abilities. Between the fighting and exploring, players complete action mini-game "experiments" to make their monster parts more powerful. Monster battles can also be waged between two player-controlled creations, in a special head-to-head mode.

Monster Lab players take the role of a mad scientist — or, at least, an apprentice mad scientist — who is selected to join forces with three others, each with a different monster specialty. The big boss in town, Baron Mharti, has his own mad methods, which include cruel tyranny over people in the local village. By exploring the land, uncovering new ingredients, experimenting on parts, and developing powerful creatures, the apprentice character aspires to one day master an army strong enough to stand against the evil Baron and set the villagers free from his oppression for good. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide