Media: Activision Reveals the Bewildering Science Papa

Think Cooking Mama is single, possibly looking for someone? If so, then it seems that font of originality, Activision, has cooked up a potential mate in the form of their upcoming Wii and DS game, Science Papa, which is due in stores this July. The game promises that “Using fundamentals from a wide variety of sciences as a basis for fun skill-based experiments, Science Papa will turn living rooms into virtual laboratories that will fuel kids’ curiosity.”

The game casts the player as the newest member of Science Papa’s research team, out to become the greatest scientist in the world– just like Papa, I’m sure– except you have to face off against a series of rivals in order to do so. From the look of things, those rivals include an elder Cyclops from the X-Men, Poison Ivy of Gotham, Lara Croft in a new hat, and I’m guessing from the gloves, some guy who works with a lot of chemicals… in his hair. Defeat them all and steal their weapons, and you can move on to the deadly fortress of Papa himself, where you’ll have to face them all again before the climactic showdown.

“With Science Papa, we’re taking real-world elements of science and giving players the chance to interact with them in safe and creative ways,” said David Oxford– who I’m pretty sure I’m not actually related to– of Activision Publishing. “While the focus here is clearly family fun, the game can stimulate interest and discussion about science.”

Kotaku says they have “reached out to North American Cooking Mama publisher Majesco to see what they think of this unexpected addition to the mini-game genre family, and expect a response from them later in the day.”

Well, that should prove interesting. In the meantime, you can see Activision’s take on things in the press release below, and see more screens within the Wii and DS versions’ respective galleries.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – May 14, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced Science Papaâ„¢ is coming to Wiiâ„¢ and Nintendo DSâ„¢ this July. Using fundamentals from a wide variety of sciences as a basis for fun skill-based experiments, Science Papa will turn living rooms into virtual laboratories that will fuel kids’ curiosity.

“With Science Papa, we’re taking real-world elements of science and giving players the chance to interact with them in safe and creative ways,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “While the focus here is clearly family fun, the game can stimulate interest and discussion about science.”

In Science Papa, the player is the newest member of Science Papa’s research team, looking to become the greatest scientist in the world. It won’t be easy, however, as players must prove their scientific worth against a crazy cast of rival scientists in intense competitions. Science Papa features over 30 different experiments for players, and by utilizing motion controls or Nintendo DS stylus, players will pour and mix chemicals, pound objects into dust, monitor Bunsen burners, fix and use lab equipment and more. Players can also invite their friends into the lab, and compete against each other in split screen science competitions to see who can finish an experiment first, and with the most precision.