Animal Boxing for Nintendo DS Reviews & Ratings by IGN

This week the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) caused a stir with a Flash game that serves as a complaint about the popular Cooking Mama games. The organization is apparently hurt that Mama hasn't produced an all-vegetarian edition of her casual cooking series. Let's hope PETA doesn't catch wind of Animal Boxing, a game that consists entirely of a human beating the snot out of critters. While it's an original concept that looks great and literally turns the DS on its head, the tap dance gameplay gets old fast.



You play as a human who, for whatever reason, has decided to live in a village of anthropomorphic animals. Things are peaceful until a boxing gym is erected and everyone's animal instincts kick in. You'll need to assert your position at the top of the food chain by punching every rooster, gecko, and panther in town.



Jabs, hooks, and uppercuts are all performed by tapping and drawing on the touch screen. The most unique aspect of Animal Boxing is that it requires the player to turn their DS upside down so that the touch screen is on top. To jab, you tap on your opponent's face or stomach. A hook is produced by drawing a line from the side of their head onto their face. An uppercut is done by drawing a line up through their body. The buttons or D-pad (depending on which hand you use) are for blocking and dodging, but most animals can be defeated by frantically tapping all over the touch pad. I mean, we are the superior beings, after all.



The bouts tend to drag on a little long in Animal Boxing, partly because you can't KO your opponent. You have to get a TKO (technical knockout) and put them down three times. Failing that, the boxer who landed the most punches when time runs out is the victor. Adding to the sluggish feeling of the game are long load times in between matches.



Developer Gammick produces great artwork (see the recent Zombie BBQ), and the character designs and animation are great here. Each animal is differentiated from one another and has its own liveliness. There are 50 creatures waiting to be unlocked. They aren't as individual as Punch-Out!, though, so all of that fun of studying their behavior and learning their secrets is missing.



The music is pretty forgettable, there aren't any crowd noises, and every animal makes the same sounds.

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