If only Animal Boxing had been released a year ago, Michael Vick could have avoided prison time, a very public and well deserved character assassination, and becoming the poster boy for dog-fighting and animal cruelty. Perhaps he isn’t the sadistic jerk everyone thinks he is; perhaps he just didn’t have a safe and healthy outlet for his desire to see animals maul each other. But thanks to the development team at Gammick Studios, publisher Destineer, that outlet will be available to all of us this fall. In my recent visit to Destineer's PAX booth, I was able to live out my cock-fighting fantasies without fear or guilt.

This cute boxing game, featuring anthropomorphic animals, allows Nintendo DS users to prove once and for all who's king of the jungle. With about 50 animals to choose from, you can play man (or woman) vs. beast, or by using the DS’s wireless connection you can challenge your friends to cat vs. dog, lion vs. tiger, bear vs… oh my!

Animal Boxing does something no other DS game has ever done—turn the world upside down. This is the first game to require you to turn you DS around, putting the touch-screen on top, for the aptly called Slam Down Controls or 'SD'. This allows you to really get in the face of your challenger, using your stylus to punch, jab and uppercut your opponent. Work the body to disorient the contender, then wait with your stylus on the screen to power up for a knockout punch!

The boxing video game genre is almost as old as video games themselves, but this is a new take. While I pride myself as a Street Fighter powerhouse, I’ve always been slightly off-put by the hulking digital boxers and the bloody violence. Much like old Merry Melodies cartoons where someone gets a gut punch and then suddenly has a band-aid on their forehead, animal boxers can get black eyes from a hit to the chin. This proves a satisfying way to show that you’re inflicted damage, but is nicely removed from the roughness of a real fight.

Strategy will take you a long way in this game. There are bonuses to grab—snag the burning jalapeño to get the fire in your eyes of a raging fighter—and moves to master. At the same time, enthusiasm and tenacity can be just as effective. I played against a friend at PAX, and while he was trying to perfect his combos and hard-hitting punches, I was pummeling him with hits and jabs wherever I could land them. And while I was forbidden to mention the name of my victim, let's just say a male writer for this site was proven again and again to be my bitch!

Have you always wanted to wrestle an alligator? Participate in kangaroo boxing? Punch a cat in the face? Or maybe March of the Penguins just really pissed you off; well it's time to exact your revenge! All without worrying about rabies or those pesky animal rights activists.