Ignition lays down SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters DS

Implied violence can prove more deadly than the redfaced bluster of its knuckledusting counterpart – more people have probably been fatally done away with over a game of poker than in the boxing ring.

So where does that place SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters? A game populated with your favourite beat-'em-up characters from series such as King of Fighters and Street Fighter, the only way you can unleash their ferocious powers is by laying down their card-based persona.

Surely that's enough to get any right-thinking Ryu clone dropkicking a library stack of books into the Do Not Disturb sign?

Then again, considering the amount of other card-based games at the moment – Metal Gear Acid and the Marvel Trading Card Game spring to mind – maybe there's a large market of repressed pugilists who are just inwardly seething to lay down some bone-crunching, celluloid-coated action.

If that's you, get on the phone to a counsellor straight away. But while you're waiting for the appointment, keep reading...

The form SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters follows is that of a typical card battle tournament (albeit represented here as you fighting your way up the levels of a tower), requiring the careful selection of characters and in-depth knowledge of their stats. Each victory results in more in-game cash and new cards for you to strategise over.

In total, you can build up five different battle hands, and there are over 300 cards – ranging from characters to attacks and counters – to choose between. You can swap duplicates using the Recycle machines, and each floor also has a shop so you can buy new characters as you rise.

There's a head-to-head multiplayer mode too, so you can fight and trade cards with your passive-aggressive mates.

Ripping its way through phone directories, SNK vs Capcom Card Fighters is shaping up for a spring release via Ignition.