“Fruit Ninja,” the game that made a name for itself as an iPhone sensation, aims to carve out a niche on Xbox. There isn’t much to this Xbox Live Arcade title by Halfbrick Studios — swing your arms, chop the fruit — but somehow it remains addicting even on the larger screen.
The Kinect motion-control system works fairly well, and will soon have you leaping around the room with your arms flailing like a kid hopped up on sugary cereal trying to hack every last piece of flying fruit. A shadow of your physical outline is set in the background to give you better idea of where your swipes will cause cuts. In some cases, the controls aren’t very exact, but they get the job done without causing aggravation.
As with the iPhone and iPad versions, there aren’t a ton of game modes, though each one is enthralling and worth a few hours of gameplay. There are even two-player modes (duel and co-op) so you don’t have to act crazed all by yourself. The only issue with the two-player duel mode is that sometimes the flying fruit doesn’t stay on each player’s half of the screen — the bonus fruit pieces fly across both halves — which can lead to opponents slapping each other while going for the bonuses.
| ‘Fruit Ninja Kinect’ |
| » System: Xbox 360 Kinect |
| » Price: $10 |
| » Rating: 3 out of 5 stars |
If “Fruit Ninja Kinect” was priced more in line with the iPad version, it would be a must-buy. But at $10, it’s a bit costly for the amount of entertainment it provides.
