This colourful and addictive score attack game is perfect for short play sessions. Fruit Ninja features good graphics, convincing physics and a simple, fast paced game play mechanic that can be controlled with one finger.
Various types of fruit including pineapples, strawberries, bananas and plums will be lobbed from the bottom of the screen and you must slice them by swiping a finger or thumb across your screen before they fall. Your game well end when three pieces of fruit fall off the screen or if you accidentally slice bombs that appear once in awhile.
The game will begin by lobbing a single piece of fruit, but will quickly begin throwing up to a half dozen fruits and bombs at once or firing many in succession. As you play, you will randomly score critical hits that are worth ten points. Slicing a fruit with a normal hit is worth a solitary point.
Fruit Ninja features integration of the popular OpenFeint service to include a set of achievements, friend lists and online leaderboards. It also has Twitter and Facebook integration, though I did not personally test these two features.
The game runs in a 3D engine capable of realistic physics. Sliced fruit falls differently depending on how it is cut and it leaves the juices splatters on a wall in the background. Each fruit makes a different sound effect when sliced and the game provides an audio queue when a bomb is lobbed into the playfield.
Though Fruit Ninja is meant to be played in short bursts, I found it hard to put down at times. The simple concept of “slice fruit, score points” proved compelling thanks to a great presentation, online features and precise control.
Positives:
+ Addictive Score Attack Gameplay
+ Great Graphics and Physics
+ Simple Mechanic, Can be Played with One Finger
+ Online Leaderboards, Achievements and Friends through OpenFeint
Negatives:
– Only One Mode of Play