Fruit Ninja has already conquered the iPhone, Android and Windows Phone markets with its unique brand of finger-friendly fruit slicing fun, but can it make the transition from touch-screen to controller-less interface? Read our exclusive Fruit Kinja Kinect preview to find out, and check it out in action on video.
Call us jaded and cynical, but Xbox Kinect hasn’t exactly blown us away so far. Microsoft’s controller-free system was launched amid intense hype, promising Minority Report-style interaction without the need for pesky pads and buttons, but aside from the embarrassing-yet-addictive Dance Central and the sublime Child of Eden, it hasn’t entirely lived up to its potential. We’d be willing to wager that a large proportion of the 10 million Kinect units that have been sold since the end of 2010 are currently getting very little use.
That could be set to change dramatically though, because Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja Kinect is scheduled to hit Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service in August. Like its smartphone-based counterpart, the game is packed with flying fruit and score-focused gameplay, but this Kinect edition is sporting a few tricks of its own.
You need only spend a few minutes with Fruit Ninja Kinect to know that Halfbrick has managed to translate the touch-screen controls brilliantly. Kinect maps your entire body and tracks your limbs for extreme movements. These are translated into on-screen sword slashes capable of ripping fruit asunder.
The big difference with this Kinect version is that you can now perform multiple slashes simultaneously using your arms and legs. Although you may assume that such a change unbalances the game and makes it too easy, the opposite is actually the case.
Being able to execute more than one slash at a time obviously means you’ve less chance of accidentally dropping a fruit and losing a life, but it also means you’re more likely to hit a bomb and land yourself a big fat ‘Game Over’ for your over-exuberance. It also makes combos more difficult, as they’re all about precision and timing, with accurate slashes required to really rack up the points. Windmilling your limbs around is not going to bag you a high score.
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Fruit Ninja Kinect features the standard arcade mode and the ‘Zen’ mode that was added to the mobile editions not so long ago. It also boasts a unique ‘Challenge’ mode, and features the all-new pomegranate fruit, which is such a recent addition that only the iPhone version of the game currently contains it.
However, easily the most interesting new element featured in Fruit Ninja Kinect is the ‘Party’ mode. Here you can play with a friend either cooperatively or competitively. Naturally, a large living room is a must for this sort of caper – don’t start planning multiplayer sessions in your dinky bedsit just yet – but if you have the right-sized venue, it’s riotously enjoyable.
Fruit Ninja Kinect is launching as part of Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade on 10th August, and based on what we’ve played so far we’re pretty sure it’s going to be a must-have. It boasts simple yet arresting fruit-busting fun that all members of the family can indulge in, and the score-focused gameplay should ensure it’s just as maddeningly addictive as its iPhone and Android relations.
Fruit Ninja Kinect will launch on Xbox Live Arcade on 10th August for 800 Microsoft points.
