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It’s time for another installment of Palm Discovery’s wReview Wednesday!

Fruit Ninja for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

One of the main selling point of the iPhone and iPod Touch is its touch screen, allowing anyone who feels more comfortable using their fingers to do things, type, scribble and of course, play games. Especially with regards to games has the touch screen allowed a much more enjoyable game play and sometimes, a game developer comes up with a creative way to utilize it. Such is the case with a game I’ll be reviewing today called Fruit Ninja.

At first thought, those two words seem a bit odd to be put together. Fruit is the citrus food that comes out of a plant or tree and ninja is more associated with fighting and men covered all over in black. How on Earth could those two completely different things be connected in any way? Well, in this case, the game involves quick and precise cutting of, you guess it, fruit. So, that’s how those normally two different words can come together and actually make sense.

As you may have guessed, the game involves a ninja-like cook who has to quickly and precisely cut a bunch of fruit. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is, but of course, it gets trickier. With the classic game, a bunch of fruits gets tossed up in the air and you’re expected to cut them before they fall down. Any fruit that is missed and falls to the ground will become a STRIKE. And much like most games, three STRIKES and you’re out, or more like game over. But that’s not all, from time to time, bombs may be tossed up in the air as well. If you mistakenly slice a bomb, it will be game over.

The fun part about the game is that your finger is the control. Slide your finger across the screen and the game will trace a slicing motion in the direction of your finger. Depending on the speed in which you slide your finger across the screen and the location of the flying fruits, you may or may not slice through the fruit. If successful, the fruit will be cut in half, based on the slicing motion of your finger. Obviously, this is a very feel good and addictive game as you can definitely feel the power of your finger as you whisk and slice all kinds of fruits. Of course, avoid that flying bomb or it will be game over.

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The idea of Fruit Ninja is very simple. You are supposedly a chef with ninja-like slicing skills. You are given a bunch of fruits thrown up in the air and you are expected to slice through each of them. If you miss one, you will get a STRIKE. You are given three strikes and then it’s game over. Also, from time to time, a bomb will get thrown up in the air. If you mistakenly slide it, it will explode and again, it will be game over. The objective of the game is to ensure that all fruits are sliced, bombs are avoided and to slice through multiple fruits in one slice and other special actions for bonus points and accumulate as much points as possible before it’s game over. However, like most things in life, something that sounds simple isn’t necessarily simple.

To simulate the action of slicing, you are expected to slide your finger across the screen in a quick motion, to simulate the quick action of a sharp blade or knife. Yes, it may be very easy to do, but as mentioned, you have to avoid mistakenly slicing a bomb and ensure that all fruits are sliced before they fall down. Each unsliced fruit that falls down will incur a STRIKE with the game over after three STRIKES. It’s not as simple as it sounds.

The fully paid version of the game (there is also a free Lite version available) offers four modes of game play. There’s the Classic, in which you are given three lives and there are bombs involved. There’s also the Zen mode with no bombs, no lives and strictly a 90 second game. Plus, there’s also an Arcade Mode in which there’s a time limit of 90 seconds and you encounter a flood of fruits flying in the air plus there are plenty of bombs added in for good measure. However, in the Arcade mode, mistakenly slicing a bomb will only penalize you with 10 seconds instead of delivering you a game over. And there’s also a Multiplayer mode, allowing you to play and compete with someone similar in points and skills as you. Fruits with two different glowing colors are tossed up. Depending on your team’s color, you are expected to slice only the fruits that are glowing in your color. It’s a fun way to play with and interact and be able to see what each other is doing. You can either play an Auto-Match done by Game Centre with someone who is similar in skills to you or invite a friend that you know to play with you. You are given a time limit of 90 seconds to try to get the highest score.

Regardless of which mode you play, you’ll have a great time slicing your way to victory.

More details of Fruit Ninja for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (taken from Apple iTunes store)

NOW WITH GAME CENTER MULTIPLAYER! — OVER SIX MILLION FRUIT NINJA COPIES SOLD! A huge thanks to everyone out there, you have made this great game even greater because of your amazing support! #1 Paid App in Germany, Norway, Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, Taiwan and Macau! #2 Paid App in USA, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Italy, China, UK, Sweden and more! A huge thanks to all our fans for supporting the game, proving that ninjas hate fruit all over the world!

Fruit Ninja is a juicy action game enjoyed by millions of players around the world, with squishy, splatty and satisfying fruit carnage! Become the ultimate bringer of sweet, tasty destruction with every slash.

Swipe your finger across the screen to deliciously slash and splatter fruit like a true ninja warrior. Be careful of bombs – they are explosive to touch and will put a swift end to your juicy adventure!

Fruit Ninja features Classic, Zen and the amazing new Arcade mode, along with online multiplayer for Game Center-enabled devices! It also has awesome global leaderboards and achievements to unlock!

Your success will also please the wise ninja Sensei, who will accompany your journey with wise words and fun fruit facts.

Fruit Ninja is the messiest and most satisfying fruit game ever!

What’s New in Version 1.6

NEW DOJO BLADES, WEEKLY LEADERBOARDS, NEW ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAST APP SWITCHING!

You asked for new Dojo items and we deliver these five new sensational blades to warm Sensei’s heart!

SHADOW BLADE – This super sweet blade was forged in darkness, void of all good.
PIXEL BLADE – Show how cool you really are with a blade that harks back to the days of 8-bit gaming.
BAMBOO SHOOT BLADE – Made in the forest that Sensei himself grew up in, this is one awesome blade that is bound to impress!
PARTY TIME BLADE – Every swipe will feel like you’re partying like it’s 1999.
PIANO BLADE – Make some sweet, sweet music as you destroy fruit with this groovy slicer.

NEW WEEKLY LEADERBOARDS

Based on the success of the Arcade Mode Weekly Leaderboards and our number one requested feature, Classic and Zen Modes now both include Weekly Leaderboards! At the end of every game, you will be able to view the Weekly high scores of your online friends! Show them who the real Fruit Ninja master is across all three modes!

FAST APP SWITCHING

Got interrupted by a phone call or text in your last Fruit Ninja gaming session? With the implementation of Fast App Switching you will be back in the action in no time at all!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

Keep up to date with all of Halfbrick’s latest news, games and update information. Our fans are our most important contributors to Fruit Ninja, so we need to hear from you and we want to share all the exciting new developments in the Fruit Ninja world!

GAME CENTER/OPENFEINT BUTTON

Having troubles switching between Game Center and Openfeint? Problem solved! Just head to the Dojo and switch Leaderboards effortlessly using this highly visible button.

MINOR BUG FIXES

V1.6 is our most solid and well tested build yet!

We couldn’t be happier to be bringing all of these fantastic new features to Fruit Ninja players around the world! We thank you for all your continued support and we look forward to bringing you even more in future. Please continue to enjoy everything Fruit Ninja has to offer!

Stay juicy!

The Halfbrick Team

Slideshow of Fruit Ninja for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Video of Fruit Ninja for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Video review of Fruit Ninja for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Here are my observations:

I Liked:

Simple, easy to play

The game is very simple and easy to play. You swipe or slide your finger across the screen to simulate a knife or blade slicing motion. Your objective is to slice through fruits you see and avoid mistakenly slicing a bomb. It can’t get any easier than that.

Interesting game idea

I like the idea of the game, using the touch screen feature of the game to come up with a game that relies on your finger swipes or slides across the screen to play. How interesting and unique.

Four modes of play

In the fully paid version, there are two different modes of play: Classic, Zen (no bombs, no lives, 90 seconds), Arcade (no lives, 90 seconds), Multiplayer (no lives, 90 seconds play against live opponent). With four different modes, it will be a while before you get bored playing the game.

Multiplayer mode

I really enjoyed playing the multiplayer mode as it offers me the ability to play and compete against someone live at the same time as me through Game Center or Open Feint. It’s a lot of fun to view the actions of the both of us as we try to beat each other’s score. Definitely very fun.

Facebook and Twitter integration

One plus with this game is its integration with Facebook and Twitter, allowing the player to post scores and connect with friends via these sites. Obviously, you need to first set up the integration between the game and the networking site and allowing the game to post to the site before it will work. Once it’s set up, it’s as simple as tapping on either the Twitter or Facebook icon and it will be automatically posted.

Game Center and Open Feint supported

Another plus about this game is its integration and support with Game Center and Open Feint, allowing you to be able to view your stats and compare with others all over the world. Again, you will need to set up the integration. With Game Center, I found that it automatically recognized me when I launched the game since I was already registered on Game Center from previous games I’ve played. With Open Feint, I have to set up the integration. Once set up it’s there and easily accessible.

Cute sound effects

The sound effects is quite interesting to listen to. The sloshing, whishing sounds is something that makes me smile when I listen to it as I’m slicing through various fruits, some even so bad that they’ve become mush.

Good graphics

If not in real life, I truly enjoy destroying a fruit like I do in Fruit Ninja. It’s a lot of fun to slice through a strawberry or completely destroy a watermelon cutting it up in small bits and pieces. Plus, the splattered mess that the destruction leaves behind is something I enjoy seeing while playing the game. A lot of fun comes from the feeling that I’m totally mincing a fruit and making a big mess. All good messy fun, if only virtually.

Addictive

Because the game is so simple and easy to play, plus the graphics and watching fruits get destroyed by the swipe of my finger is enough to make me feel compelled to keep playing the game. Plus, being able to view my high score also persuades me to try to beat it. This is what makes the game addictive in my view and keeps me playing.

Knives unlock and collection

One of the ways in which this game may persuade people to continue playing it is for the variety of knives that can be unlocked and collected, depending on certain criteria such as slicing a banana a certain number of times for example.

Interesting fun facts

In between screens and games, there are some interesting fun facts about fruits and ninjas that you may not know. Play the game and find out!

I Didn’t Like:

Game may get boring after a while

As much as I find that game fun and addictive, I am wondering if I will get bored and tired of playing it after a while as the game simply offers a similar style of play for all four modes. Although each mode is a bit different, you are still swiping your finger across the screen to slice the fruits. Perhaps the developer may offer a different side stage or bonus stage to play that offers something different? If nothing else, perhaps adding other items to be tossed in that are NOT fruits like vegetables for instance, or even sports balls which would also give a strike if mistakenly sliced. In terms of side stage, perhaps offer something like wiping up the splatter mess as quickly as possible as soon as it’s created or chopping items on a chopping board instead for instance? Anything to break the monotony of the game slicing idea.

Toggle sound and music on or off

The game only offers the ability to either toggle the sound and game music to either turn on or off. As many of you know, I dislike not having the ability to be able to set the volume and only resorting to using the device’s volume buttons to set it instead.

No background music playback support

I was a bit surprised to find that the game does not support music background playback. I thought, like many other games that offer a sound toggling option that if I disabled the sound in the game that I could play music from my iPod Touch while playing the game. Unfortunately, the game will turn off my music once I launch the game. Disappointing.

Inability to view login information when signing on

When setting up the integration for Facebook and others, I was a bit frustrated to discover that when I input my login information that the original sign in fields would be pushed up and off the screen and I can’t view what shows up in the login fields. Although I was okay signing it, this is a quite a nuisance as it’s very easy to input the wrong letter on the virtual keyboard and I won’t be able to view it. Yes, even though each detected keyboard character input would be displayed as I tapped on it, sometimes, I still find that I typed in the wrong character. I would suggest that the developers fix this issue. If even only to allow me to be able to scroll the login field screen down to view what’s displayed, that’s all I ask. Right now, the program won’t allow me to do even that. Frustrating indeed.

Review Summary

Fruit Ninja Lite

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