Sep 20, 2010
“It slices!” “It dices!” And for one easy payment of 99 cents, you too can own this “fabricator of fruit fury,” this “slicing sultan of strawberries,” this reigning “walloper of watermelons.” So, what are you waiting for?! Click on over to your local Android Market and “Buy one today!”
Did you like my classic Ronald Popeil impersonation? No? Oh well, I tried. In case you haven’t heard, the very addicting & highly popular iOS game Fruit Ninja has sliced its way onto the Android platform. At only $.99, this ginsu game is a steel (get it? steel?).
Apparently the guys over at Halfbrick have found a long lost ninja scroll that clearly states “All ninjas hate fruit!” and Fruit Ninja is what happens when someone tauntingly tosses fruit in front of one. Very fun and very addicting, this game results in endless hours of unproductivity.
Fruit Ninja has two game modes to choose from. There is the Classic Mode and the Zen mode. Let’s do a quick breakdown of the two.
- Classic Mode – In Classic mode the object is to slice as many pieces of fruit as possible while avoiding randomly thrown 15th century style bombs (clearly marked with red X’s). Points are scored with each successful slice and bonus points are awarded for fruit combos, criticals, and rare fruits. The game ends in two ways, by either striking a bomb or by allowing 3 pieces of fruit to make it to the floor.
- Zen Mode – In Zen mode your objective is the usual mass production of fruit salad with the key difference being you have just 90 seconds to do so. There are also no lives or bombs in this mode so slice away and remember combos are the way to go for maximum point potential.
Fruit Ninja and its two gaming modes are also complimented by the implementation of OpenFeint (One of the best social gaming networks available). With OpenFeint you can keep track of achievements, view leaderboards, and search for friends using the Feint network. Don’t forget to visit the Dojo where you can view all your Sensei’s Swag. You can unlock new Swag through achievements. So how’s the gameplay?
Gameplay on Fruit Ninja is extremely simple – which comes in handy when you’re looking for a way to keep your kids occupied in the supermarket (just don’t let them near the produce). You simply swipe your finger across the screen to mimic the slicing movements of a ninja blade and that’s it. I do get bouts of lag here and there when playing on my Droid, so its not as smooth as I would like. Graphics and audio are simple and fun. The concept reminds me of the Nintendo Wii’s Sports Resort Speed Slice, for those of you who have played it.
Overall, this game lives up to its reputation. It’s addicting and fun and will keep you wishing you never installed it. Aside from the random lag issues, I enjoyed punishing helpless pieces of fruit for being so darn, um, so darn, HEALTHY! Yea, that’s it. Down with healthy fruit! Really, why DO ninjas hate fruit? I can’t figure it out but that’s why their ninjas and I’m just a guy playing one on Android.
Act fast! Download Ninja Fruit for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy S from OpenFeint. Contest ends 9/24 and official detail can be found HERE
