Are you ready to channel your inner sensei? Well if you are, then Fruit Ninja HD for the iPad is the perfect game for you. For $4.99, this game is loaded with all the fruit slicing, splattering, and bomb avoiding you can handle. I can barely make myself put down the game to write this review.
Right from the home screen, you can tell this is going to be a great game. In order to choose your game mode or options, you need to slash the icons with your ninja sword — no tapping in this game! There is, of course, cool East Asian-sounding background music going on, which goes perfectly with the game; the slashing noise never fails whenever you cut your next option.
In single-player mode, there are two game formats: “classic” and “Zen.” In “classic” mode, you have to chop, cut and slice as many fruits as possible that pop up into your screen without letting them fall back down (only three can fall uncut before you lose). You also have to avoid slashing bombs, because if you don’t, they explode and end your game. It starts off pretty easy, but then gets harder as there is more fruit-bomb integration. In “Zen” mode, there are no bombs, and you don’t get three strikes before your round is over — you just get 90 seconds to get the highest score possible.
The graphics are great, and the slashing noises really add to the feeling of chopping up those fruit in midair. Each time you cut a juicy flying fruit, it splatters mercilessly against the wall, leaving a mark of your kill. You normally get 1 point per sliced fruit, but you get extra points if you slash three or more fruits in one fell swoop. You can also use multiple fingers to create many blade swipes during the game, but you don’t get bonuses for slashing multiple fruit at once if you do it with multiple blades.
Multi-player mode is similar to single-player, except you can choose how fast the fruit fly in classic mode, and in “Zen duel” mode, you can choose how long the round will last. The dojo option brings you to your makeshift ninja shop, where you can choose to use a new sword or background if you’ve earned it with your cumulative point total. Openfeint is a popular program that lets you make friends online through different iPhone/iPad games, and then challenge them to play, or see how they’re doing.
This game has pretty much everything anyone could ask for in a flying fruit slicing game. Great sounds, sights, and gameplay. This is a definite must-buy for any and all people looking to play a great game.
