The first thing I thought when I saw this video was, "Boy, those 40 pounds I've gained since meeting my wife aren't really in my chest in arms, even though that's what I've been telling myself. Time for a diet, fatty." The second thought is, "Yup. It's pretty stupid. Let's do that again."
Fruit Ninja Kinect is a blast to play with a friend. It's fun to watch people play as well. This is one of those party games that non-gamers can easily get into. The game let's two people play competitively or cooperatively side by side. When you co-op you have a shared score and either player can hit any of the fruit. When you play the versus mode you each have your own red (left player) or blue (right player) silhouetted fruit. If you hit your opponent's fruit you'll lose a point. There's also what my wife calls the "sneaky white fruit," which can be hit by either player and is worth bonus points.
Since each round is only a minute long you can swap people in and out with ease, allowing everyone to get in on the fun. There are a lot of unlockables, like blade colors, backgrounds, and player silhouettes. As a simple party game, it doesn't get much better than this. Here's another video to prove it. It almost didn't make the cut, because Kevin tried to air-hump the fruit (or me?).
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Inappropriate ninja at :33 seconds. Humping doesn't work, but kicking does!
As much fun as it is, I do have some gripes with the Fruit Ninja Kinect: It is the $1 dollar mobile app. The only difference is the big screen, motion controlss, and co-op play. I can't say it's worth the 800 MSP, especially since it's being bundled with the Gunstringer. As with most Kinect games, space becomes an issue. We have tons of space, but as you play the game you start creeping together. Only one player gains any progress toward unlocks and Achievements. This has no real effect on the co-op gameplay, but Achievement hounds will be irritated.
Fruit Ninja Kinect might be the best Kinect party game I've played. Kids are going to love it. Consider it a very nice bonus when you pick up the Gunstringer later this year.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Two players can team up locally in Team Arcade Mode
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.