Yesterday was a blast as I was invited to Bender & Helper Impact to demo some really fun, casual games that are truly going to be blockbusters; Fruit Ninja Kinect and Machine Gun Jetpack were both on hand, while a third title, Fruit Ninja Frenzy, was only being announced and the press demo.
So if you're not familiar with what was originally an iOS game, Fruit Ninja makes you feel like a culinary assassin as different types of fruit are tossed in the air and you drag your finger across the screen to slice them in half. That was what you did on an iOS device, but the Kinect version is way more fun. With Fruit Ninja Kinect, you get the swing both of your arms as if they're deadly blades to cut down insolent fruit. Game play is fast, frenetic, and tiring in a good way. One of the highlights of every single player match is the pomegranate at the end. Just watch the video to see what I mean.
There are a few modes like Classic, Arcade (which is the most fun), 2 player VS, and 2 player Co-op, just to name a few. 2player versus will definitely have you moving and rubbing it in your friend's face.
The second game I saw was Machine Gun Jetpack, which is an iOS game with a very simple but addictive objective: get as far as possible using the jetpack on your back without dying. Oh, and the jetpack shoots bullets to propel you up into the air. A single hit to any of the electrified traps, moving lasers, or incoming missiles means game over. Luckily, there are power up suits that will allow you to take another hit and give you some kind of advantage. Power up suits includes a motorcycle, a teleporter that transfers you to where ever the arrow in front of it is, and a mech suit. There are also plenty of coins to get so you can spend them on personalizing your gruff faced hero and get him other jetpacks.
The last game, which was only at the demo in spirit, was Fruit Ninja Frenzy. FNF is Fruit Ninja for Facebook.
All games will have a leader board system to keep track of how many of your friend's butts you're kicking and to make sure you stay on top. No pricing was given for Fruit Ninja Kinect, but expect Machine Gun Jetpack to be in the app store for $0.99 and Fruit Ninja Frenzy to be a free game. All games should be released this summer and you should definitely look for them when they drop.