Banana, split

Any way you slice it, Fruit Ninja is one of the most popular mobile games of all time. It's built around such an unassuming foundation that it lends itself perfectly to those lulls in life when you don't really want?? to think about anything. Hell, as fast as the fruit flies, there isn't time for thinking, just reacting. It's certainly easy to understand and appreciate the appeal.

Shortly following the advent of the Kinect, Halfbrick released a version of Fruit Ninja that made use of the Xbox 360's motion control peripheral. While it was generally well-rec??eived, it?? was still a curious decision that seemingly flew in the face of everything the title stood for. After all, this was a game that lent itself to short bursts during downtime; now that you have to lug a coffee table across the living room to get started, well, it's just a different experience.

Unsurprisingly, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 hasn't changed much from ??its 2011 Xbox 360 adaptation. Sure, there are new bells and whistles, and it's definitely an improvement. But, the core game is still the same, and again, just like nearly four years ago, it's the limitations of the?? hardware that hold everything back.

Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 (Xbox One)
Developer: Hibernum Créations
Publisher: Halfbrick Studios
Released: March 18, 2015
MSRP: $14.99

For the few who don't know, Fruit Ninja relies on the suspension of disbelief that you are a ninja (apologies to the actual ninjas in the audience), and that fruit is your mortal enemy. As fruit is tossed up on the screen, slashing, slicing, dicing, chopping, and cleaving motions dispel the pesky produce. Efficiency is ?key, and eliminating melons, berries, and citrus in numbers of three or higher is more rewarding in every sense of the word.

Again, it's a simple premise. Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 warmly welcomes back arcade, classic, and zen modes, all of which remain (almost) untouched in their varying degrees of danger and urgency. However, there's also an attempt to add depth with four new modes, a bolstered multiplayer system, and campaign objectives. They're all fine improvements -- small tweaks on a formula that really can't be tweaked ??all tha?t much.

Festival is where seasoned Fruit Ninja players will find the most jarring changes. These four games each place their own significant caveat on gameplay. Two of them require avoiding incoming shurikens and staying out of a moving spotlight while still slicing fruit.?? Another throws seeds into the mix which, when not disposed of, turn into bamboo that needs chopping down. And, in maybe the biggest twist yet, one game trades in faux katanas for barroom darts.

All that mostly ends up serving as a distraction -- a palate cleanser when the three mainstay modes temporarily overstay their welcome. They'll also have a share of campaign objectives that are unique to them, as Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 has a level progression system that sees the player from whatever unremarkable title rank one holds, through Fruit Ninja at rank 30. In the past, the only real reason to keep at Fruit Ninja was for leaderboard dominance. While that urge is still present, the stripped-down campaign does a lot to encourage continued play, even if there's nothing ??notably unique about it.

Honestly, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2's most alluring prospect is as a party game. Fortunately, the multiplayer has evolved significantly since th?e past iteration. Now, four-person play is supported (although only two at a time, with swift trade-offs), and there are mini-games galore to ensure that everything's more varied than "chop m??ore fruit than your friends."

Predictably, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2's biggest weakness comes from the implementation of the Xbox One's Kinect. It's not a perfect motion peripheral, and that can become all too evident when laser-like accuracy is necessary. But, to their cr??edit, the developers did the best they could minimizing?? the severity of the issue.

One of Fruit Ninja Kinect's greatest strengths (and it's true of this game, too) is that it maps the player's shadow to the backgro?und. It seems somewhat insignificant, but this gives the player an omnipresent frame of reference, something that other Kinect titles couldn't offer. Most importantly, it mitigates the imprecision of the Kinect by projecting a constant and reliable method to altering body movements that'd achieve desirable results. And, brilliantly enough, ??this all exists in the player's subconscious.

Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 is subject to the same technical downfalls in theory, but it handles them a bit better in execution. That's to be expected; it's using improved hardware, after all. There aren't many instances of Kinect just flat-out refusing to read your movements. The issues are more nuanced than that. Sometimes it'll put players on the wrong side in multiplayer and refuse to fix the problem. Other times, it won't accept the bowing command to pause the game. Most of these are niggling complications that can be worked around once you know how Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 consistently functions?. Still, it's frustrating until that point's reached.

Ultimately, Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 is a game that improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. Anything less would be unacceptable given that this feels somewhat more like a remaster of sorts than a true sequel. There aren't any major alterations, as the Fruit Ninja concept can't be shaken up too dramatically. But hey, it turns out that frantically slicing fruit still makes for a nice little distraction, regardless of whether it's ??on a table??t, a phone, or a television.

The post Review: Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Happy holidays

Ah, the holiday season. That awkward time of year when you're expected to be in the same room as your extended family, t??????????????????????????alking to your great aunt that you barely remember about how no?, you're not in school anymore; you graduated five years ago. The only source of reprieve is that tiny, rectangular computer in your pocket.

As if Halfbrick understands your need for distraction in order to keep your sanity, it's offering its entire iOS catalog for free. Yeah, keep talking, everybod??y; we're totally paying attention. We're definitely not slicin' and dicin' fruit, and navigating Barry through a twisted science facilit??y. Suckers.

These are all the gratis games, available on iPhone or iPad, and they can be accessed through the developer's iTunes page.

• Age of Zombies: Season 2
• Band Stars
• Birzzle Fever
• Colossatron: Massive World
• Fish Out of Water
• Fruit Ninja
• Jetpack Joyride
• Monster Dash
• Top Farm
• Yes Chef!

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Sure, why not?

A ratings board listing has outed the existence of Fruit Ninja Kinect 2. You cool with that?

Fruit Ninja was one of the rare titles for Xb?ox 360 that made decent use of the motion-sensing device, so it makes sense that the newer console would want one, too -- not a lot of ?Kinect software on Xbox One currently.

Curiously, a company called Hibernum is listed as the author of Fruit Ninja Kinect 2, while Halfb??rick Studios will apparently be publishing this time around.

Fruit Ninja Kinect 2 [Australian Classification via Kotaku Australia]

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Beyond Fruit Ninja

Halfbrick has been around basically since the beginning of the revolution of the mobile market. With Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, it cemented its status as a respected developer, and even dabbled in the console arena a few times (Raskulls is one of my personal favorite XBLA games).

Now, they're entering in the global publishing business, starting off with Enfeel's Birzzle Fever. It's billed as an "extremely fast" arcade game, tasking players with popping birds in unique formations for points (it's a tapping "match 3" basically) -- ?combos, online leaderboards, and unlocks are promised.

Hopefully it'??ll end up as more than just another sleazy free-to-play game to throw on the pile since Halfbrick is lending their name to it.

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Version 1.7 arrives

Say what you will about mobile games in general, but a whole heap of developers are doing the platform right. One of the good guys is Halfbrick, who has contiuously updated Jetpack Joyride for nearly ?three years now with fre??e content, adding in new rides and unlocks.

The latest update is patch 1.7, adding in new vehicle skins (including the Colossatron), new ?costumes, a new cartoon, and extra achieve??ments. That's dedication.

Jetpack Joyride | Jetpack Joyride [Apple | Android ]

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More pieces of puzzle game revealed

Last week, Halfbrick announced their latest game for iOS devices, Bears vs. Art, setting up a bunch of (adorable) exposition about a bear and the art museum which has infringed upon his? territory but barely offered anything about how it would play. This week's trailer does a little better on that fr?ont, describing some gameplay objectives and obstacles.

Looking at the video closely suggests this is a sliding block puzzle where the bear moves in straight lines until colliding, and must meet objectives while limited by time or a number of moves. I occasionally enjoy such games. But with so much of that already available elsewhere, it would be nice to see something apart from the premise which sets Bears vs. Art apart.

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When nice bears go bad

I hope you have some insulin handy because this trailer introducing Halfbrick's new game, Bear vs. Art, is sweeter than strawberry sundae topped with candy-coated gumdrops. I ???have watched it four times and still giggle at how the bear's criticism of abstract art made its way into the poem.

The game itself isn't shown in the video, but there are some images over on its shiny, new website. It appears to be a Chip's Challenge&??nbsp;type of experience, in which the bear must evade traps, guards and other hazards to destro?y pieces of art on display at a museum. 

Bear vs. Art is available free now ??for iOS devices on t??he App Store, but only in Canada and Australia. A global launch is expected soon.

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Cheesy '90s cartoon goodness

In the modern era of videogames that tends to take itself seriously a bit too often, I occasionally enjo??y kicking back with ridiculous, over-the-top games. Games that remind me of the '90s -- where teenage turtles and Super Sentai squads reigned supreme, and metal theme songs were commonplace while you sipped your choice Ecto Cooler-flavored Hi-C beverage.

So if I told you that Halfbrick's Colossatron featured a giant robot dragon from space, hell-bent on systematically destroying every major city in the world, while a plucky news team watched with?? bated breath, would you be interested?

Colossatron (Android, iPad, iPhone [reviewed on an iPhone 5])
Developer: Halfbrick
Publisher: Halfbrick
Released: December 19, 2013
MSRP: $0.99

As the game begins, you'll see the story unfold through the eyes of the "Metro 6 Action News Team," and thei?r "straight shootin'" lead reporter Rick Dalton. A giant dragon robot creature (dubbed the "Colossatron") is heading straight for earth, and it's up to General Moustache to blow it off the map. Yep, this is the team that brought you a guy named "Barry Steakfries" and a machine-gun powered jetpack, and it's just as goofy as ever.

The visual style has a cool classic cartoon vibe, to the point where I would have believed it was a real show. Everything from the names of the characters and the bright colors ooze charm, and it wasn't hard to buy the premise based on looks alone. Having said that though, Colossatron is real?ly slow to start -- as in, sluggishly slow?.

Your job is to allow the Colossatron to wreak as much havoc as possible by "grabbing" interlocking pieces of its body floating out in the city, and "sliding" them into its snake-like body with the touch interface. You'll find your basic red, blue, and yellow variations, and you can actually choose the order that they go in based on where you slide them. So in other words, you can have the "tail" consist en??tirely of reds cannons, a?nd the neck can sport blue snow beams.

That's basically all you do at first -- collect pieces of the snake's body and put them into place, as the game will take care of the aiming and movement for you. Throughout the course of the first world, things were moving painfully slow, to the point w???here I actually wondered "is this it?" But once I completed the first set of levels, the game really opens up.

At that point, you have the option to unlock "gadgets" for the Colossatron and change its properties in multiple ways. You can add targeting capabilities that allow you to touch a certain part of the screen and focus ??fire, healing effects, shockwave abilities, and extra weapons like flamethrowers. Each country opens up a new tier of gadgets, which basically let you customize your snake to your liking.

You'll also start to see the potential with combining different colors together, with an interesting overarching risk-reward type strategy. Should you decide to mix primar??y colors together to form dual combos like purple and orange (all with their own bullet types), you're limiting the overall length?? of your robot, essentially giving it less "HP" and a higher propensity to explode.

If you go for t??ons of smaller attachments you may not be as powerful, but your survival rate increases significantly with the right gadgets. It's an interesting system for sure that gets better with time, and it's really unique -- especially given the touch-centric control scheme that wouldn't work as well with a controller. Then you add in a few other curveballs like atomic bomb attachments? that can be detonated at will, and things start to get a little more interesting.

Although each new gadget opens up a new window of gameplay for the Colossatron, you're going to be doing the same thing over the cou?rse of the game's seven stages, unless you spring for the score-attack portion of the game. Basically, going back and re-doing old countries will open up a "Survival Challenge" mode, in which you go for the highest score possible and compete with friends (sadly, you have to sign into Halfbrick's servers with Facebook or Google+ to do this).

The problem is, it's not all that enticing as the vast majority of your creature's upgrades are earned through the campaign -- so you're essentially pla??ying for points alone with no real motivator in sight. Although I had a great time with the story, I'm already waiting for a content update and more substantial upgrades for my character.

Colossatron takes a short while to get started, but it ramps up into a really fun, simple experience that's best enjoyed in portions. It never truly hits the heights and endless replayability factor of games like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, but it's a solid offering in Halfbrick'?s growing list?? of mobile classics.

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For iOS and Android

Halfbrick has announced the release date of their newest mobile game -- Colossatron: Massive World Threat. It'll hit both iOS and Android marketplaces on December 19th, and will be a universal app for the former. Halfbrick is responsible for some of the most fun games on the mobile platform (like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride), so I'm excite??d to see what they have up their slee??ve next.

There isn't a whole lot to go on in the trailer, but I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/90s cartoo??n feel of the cutscene??s. Expect a full review at launch!

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Colossatron: Massive World Threat

Halfbrick, makers of hits such as Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, and more, have just announced Colossatron: Massive World Threat. The game sees you taking ?control of a giant robot snake alien thing and your goal is simple: BLOW UP EVERYTHING!

Part of the gameplay sees you needing to extend your Colossatron by attaching red, yellow, and blue colored Powernodes. Each color represents a different weapon or ability?, and nodes can be combined ??to form new colors for stronger tiered powers.

From there you just need to destroy everything in your path. Success is measured in dollars of destruction caused, so the more?? powerful you are the more you'll be able to destroy, thus achieving higher scores.

No release date or price has been given, but Halfbrick did mention that there will be c?ompetitive and coopera??tive social features. No platforms were given either, but Halfbrick's bread and butter has always been the mobile scene so expect this to at least come to iOS and Google Play stores.

Needless to say, I am? pretty excited for this one.

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A very minor splash

Not all videogames have the same goal. Some seek to challenge the player, others, to relax them. Halfbrick usually resides somewhere comfortably in the middle, with easy-to-pick-up titles like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride -- but this time,? they're going all out relaxation.

Fish Out of Water is the??ir newest iOS release, featuring gameplay that equates to nothing more than skipping stones across a pond as you unwind your mind. And you know what? For the most part, that's okay.

Fish out of Water (iPad, iPhone [reviewed on an iPhone 5])
Developer: Halfbrick
Publisher: Halfbrick
Released: April 18, 2013 (iOS)
MSRP: $0.99 (with minor microtransactions

Fish Out of Water, simply put, is a game about throwing and skipping fish across the sea for points. You'll choose fr??om a pool of six fish -- including a dolphin, which the game highlights is not a fish -- as you set out to appease five crab judges and earn the highest score possible.

One fish excels with horizontal flings, another, vertical movements. One of the fish splits into multiple fish to maximize skips, and another can be flung really high into the air for maximum distance and so on. As yo?u fly through the air, you can randomly pick up boost orbs. Reading the weather and decided which fish to fling, and the technique of the actual toss, is key to consistent success, but beyond tapping the screen to boost at the right moments, there's a massive amount of luck involved that may turn off people looking for a deeper play session.

As shallow as it sounds, it's actually pretty fun in short bursts. Like an interactive zen garden, the plopping sounds and wh??imsical music are fairly? relaxing, and although it's a departure from the unique graphical style of Halfbrick's usual work, the cute designs work on a fundamental level.

Fish has a rudimentary "challenge" system in place, tasking you with goals like "skip 50 times" or "maintain a certain speed for 15 seconds." These goals help to keep you engaged, but they aren't nearly as interesting or addictive as say, Jetpack Joyride's challenges. Most of the goals are dry, and don't really do a good job of making me feel like I absolutely need to complete them, which is a problem.

There's a "league" system in place, where you can sign up to represent a named team (such as Destructoid, or Reddit), with a scoreboard that collects every member's maximum rating and pits them against other teams. It's a somewhat neat feature, provided you're willing to link your Google or Facebook account to do it.

But despite the zen-like nature of the game, one of Fish Out of Water'?s major faults is the lack of replay value. The maximum score you can earn is a cumulative "10," and on top of that, fish don't have individual power-ups to utilize, which leads to a homogenization of gameplay. Maybe if e?ach fish had a leveling system, where you could actually feel a sense of progression, I would feel the urge to push on -- but as it stands, I'm only compelled to pick the game up for a few minutes, then put it back down.

The magic of most of Halbrick's games is the addictive need to keep playing at all costs. In fact, I spent three hours once running through Jetpack Joyride's challenges until I effectively "beat" the game, only to prestige and keep playing more. With Fish out of Water, it's not the same experience, as it can really only be played in short spur?ts??.

Fish has in-app-purchases, but they're so hard to find that I almost think Halfbrick didn't even want to include them. If you click on a tiny icon in the corner, you can buy a collection of one-use pow??er-up crystals to buff your fish -- the same crystals you earn through completing challenges. While  almost a non-issue, it's something to be aware of.

If you're looking for a new time waster, Fish Out of Water is a decent experience, despite its lack of depth. If you require something with a little more meat on its bones, feel free to wait, because in all likelihood, just like Jetpack Joyride, this?? will go free at some point given the fact that in-app-purchases are already featured.

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Finger flishing flicking

Halfbrick, makers of hits such as Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, and many more, are set to release Fish Out Of Water this week on April 18 for iOS devices as a universal app. Their latest title sees ?you flicking an assortment of sea creatures as far as possible in the ocean. There will be var?ious types of fish you have to flick, all while dealing with random weather patterns.

We fingered these fishes back at GDC and quite liked Halfbrick's latest mobile tit??le. The Australian company has yet to steer me wrong with their titles a??nd I'll be picking this one up for for $0.99 once it's out.

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Flinging fish for fun

Halfbrick had us flinging fish with their newest title, debuted here at GDC. Fish Out of Water has ?you pulling up fish straight out of the ocean with your fingertip, flinging them, and watching them go the distance as they skid across the water's surface. Both total distance and number of skips are goals that you'll try to top in rounds of three throws. Your round of tosses are judged by a panel of five rather crabby crabs, each of?? which have their own preferences on throwing style, distance, skips, and more.

Each of the available fish have their own characteristics. For example, tossing a lightweight fish has it flying far, and skipping often. A dolphin cuts the water's surface, so you'll have to take its plunges into account for his throw. A fat whale can be thro?wn high into the air, sailing with each water surface bounce. Figuring out how they all work and how their tendencies work towards the crab judges' preferences is the key to high scores.

Beyond learning each creature's tendencies, making use of the boost ??feature helped most in hitting the farthest distances. Touc?hing anywhere on the screen will use some of the boost meter to give your flying fish an extra push. Timing is key, as is aiming to have the fish come in contact with randomly placed orbs, which will refill the boost meter.

While we didn't see any examples of this in our demo, Halfbrick says that weather changes will have you relearning your throws. Ice might have your fish skipping on ?the surface longer, and storms could lessen their distance potenti??al, for example. 

After playing around with Fish Out of Water for a bit and learning the ropes, skipping these fish across the water's surface started to bring me into t??hat sort of zen calm that you'd experience while skipping stones on a creek. It hits that easy to pick up, hard to put down vibe that seems to come across in the better mobile games out there. Of course, Halfbrick knows a thing or two about making great mobile titles, so that's no surprise.

Halfbrick says that while they don't have a solid date for Fish Out of Water, they're expecting it to ??drop "soon" on iPhone and iPad??. 

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For PlayStation 3 and Vita

Congratulations Barry Steakfries! You've reached one million PSN downloads for Jetpack Joyride.

Halfbrick just announced last night that "1,000,000 accounts" have downloaded the game over the PlayStation 3 and Vita platforms. The game was already widely successful on mobile devices and Facebook.

I'm glad to see them doing so well, as Jetpack Joyride consumed my life at launch on my iPhone. It's one of the best in the endless ?runner genre, and I?? can't wait to see what they come up with next.

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Free steak fries!

Mobile hit Jetpack Joyride launches on PS3 and PS Vita this month, with Europeans getting it today while North Americans wil have to wait until December 31. It's in full HD, features leaderboards and trophies, and?? will be abso?lutely free. 

Halfbrick worked with fellow Aussie studio Big Ant for this versio??n of ??the game. 

In our gallery you'll find a few new screenshots of Jetpack Joyride on the Vita. 

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Grab it in the next 24 hours

Odds are if you have a mobile device, you've heard of Fruit Ninja. It's pretty much perpetually in the top fifty rankings, and it even had an Xbox 360 release.

The simple concept of slicing fruit with your fingers has been copied many times, but none of them can match the original. If you somehow completely missed this fun little game, you can pick it up right now for free off iTunes?? for the next 24 hours (until 6:00 AM GM?T Tuesday).

Other Halfbrick games will be on sale as well, including Monster Dash and Age of Zombies. You can find the full listing here, but my absolute must-have is Jetpack Joyride -- w?hich has been free for quite sometime anyways.

The post Fruit Ninja is free today on iOS appeared first on Destructoid.

Only $3.99

Halfbrick isn't satisfied with the 35 million mobile downloads they've got for Jetpack Joyride so far, so ??they're adding the game to the PlayStation Network t??his week. 

This one-button wonder comes to PSN for the low price of $3.99, which means that you have no excuse not to buy it. I'm a fan of Barry Steakfries and am looking forward to seeing him on the big screen. And that song. You know that song. It's going to be coming through my ho??me entertainment center's speakers now, drilling its way deeper into my h?ead. 

The post Jetpack Joyride is on PlayStation Network appeared first on Destructoid.

Android owners can finally play one of the most enjoyable mobile games ever with the arrival of Halfbrick's Jetpack Joyride. Best of all, it's free! You can download the game either through Google Play or the Amazon App Store.

You really have no excuse here. We gave Jetpack Joyride a 9 out of 10 in our review last year. And did I mention it's? free? B??ecause it's free. FREE!

The post Jetpack Joyride finally out on Android, and it’s free! appeared first on Destructoid.

The insanely successful mobile game Jetpack Joyride (formerly known as Machinegun Jetpack) has hit Facebook. Right now it's in "beta", but from what I can tell, this version is essentially the entire game. For the uninitiated, Jetpack Joyride is a part of the endless runner genre and is controlled ent?irely with t??he mouse.

Thankfully, Halfbrick puts a little spin on "endless" games (which usually get really old really fast) by giving you various "missions" to engage in along the way that increase your rank as you complete them (basically a level-up): it's addicting to say the least. Along the way, you'll collect in-game coins allow you to buy both cosmetic and mechanical upgrades. While Jetpack Joyride ??is free, Half?brick gives you the option to purchase coins (in-game currency) for real life cash.

I'm a little rusty f?rom when I played it into the ground on iOS, but on my first Facebook run I hit ?3529m -- not bad! If you enjoy the game and you think you're going to be in it for the long haul, you can buy the double coins powerup for $1 (10 Facebook Credits) -- it lasts forever.

Jetpack Joyride [Facebook]

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One of the staple "go-to" games in the Carter household is Fruit Ninja Kinect -- it seems as if I'm not alone, as Halfbrick's Phil Larsen has just announced that the game has topped one million downloads (that's not even including any of their iOS sales!). I can easily see how this would sell, given how simple it is to pic??k up and play -- it also speaks volumes of the [still] active Kinect fanbase, since the game 100% requires the device.

I couldn't be more excited for Halfbrick. In the few times I've talked to Phil Larsen, I thought he was incredibly cordial, Jetpack Joyride is one of the best games on iOS, and I thought Raskulls was ??one of the most fun downloadable games in recent memory. The Kinect may not have been a smashing hit with more dedicated gamers like myself, but I'll b??e damned if it isn't a good diversion every so often, thanks to developers like Halfbrick.

Fruit Ninja Kinect passes 1 million downloads [Gamesradar]

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We met with Halfbrick's Phil Larsen yesterday here at GDC to eat all of his candy and steal all of his beers in his hotel suite. During this invasion he showed off a bit of Jetpack Joyride's upcoming update, which will introduce equippable gadgets to the iOS mega-??hit. 

Mr. Steakfries can now equip up to two of these new gadgets to giv?e him special abilities to do things like earn more coins. One named Ezy-Dodge Missiles slows missiles down so they can be avoided a bit more easily. Fancy shoes called Air Barrys, shown above, let him jump over obstacles easier. There's fifteen in all, and mixing and matching them will open up hundreds customization combinations, some with special combination names. We saw a range increasing combo that Barry first encapsulated in a bouncy ball after biffing, and then turning into ice to slide even farther. Pretty slick.

The Jetpack Joyride ??1.3 update is the biggest one?? since the game's launch, and it will be free when it launches some time in April.

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Gaming animals are rare, so we should treasure them. Especially on slow news ??days. 

"Cat ??playing Fruit Ninja" is Mack1094's first YouTube video, and it's already n?earing 49,000 views. His adorable kitty is a pro at Fruit Ninja on the iPad. It's using the Double Claw technique to dispel those pesky watermelons. Watch closely: the cat is scarily accurate!

I love how the game starts and the cat isn't looking. One glance and he's like DIE, FRUIT!

After the ju??mp you'll see another cat that likes slicing fruit. This one?? uses all four paws, and the moves to body slams.

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Jetpack Joyride is free for a limited time right for the iPod, iPhone and iPad! The runner style game se??es you avoiding obstacles and collecting coins through the use of a jetpack that happens to be a freaking chain gun.

Seriously, Jetpack Joyride is s??tupidly addictive and you're a horrible stupid face if you don't even tr??y the game. You jerks.

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I love Halfbrick. They're good guys that make good games. Fruit Ninja is one?? of those games that everyone loves. I mean, how could you not?? love karate chopping flying fruit? 

You also love free stuff, right? Fruit Ninja Kinect gets free Christmas DLC today. You'll get to check out Santa's Workshop, turn your body into a human snow globe, and slice ??holiday goodies and other fruit with a Candy Cane Blade. Halfbrick says that all new items can be found under "Christmas Present" in the Sensei Swag menu upon download.

Go download your free DLC!

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I still remember Halfbrick when they were just a tiny little Aussie studio with an obscure game about skeletons. Nowadays, these guys are mobile powerhouses, with Fruit Ninja being one of the most recognized? games on the market. So recognized, in fact, that they've started making toys!

You can buy the game's Sensei for $15.99 or a Watermelon for $14.99. The Watermelon has been given little eyes to ma?ke him look cute, and has two halves stuck to??gether with Velcro. 

Perhaps I'm alone, but I actually really like that Watermelon and I may have to pick him up, if only ??to support the Halfbrick chaps. It'll be availa?ble sometime in January, and Sensei can be bought right now.

Fruit Ninja Store [Halfbrick]

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Microsoft has announced that a new limited-edition Kinect Holiday Bundle, priced at $149.99, is on the way. It's actually worth considering, if the games included -- The Gunstringer, Fruit Ninja Kinect, and Kinect Adventures -- are relevant to your interests.

Having recently played a fair amount of newer Kinect titles at Conrad's place, I'm beginning to think that this month might be the right time to bite the bullet. It is somewhat irritating to see that The Gunstringer is only being offered as ?a download here, considering the size of my ancient Xbox 360 hard drive.

Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor Holiday Bundle [Major Nelson]

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In case you haven't had a chance to check out how fantastic Jetpack Joyride is, you can now get it for free through the AppStore Facebook page.

Just go there, Like it, click the giant "Get App Now" thing (or do that here if you already Liked the page bef?ore), allow ?it to interact with your Facebook profile, and then click the Redeem button. Then you copy/paste that code into iTunes's redeem page. If you don't know where that is, check the bottom of the Store page or the drop-down menu next to your login email. Pfew!

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Halfbrick, the developer of Raskulls, Jetpack Joyride, and the hugely popular Fruit Ninja series has just announced a new title in the portable slicing genre. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots will be releasing on October 20 at a price of $0.99 fo??r iPhone and $1.99 for iPad.

On top of the DreamWorks fantasy themed visuals, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots will also feature an array of new weapons and two new game modes. Desperado Mode puts a new spin on Fruit Ninja's Classic Mode of gameplay with new items and enhanced waves; Bandito Mode introduces four tiers of slicing and chopping challenges that will test even the most ex??perienced blade masters.

This looks to be an interesting addition to the Fruit Ninja series, and the price point is great too! If you haven't given Fruit Ninja a try yet, and you happen to love ??adorable CG ??cats, I would look into this version. 

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Man, there's just something about Fruit Ninja. Even the most jaded, weathered, hard core gamer can still find some time for this casual delight. Everyone loves this chart-topping Halfbrick mobile title! You're a cranky piece of sh*t if you don't like Fruit Ninja. There. I said it.

China is going to get a taste soon. Halfbrick has partnered with Chinese company iDreamSky to bring their games to China. With this deal the Halfbrick games will use the company's Sk??ynet social network a??nd microtransations system.

Another less glamorous part of this deal is to clean up the bootleg action that China is so famous for. The smartphone market is packed with unofficial pirated and clone versions of games like Fruit Ninja. They're hoping that this move will help legitimize the mobile marke???t. 

Ni??ce goal, but I'd love to see some of the knockoffs.

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Halfbrick's much-loved iOS title Jetpack Joyride has reached 350,000 downloads in its first week, provin??g once again that the ?studio seems to have a handle on this whole App Store business. Alongside this news of success comes free unlockable content for the $0.99 game.

• Mr. Cuddles, the robot dragon "vehicle"
• Fruit jetpack, inspired by Fruit Ninja
• Honest Phil costume, based on Halfbrick's own Phil Larsen

I'm a firm believer that all games should be eventually updated with dragons, no matter how irrelevant that may be to the source material. Hey, it worked for True Crime.

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