Review: Veggie Samurai iPad & iPhone Version - Fruit Ninja With Vegetables?
by Staff Writer
July 12, 2010
Overview
When you first see Veggie Samurai you instantly think isn't this just Fruit Ninja with vegetables? Once you start playing the game you'll start not only slicing, but also dicing and realize this is much more than just a rebranded Fruit Ninja. That's not to say there still aren't multiple similarities, and Quantum Squid is walking a fine line. *The iPad and iPhone version are similar in most aspects except for the visuals so everything below pertains to both devices, and simply value it based on which device you own or prefer.
Features
There is a samurai and harmony mode which bear quite a resemblance with classic and zen mode. Samurai mode gives you three vegetables drop before you lose, but one touch of a poison jar, and it's game over. Harmony mode gives you two minutes to score as much as possible. The game is all about combos of cut multiple fruits with one stroke. You can cut each vegetable in four, so in half, and then each half in half. OpenFeint is included for online high score and achievements.
The Good
If you like Fruit Ninja you'll definitely like Veggie Samurai. It gives you the same gameplay mechanic, but increases the action. In Fruit Ninja you can only slice each fruit once, but in Veggie Samurai you have the option to slice the halves one more time. You need to at least slice every vegetable, but can choose to take the risk to try to really dice up those vegetables. There is tons more action on screen, and many more points to score with more slices to make. It's always a constant slicing on screen, and plenty of juice smacking the back wall.
There are more types of combos available including consecutive vegetables diced, and multi dice on top of the multi slice. The game recognizes five fingers which really makes a difference when you're trying to slice loads of vegetable bits to dice them up some more.
It's really a whole new experience with slicing squared in Veggie Samurai. It’s great chopping multiple times with multiple fingers whether you’re on the iphone or iPad. You can do more on the iPad version with vegetables in the air for longer, but it’s easier to swipe multiple times on the smaller iPhone, but both are fun in their own right.
The game design is quite exquisite, and really looks great compared to Fruit Ninja. You're given an ornate door as a background, and the vegetable chopping animations look great as you're split into tiny bits. Then there are all the slice animations from your finger tips, and the squirting of vegetable juice on the back wall.
The two modes offer enough variability to switch between the two in the established replayability of the gameplay mechanic itself. Similar to Fruit Ninja you can find yourself playing it over and over again enjoying every slice while trying to better your last score. OpenFeint adds another little incentive to compete against scores for those who are into it.
