Kinect has not found a permanent place in my gaming repertoire. There are a few reasons for this, but chief among them is the lack of space in my apartment and the lack of overall quality in Kinect games. Save for a few solid releases like "Child of Eden" and "Dance Central," the device has basically gathered dust since last year. Now "Fruit Ninja Kinect" is attempting to reinvigorate my desire to "be the controller" and, whatdyaknow, it's succeeding.

THE BASICS

"Fruit Ninja Kinect" is based off the mobile smash hit, "Fruit Ninja." Your primary objective is to slice fruit with precision. On the iPhone and iPad, your finger acted as your sword, but on Kinect, your hand becomes an implement of fruit death.

Most of the modes and features carry over from the mobile version, with the three-strikes Classic mode, the no-bombs Zen mode and the points-bonanza Arcade mode. Multiplayer also makes the jump, allowing to players to slice at the same time.

THE HIGHS

A Perfect Fit
One of the reasons many Kinect games don't really work is because they'd often be better off with a controller. In the case of "Fruit Ninja," though, there's no way this game would've worked with a controller. Slicing fruit with your hand feels natural, satisfying and quite fun, especially when you're able to line up multi-fruit combos using both arms in tandem.

Accuracy
Another issue with Kinect games is that they insist on having an avatar which attempts to recreate your one-to-one movement. Kinect is not accurate enough for this and, more often than not, that avatar ends up with legs bending backwards and other traumatic issues. "Fruit Ninja" adopts a "Dance Central"-esque siloette for its controls, which feels more representative of your actual movements. It's not without problems (we'll get to that), but it's one of the most accurate ways to control a Kinect game.

Violent Multiplayer
"Fruit Ninja" has three single-player modes, but you can also play with another person in either co-op or battle mode. In battle, you're attempting to slice your own fruit while avoiding they other player's fruit. Unless, of course, a bonus fruit flies across the screen, in which case it goes to the first person who slices it. This is where the trouble starts. Unlike the relatively slow-paced movements of "Kinect Adventures," "Fruit Ninja Kinect" encourages players to flail with wide abandon. People will be hurt. I nearly broke my hand attempting to chop a fruit when another player's arm got in the way. And yet, it's an acceptable circumstance given that this is the most multiplayer fun I've ever had with a Kinect game. So long as your insurance is paid up, you should be good.

THE LOWS

Accuracy
Yes, I realize this is also listed as a High, but it should be noted that players coming from the iOS version of "Fruit Ninja" will likely be frustrated by the accuracy in "Fruit Ninja Kinect." It's not a fault of the game as much as it is the limitations of the device. But, wherever the blame lies, there are moments when swipes won't be interpreted as swipes and other such glitches. Kinect is far from perfect, and you'll definitely find high scores are much harder to come by in this version of "Fruit Ninja." Basically, for a Kinect game, it's more accurate than the rest...but it's not nearly as accurate as the mobile versions of "Fruit Ninja."

New Modes?
It's a shame that "Fruit Ninja Kinect" doesn't really add any new modes. Considering it costs $10, or ten times as much as the mobile version, you'd think they'd at least toss in more than a few new backgrounds. The only truly "new" feature is the addition of challenges, which encourage you to beat friends high scores on a weekly basis. But that's not really a new mode so much as new window dressing for the old modes.

THE VERDICT

There are flaws, sure, but there's no escaping the fact "Fruit Ninja Kinect" is the most fun I've ever had with a Kinect game. Solo players will probably lose interest after a couple hours, but if you've got people over (and the space to play it), it makes for a great party game.