Hands-on with the Fruit Ninja-like Zanta Boom for iPhone

The Christmas holiday season ended weeks ago, but that hasn’t stopped Russian developer Hakuna Matata from continuing the cheer with Zanta Boom.

We’re assuming the Zanta in the name is slang for Santa, especially with all the Xmas references within this Fruit Ninja-like title.

Christmas tree bells are falling from the sky, and it's your job to destroy them as quickly as possible. Let three get past your watchful eye and it's Game Over.

Instead of the usual slice-and-dice manoeuvre, Zanta Boom has you using your finger to slam the balls against the wall. Spend too much time making the tossing motion and you may miss other balls. Push a ball too weakly and it may not crash.

Considering the speed things move, we found the controls to be solid - they held up even when numerous balls were bouncing about.

Bonus points are given for special balls and deducted for slamming bombs. There's a cute dog with candy cane antlers on the title screen, but otherwise it’s just you and lots and lots of balls.

There are four different game modes, including two that add more exploding balls, but they don’t differ too greatly. Zanta Boom is definitely geared towards the casual audience.

The first iOS game from Hakuna Matata, Zanta Boom will be out on the iPhone in late February.