As previously mentioned, I got Wii Fit as a Christmas present and have been working hard to burn off those calories and become healthy ever since that point. I wanted to give the program a good month before I started reviewing it because the various positions are unlocked via how much time you put into the game. So I needed to put time in in order to give it a complete review.
A lot has been said about this game, and I’ll likely repeat it, but the game is pretty good. The premise is pretty simple, it has four scales in the balance board so that the game can tell where exactly you are leaning towards. It then uses this so that it can present you with various exercises in order to become healthier.
You start out by weighing yourself and doing basic balance tests in order to get your Wii Fit Age, which for me was around 40 (I am really 30). At that point you move onto your training. There are four categories of training: Yoga, Strength Exercises, Aerobics, and Games. I won’t go into too much detail about each of these in particular, but instiead I am going to basically say some of the winners and losers of the bunch.
I think the various exercises did a pretty good job of not only using the balance board in unique ways, but also bringing in the remote control as well. Often, you have to use the remote for the game to be able to tell how you are moving your arms for the exercies and it works great!
I have found many of the yoga exercises to be quite useful for strengthening weak parts of my body such as the Palm Tree (which helps ankles) or the Spinal Twist later on which is almost identical to a back exercise that I had done previously. Strength exercises for me were mostly miss afairs as my ankles are so weak that standing on one leg is a harsh affair and leaves me demoralized. Anything having to do with bending or using one of my elbows finds a similar fate. However, I have found a good one in the Jackknife which has been a very good ab workout which I feel i desperately need.
The aerobic exercises I find to be my favorite. The Hula Hoop is a pleasant surprise, I never expected that it would be such hard work to do the hula hoop but it is. Trying to do the advanced version of it puts me out of breath and really makes me feel worked out! I also have liked the dance stepping. The main two are very fun, and the free step allows me to do large chunks of exercising while watching TV (there is a metronome that plays on the Wii Remote to keep track of your steps). Dance Boxing again is a great exercise that really takes boxing to the next level. The main disappointment here (and perhaps in the entire game) is the jogging exercises where you put the remote in your pocket and jog in place. I suppose this would be nice in some circumstances, but for me I’d rather jog outside or down in the exercise room.
The games again I enjoyed greatly. None of them have much depth which is the main downer, but they all were pretty fun to play. With the exception of the last game which had you sitting on the balance board and trying not to move. I actually thought this would have made a fine yoga position, but for the game section it was abysmal. I think the main reason it got put into this section was because they put more gamey graphics on it and had it tied to being able to keep a candle lit by not moving. The best game in this section, I think, is the bubble river game which has you moving down a river avoiding the sides and bees along the way or else pop your bubble. I found it very challenging to get through and fun, i thought the marble game was going to be the best but it actually is a very frustrating to play game!
In the month that I’ve played the game, I haven’t been very good at keeping at it every day. In fact there was some times where I didn’t play for a stretch of 10 days. For this reason, I’m not sure if I can say if it helps lose weight or not, because I am not being good at doing it. I think it definitely shows promise, especially at toning. Many of the exercises didn’t seem geared to losing weight, but more to toning troublesome areas. I have stayed about the same weight over the last month, though I do think about balance more and think that my balance has gotten better overall.
I think the ultimate purpose of this game is to get the balance board in your hands… er feet. I think the promise of it is games like Shaun White’s Snowboarding, Skate It, and Rayman’s TV Party. These games look great and I want to go out and buy a couple of them. I also think that there is a lot of room for other games to come in as well. I often have thought it was a shame that Ubisoft’s My Fitness Coach didn’t use the balance board. I think if another quality game (even if it is Wii Fit 2) comes in with a more complete and robust fitness experience, it could really sell well here.
I give the game a B overall. I do think the price factors into it a little bit. But not much, I just wish that you could create yourself a schedule that you could try to adhere to in the game.