Home Games Wii Fit

Wii Fit

Sports
Releases: 05.19.08
Nintendo
Nintendo
ESRB: Everyone

Wii Fit

Toning up our hot videogame bod.

by Sarah Schutz

I finally found a copy of Wii Fit nearly a month after its launch. It was waiting for me at a tiny little Game Crazy located in the North Side of Chicago. After an arduous ride home nestled on top of my bike bag, it arrived at my house and I was ready to begin . . . playing??? I am not entirely sure that one actually plays Wii Fit. It's like an upgraded, interactive Jane Fonda workout video complete with mini games. And I am quite content with that. What follows is my review of Wii Fit, but please proceed to my Blog for frequent updates on my neverending effort to get Wii Fit.

The presentation of the game itself is quite impressive. My fascination with the Balance Board's responsiveness made me nostalgic for the first week with my Wii Remote. I am wondering if this peripheral is headed for the same sad stale state. While graphics have never been the Wii's strong suit, the innovative interaction with the console makes the Wii a must-have, hence the scarcity of Wiis and Wii Fits everywhere. The premise of Wii Fit is, obviously, "fitness", yet the game is much more about awareness of your body. The Body Tests provide you with your weight and Body Mass Index, allowing you to track yourself and make goals. As far as getting fit goes, you're going to have a lot more luck heading to the gym or running around the block a few times, but Wii Fit definitely serves to get the more idle moving and provide a little extra motivation. The game offers several different categories of exercise: Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance. If you're a Yoga aficionado, you'll most likely be a bit frustrated with your Yogi aka your Wii Fit training. While the game makes every effort to focus on breathing and movement, much of the essence of Yoga: the spiritual side and solitary awareness of your body, is lost when you're trying to "win" the game by maintaining balance within a little yellow circle on your screen. Yoga is also largely about precise positioning which is difficult to ensure without a real life teacher. Strength Training is perhaps the most effective, allowing you to do more specific exercises focused on working your muscles, not raising your heart rate. Exercises like lunges and push-ups are a bit more fun when interacting with the balance board and challanging your Wii Fit trainer. Aerobic exercises are a bit more difficult with Wii Fit. Running is completely ridiculous. Waving the Wii and Nunchuck and trying to run in place without disturbing your downstairs neighbors. Just put on some running shoes and go for a run! Hula Hooping, Step and Boxing provide a bit more of a creative and fun workout, if you can get past how ridiculous you look. Finally, the Balance games make you more aware of your body's movements and are, perhaps, most effective use of the Balance Board. Moving your body to headbutt soccer balls or perform in slolum courses makes a lot more sense than running in place.

Wii Fit's novelties aren't without their annoyances. Normally, when I decide to workout, I am looking to maintain momentum for an extended period of time. Wii Fit's menu system forces you to go back and select a new exercise after each 1-4 minutes activity, causing you to lose momentum and lower your heart rate, preventing you from engaging in a sustained workout. This is especially annoying for yoga, which usually involves moving slowly into each position and staying in a mental "zone". You only begin Wii Fit with a limited number of available exercises and can unlock additional challenges and activities by obtaining Wii Fit Credits as you spend more time with the game. This involves repeating the initial small number of activities endlessly in order to unlock more. And most of the initial challenges don't provide much of a workout.

Wii Fit can also be a tad harsh when not considering your information in context. I have horrible balance. I'm a klutz. I do, however, run nearly every day and eat a healthy diet. Because I can't manage to stand complete still for 30 seconds, my Wii Fit age is 47. Huh? The body test feels a bit arbitrary. If you have too much muscle mass, you just may be obese.

Wii Fit is awesome when suplemented with a more rigorous exercise plan. It is useful for tracking progress as well as performing some core exercises to get you going. Alone, however, it will most likely not help you shed the pounds or become a fitness guru.
Head over to my blog to join me on my journey to Wii Fitness and read about all my triumphs and tribulations along the way.

nnovative and fun exercise intro or supplement

Can't create routines, too much time unlocking

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