General

FirstCuts: One Week With Wii Fit

May 27, 2008, 7:52 PM UTC

â†µâ†µWhat have we learned about Wii Fit thus far? It’s not the ideal game to play in groups. Only some of the guys will ever make you sweat. Oh, and if you’re over 330 lbs., do not murder your friend with the Balance Board.â†µ

â†µâ†µBut what can you really know about a game like this, driven by long-term goals with unlockable content, if you don’t devote an extended period of time with it? Well, that’s where my week-plus of vigilant Wii Fit training comes into play.â†µ

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â†µâ†µMy goal while further exploring the merits of Wii Fit was to go through the Body Test each day and also do 20 minutes of the Training exercises – the actual game part of the title.â†µ

â†µâ†µOnce you’ve gone through the whole orientation detailed in our initial review post, you’re met with this same calendar every day, tracking your activity. Here, you can also access various graphs that represent your progress in BMI, Weight and Wii Fit age.â†µ

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â†µâ†µAnd speaking of the oh-so-controversial BMI/weight measurements in this title, mine is a cautionary tale if you really want to track those two things. If you’re planning to use this game on carpet of almost any kind, put the leg extenders on the board. As I mentioned in an earlier review, weight measurement seemed off by 6-10 lbs. As I suspected, it was a function of my carpeting messing with the measurement system. When I added the extenders, I found myself back around my usual 140-142 lbs., which confirmed what my regular scale said.â†µ

â†µâ†µThis, however, creates a problem with your fake trainer. By making the correction, the game thought my weight shot up about six pounds in the course of two days. It tormented me straying from my goals and asked me why it had happened. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find carpet as an option.â†µ

â†µâ†µIf you step away for a few days – and I’ll use a character we created for our Wii Fit gathering as an example -- your Balance Board-shaped trainer can be a tad bit judgmental.â†µ

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â†µâ†µIn this case, it was asking where others listed on my Wii Fit Plaza were after a few days of inactivity. In my case, after the only day I took off over the course of nine days, it asked me why I missed my day and if I was too busy! Lay off, I have things to do, imaginary inanimate object.â†µ

â†µâ†µOnce you take your Body Test, which consists of exactly what you’ll do in the orientation with some variations on the balance tests, you’ll move to the training. This is the screen you’ll see each day.â†µ

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â†µâ†µYou’ve got the four previously mentioned categories – Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance Games – plus, you’ve got a Favorites feature that tracks your top 10 exercises. Here’s a look at mine.â†µ

â†µâ†µI tried to mix things up with the Yoga, Balances Games and Strength Training. I’ll admit to doing the Advanced Step game in Aerobics quite a bit. It was one of the few games I did really well at, so it was a nice ego boost.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo here’s the real question: When I really got down to it, what made me sweat? Two activities come to mind for me, and that would be the push-ups/side planks and the rhythm boxing. Doing push-ups into side planks would be challenging regardless, so I’ll give them credit for incorporating something that works you out realistically. It’s even better when you move past the initial six reps you’re allowed to do. The rhythm boxing is not unlike the boxing on Wii Sports, using the Wii Nunchuck and Wii Remote to punch, but now you’re incorporating footwork in terms of which foot goes forward. Of all the games, I exerted myself the most in a six-minute boxing session.â†µ

â†µâ†µWill anyone really get all that fit playing the game? It all depends on your current activity level. If you eat like crap and never leave your couch right now, it could, in theory, have a positive impact if you made some other life changes. But everyone I know who regularly works out – myself included – seemed to view it rather skeptically and incredulously as a workout device. The days I used it, Wii Fit was a warm-up tool before I went to do my actual workouts.â†µ

â†µâ†µI’ve got other games on my plate to review, but I don’t think I’ll be throwing Wii Fit into the corner until the next Balance Board-compatible title comes out. Some of the balance games continued to be fun, and I think there’s a decent workout to be had in a few of the strength games, so it will probably still have a place in my routine every few days just as a change of pace. I just hope the game doesn’t judge me for cutting back.â†µ

â†µâ†µWii Fit is in stores now – assuming you can find a copy – for $89.99.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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