Post by Steph on Mar 30, 2010 8:24:57 GMT -5
So you’re trying to lose weight, and you went out and bought a Wii. You figure it would be more fun, cheaper than going to the gym, and certainly less intimidating staying in your PJ’s in the comfort of your own home.
Well, you got it right!
Mind you it’s the same whether you go to the gym or not, if you don’t do it, then you won’t lose weight. Too many people are eager to spend their well earned money to buy the Wii system with dreams of becoming thin in a fun an easy way, and then it just becomes a dust collector that you trip over trying to go sit on your couch because you realized working out is actual work. So let’s not all forget that it isn’t the Wii’s fault you’re fat, it’s yours.
The wii can definitely be your fitness ally though, with a little know how. So here are some helpful reviews of some of the top fitness games available for your wii and wii fit.
Wii (Sports)
So you went out and bought yourself a Wii, and it came with this awesome Wii Sports game. You’re thinking it’s perfect, you can finally get off your butt and move and play real sports and get into shape! At least that’s the theory.
If you’re trying to lose weight, and all you do on a regular day is sit on your butt, then yes, this is a good starting point, provided you don’t cheat. While everyone is excited to play when they first get it, after a while the novelty of 5 simple games wears off, you get bored, have no one to play with, and go back to sitting on the couch idly moving the wiimote in your hand. Might as well just be reaching into a bag of potato chips.
If your low on cash, this game comes ‘free’ with your Wii, and if you actually stand up and move around you will be getting more exercise than usual. This could help to kick start a lazy metabolism, particularly the boxing if you do it at least every other day, for at least 30 minutes.
Game Rating: 4 out of 10. It’s cute, it’s fun, you get to use your Mii which is always entertaining, but it gets boring quickly and lacks any real gameplay challenge.
Fitness Game Rating: 2 out of 10. This is for the lazy beginner. It gets you up and gets you moving, but hardly gets you sweating. The only exercise worthy component of this game is the boxing, which will get your heart rate up and tire out your arms. But only if you actually stick with it.
Wii Fit
Now you’ve decided to upgrade. While the Wii promotes an active lifestyle, this whole Wii Fit thing and the new balance board really seems geared towards well being and fitness! Well, you’re right again. This is definitely a step up in the right direction, no pun intended.
Depending when you bought your balance board, it either came with Wii Fit, or Wii Fit Plus. We’re going to talk about the original Wii Fit first.
One thing I definitely like about this, is that you get to use your Mii like on Wii Sports. Nothing is more fun and motivational to see yourself running around on screen, getting a workout, while still looking good. The other great feature about the Wii Fit, is that it’s also a scale. You can now very accurately weigh yourself, and keep a record. This is probably the most important thing for anyone who is trying to lose weight. There is Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and even Balance Games that not only promote health and fitness, but flexibility and proper posture. Seems like a win so far.
As far as fitness goes, the Strength Training will definitely get you feeling the burn, and there is no doubt that the Yoga will help tone, if you can keep your balance. The Aerobics, like Wii Sports, get you moving, and in a way that you can’t just sit on the couch and cheat, however, none of them really get your heart rate up, let alone get you to break a sweat, with the exception of Running. As for the balance games, well, those are just awesomely fun.
The only immediate downside I didn’t like is that 99% of the time it will probably tell you you’re obese. The BMI factor on this is waaaaaaaay off. It’s only a measure of height, weight and age, having nothing to do with the fat in your body at all. So don’t let that discourage you, just focus on the lbs.
Overall, as a game, this thing is a blast. Using it as a fitness tool is also a good idea, for beginners or intermediates to get into shape or stay in shape.
Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This is a revolutionary game, one of the first of it’s kind, it’s a real blast. I definitely recommend getting the Wii Fit, if not for fitness, then just for fun! The only downfall is that there is no multiplayer mode. Unless you and all your friends weigh the same, you constantly have to log out and switch Mii’s to all play the fun balance games together.
Fitness Game Rating: 7 out of 10. This definitely has high potential to get you working out and working into shape. The only problem is that if you’re trying to keep track of how many calories you are burning, you have no idea of knowing without checking other resources and trying to compare. You know doing crunches is good for your body, but how good? And what about the hula hooping? You feel tired, but was that really a workout? Was the tightrope walk even worth the time doing? You’ll need to do some extra work looking for information after you do your workout.
Wii Fit Plus
Ok, so everything I said about the Wii Fit, is the same and better for Wii Fit Plus. It has all the same stuff as before, plus new yoga, strength training, and balance games. It still has the great feature of a scale, and the mediocre feature of BMI measurements, but now, it tells you the calories you’ve burned! No more guessing! Also new to the Wii Fit Plus, are workout routines that are pre-made, with the option of customizing something that’s just right for you.
So now we have twice as much fun to have, and twice as much working out to do, right? Well, in theory yes. The new multiplayer feature is great so you can finally all have fun being silly playing those balance games… but only 9 of them? Not all of them? What the hell Nintendo??!!?? Seriously.
Though now, we can now do workout routines and even customize it to work on what’s best for us - awesome! But wait… we can’t add aerobics or balance games to our routine? Why the hell not? And why is EVERYTHING new… except aerobics? Even if for whatever reason you can’t think of any new exercises, you couldn’t make the existing ones harder? Cause let’s all be honest here, the Advance Step isn’t really that advanced.
If it sounds like I’m being a little harsh, it’s because I am. I had the original Wii Fit, which I thought was pretty great. When I found out they were making an ‘expansion’ of it, I got pretty excited not even really knowing what they could do to improve it. While the improvements are a step up and they do make the game even better, it seems that Nintendo made a half-assed attempt at it. Thanks guys.
Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This game is just fun. Living vicariously through your Mii flying in a chicken suit or balancing on a ball in the circus is just tops. FTW!
Fitness Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This game makes it easy to see progress, feel comfortable exercising, keeping it different and exciting, being able to customize the certain type of workout you get, and most importantly, the calorie counter. No false expectations here.
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum
OK, so you watch “The Biggest Loser” and dream some day of becoming… a Big Loser… yeah… or you just think she-man Jillian Michaels is hot… either way you went out and bought this game thinking you need the boot-camp approach to lose weight, because you can’t trust yourself to actually workout on your own.
Having a virtual fitness trainer definitely helps that’s for sure, just don’t be sure to count on this game to help.
I really have no good reviews for this game. The graphics are horrible (even by wii standards), the exercises aren’t explained properly, none of your movements seems to register… I know working out isn’t necessarily supposed to be fun, but this is a downright miserable experience.
You can play this game with or without a balance board. Though if you have a balance board, then why bother getting this game at all? It weighs you and counts your calories just like the Wii Fit Plus, but doesn’t offer anything fun to do, or anything to do at all that actually works. I cannot stress enough how unresponsive the gameplay is, and how you’re constantly left in the dark wondering how to even do the exercise in the first place. If you don’t own a balance board, you can still use this game, but why would you? It really is good for nothing aside from an exercise in frustration.
Game Rating: 0 out of 10. I really don’t know why anyone would want to play this ‘just for fun’. Nothing works!
Fitness Game Rating: 2 out of 10. Again, because nothing works, you’re not really getting a workout. OR you’re working out more than you need to by doing 20 reps just so you can register 5 of them… but now your calorie count is way off… and were you actually burning serious calories by trying to hard, or were you just lamely flopping around doing the exercise completely wrong? You’re better off to stare at the bad graphics to make yourself throw up and lose weight.
EA Sports Active
OK, if you’ve ever actually read my blog, www.wiislim.wordpress.com, you’ll know that this game is my hero. I cannot sing the praises enough of this game to get into shape. So i’ll try to just keep it short and simple, and not get too carried away.
Why does this game rock? First of all, it comes with pimp accessories. The leg strap is not only essential to this game, but you can use it for any other fitness game that requires you to put a controller in your pocket for running or whatnot. Secondly, it comes with a resistance band! An actual fitness accessory… I think this game is serious.
This game has all the benefits of a personal trainer to kick your butt. It tells you how much you’ve burned and keeps a really accurate log. It lets you follow one of MANY different routines where you can adjust the difficulty level to your ability, even comes with a 30 day challenge. It works your upper body, lower body, and gives great cardio, even has a bunch of fun game like sports to play. If you somehow get bored with that, you can create your own routines, as many as you like, to do whenever, and however you like! It even lets you set your own goals, and pushes your motivation by allowing you to unlock trophies for your heard earned efforts.
The downside? There are a few, I hate to admit it, but let’s be fair and see both sides. The resistance band? If you’re a n00b, then it’s good to use. If you’ve done any kind of toning or working out before, it really won’t do you any good. Because it’s so light, it breaks really easily. I wore mine out to shreds in about a month. Also, it is severely lacking in core workouts. There is only ONE abdominal exercise. Not to mention there is no warm up or cool down exercises, which is quite disappointing. Another disappointment is the music. It’s pretty good, but you can run through the entire selection with one workout.
Game Rating: 5 out of 10. I mentioned they have sports, and they have dancing too! It’s like playing with your Wii Sports… its good for a giggle, but you can’t do multiplayer here. Playing this game ‘just for fun’ is possible, but I would rather play Rayman or something
Fitness Game Rating: 10 out of 10. For serious, get this game. You want it. You NEED it. It does everything you want it to, and nothing you don’t want it to. It’s customization to the max, it makes you WANT to work out because you get to decide exactly how to do it, doing only the things you like, working at your pace and level, making weight loss an actual possibility.
Well, you got it right!
Mind you it’s the same whether you go to the gym or not, if you don’t do it, then you won’t lose weight. Too many people are eager to spend their well earned money to buy the Wii system with dreams of becoming thin in a fun an easy way, and then it just becomes a dust collector that you trip over trying to go sit on your couch because you realized working out is actual work. So let’s not all forget that it isn’t the Wii’s fault you’re fat, it’s yours.
The wii can definitely be your fitness ally though, with a little know how. So here are some helpful reviews of some of the top fitness games available for your wii and wii fit.
Wii (Sports)
So you went out and bought yourself a Wii, and it came with this awesome Wii Sports game. You’re thinking it’s perfect, you can finally get off your butt and move and play real sports and get into shape! At least that’s the theory.
If you’re trying to lose weight, and all you do on a regular day is sit on your butt, then yes, this is a good starting point, provided you don’t cheat. While everyone is excited to play when they first get it, after a while the novelty of 5 simple games wears off, you get bored, have no one to play with, and go back to sitting on the couch idly moving the wiimote in your hand. Might as well just be reaching into a bag of potato chips.
If your low on cash, this game comes ‘free’ with your Wii, and if you actually stand up and move around you will be getting more exercise than usual. This could help to kick start a lazy metabolism, particularly the boxing if you do it at least every other day, for at least 30 minutes.
Game Rating: 4 out of 10. It’s cute, it’s fun, you get to use your Mii which is always entertaining, but it gets boring quickly and lacks any real gameplay challenge.
Fitness Game Rating: 2 out of 10. This is for the lazy beginner. It gets you up and gets you moving, but hardly gets you sweating. The only exercise worthy component of this game is the boxing, which will get your heart rate up and tire out your arms. But only if you actually stick with it.
Wii Fit
Now you’ve decided to upgrade. While the Wii promotes an active lifestyle, this whole Wii Fit thing and the new balance board really seems geared towards well being and fitness! Well, you’re right again. This is definitely a step up in the right direction, no pun intended.
Depending when you bought your balance board, it either came with Wii Fit, or Wii Fit Plus. We’re going to talk about the original Wii Fit first.
One thing I definitely like about this, is that you get to use your Mii like on Wii Sports. Nothing is more fun and motivational to see yourself running around on screen, getting a workout, while still looking good. The other great feature about the Wii Fit, is that it’s also a scale. You can now very accurately weigh yourself, and keep a record. This is probably the most important thing for anyone who is trying to lose weight. There is Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and even Balance Games that not only promote health and fitness, but flexibility and proper posture. Seems like a win so far.
As far as fitness goes, the Strength Training will definitely get you feeling the burn, and there is no doubt that the Yoga will help tone, if you can keep your balance. The Aerobics, like Wii Sports, get you moving, and in a way that you can’t just sit on the couch and cheat, however, none of them really get your heart rate up, let alone get you to break a sweat, with the exception of Running. As for the balance games, well, those are just awesomely fun.
The only immediate downside I didn’t like is that 99% of the time it will probably tell you you’re obese. The BMI factor on this is waaaaaaaay off. It’s only a measure of height, weight and age, having nothing to do with the fat in your body at all. So don’t let that discourage you, just focus on the lbs.
Overall, as a game, this thing is a blast. Using it as a fitness tool is also a good idea, for beginners or intermediates to get into shape or stay in shape.
Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This is a revolutionary game, one of the first of it’s kind, it’s a real blast. I definitely recommend getting the Wii Fit, if not for fitness, then just for fun! The only downfall is that there is no multiplayer mode. Unless you and all your friends weigh the same, you constantly have to log out and switch Mii’s to all play the fun balance games together.
Fitness Game Rating: 7 out of 10. This definitely has high potential to get you working out and working into shape. The only problem is that if you’re trying to keep track of how many calories you are burning, you have no idea of knowing without checking other resources and trying to compare. You know doing crunches is good for your body, but how good? And what about the hula hooping? You feel tired, but was that really a workout? Was the tightrope walk even worth the time doing? You’ll need to do some extra work looking for information after you do your workout.
Wii Fit Plus
Ok, so everything I said about the Wii Fit, is the same and better for Wii Fit Plus. It has all the same stuff as before, plus new yoga, strength training, and balance games. It still has the great feature of a scale, and the mediocre feature of BMI measurements, but now, it tells you the calories you’ve burned! No more guessing! Also new to the Wii Fit Plus, are workout routines that are pre-made, with the option of customizing something that’s just right for you.
So now we have twice as much fun to have, and twice as much working out to do, right? Well, in theory yes. The new multiplayer feature is great so you can finally all have fun being silly playing those balance games… but only 9 of them? Not all of them? What the hell Nintendo??!!?? Seriously.
Though now, we can now do workout routines and even customize it to work on what’s best for us - awesome! But wait… we can’t add aerobics or balance games to our routine? Why the hell not? And why is EVERYTHING new… except aerobics? Even if for whatever reason you can’t think of any new exercises, you couldn’t make the existing ones harder? Cause let’s all be honest here, the Advance Step isn’t really that advanced.
If it sounds like I’m being a little harsh, it’s because I am. I had the original Wii Fit, which I thought was pretty great. When I found out they were making an ‘expansion’ of it, I got pretty excited not even really knowing what they could do to improve it. While the improvements are a step up and they do make the game even better, it seems that Nintendo made a half-assed attempt at it. Thanks guys.
Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This game is just fun. Living vicariously through your Mii flying in a chicken suit or balancing on a ball in the circus is just tops. FTW!
Fitness Game Rating: 8 out of 10. This game makes it easy to see progress, feel comfortable exercising, keeping it different and exciting, being able to customize the certain type of workout you get, and most importantly, the calorie counter. No false expectations here.
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum
OK, so you watch “The Biggest Loser” and dream some day of becoming… a Big Loser… yeah… or you just think she-man Jillian Michaels is hot… either way you went out and bought this game thinking you need the boot-camp approach to lose weight, because you can’t trust yourself to actually workout on your own.
Having a virtual fitness trainer definitely helps that’s for sure, just don’t be sure to count on this game to help.
I really have no good reviews for this game. The graphics are horrible (even by wii standards), the exercises aren’t explained properly, none of your movements seems to register… I know working out isn’t necessarily supposed to be fun, but this is a downright miserable experience.
You can play this game with or without a balance board. Though if you have a balance board, then why bother getting this game at all? It weighs you and counts your calories just like the Wii Fit Plus, but doesn’t offer anything fun to do, or anything to do at all that actually works. I cannot stress enough how unresponsive the gameplay is, and how you’re constantly left in the dark wondering how to even do the exercise in the first place. If you don’t own a balance board, you can still use this game, but why would you? It really is good for nothing aside from an exercise in frustration.
Game Rating: 0 out of 10. I really don’t know why anyone would want to play this ‘just for fun’. Nothing works!
Fitness Game Rating: 2 out of 10. Again, because nothing works, you’re not really getting a workout. OR you’re working out more than you need to by doing 20 reps just so you can register 5 of them… but now your calorie count is way off… and were you actually burning serious calories by trying to hard, or were you just lamely flopping around doing the exercise completely wrong? You’re better off to stare at the bad graphics to make yourself throw up and lose weight.
EA Sports Active
OK, if you’ve ever actually read my blog, www.wiislim.wordpress.com, you’ll know that this game is my hero. I cannot sing the praises enough of this game to get into shape. So i’ll try to just keep it short and simple, and not get too carried away.
Why does this game rock? First of all, it comes with pimp accessories. The leg strap is not only essential to this game, but you can use it for any other fitness game that requires you to put a controller in your pocket for running or whatnot. Secondly, it comes with a resistance band! An actual fitness accessory… I think this game is serious.
This game has all the benefits of a personal trainer to kick your butt. It tells you how much you’ve burned and keeps a really accurate log. It lets you follow one of MANY different routines where you can adjust the difficulty level to your ability, even comes with a 30 day challenge. It works your upper body, lower body, and gives great cardio, even has a bunch of fun game like sports to play. If you somehow get bored with that, you can create your own routines, as many as you like, to do whenever, and however you like! It even lets you set your own goals, and pushes your motivation by allowing you to unlock trophies for your heard earned efforts.
The downside? There are a few, I hate to admit it, but let’s be fair and see both sides. The resistance band? If you’re a n00b, then it’s good to use. If you’ve done any kind of toning or working out before, it really won’t do you any good. Because it’s so light, it breaks really easily. I wore mine out to shreds in about a month. Also, it is severely lacking in core workouts. There is only ONE abdominal exercise. Not to mention there is no warm up or cool down exercises, which is quite disappointing. Another disappointment is the music. It’s pretty good, but you can run through the entire selection with one workout.
Game Rating: 5 out of 10. I mentioned they have sports, and they have dancing too! It’s like playing with your Wii Sports… its good for a giggle, but you can’t do multiplayer here. Playing this game ‘just for fun’ is possible, but I would rather play Rayman or something
Fitness Game Rating: 10 out of 10. For serious, get this game. You want it. You NEED it. It does everything you want it to, and nothing you don’t want it to. It’s customization to the max, it makes you WANT to work out because you get to decide exactly how to do it, doing only the things you like, working at your pace and level, making weight loss an actual possibility.