Body By Nintendo
Posted on: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 12:00 CDT
Sorry, Mario: The next sought-after title for the sought-after Nintendo Wii is -- an exercise game?
Wii Fit, to be released Wednesday and marketed to age 2 through usually-too-old-to-be-playing-video-games, might be harder to find in the coming weeks than an abdominal muscle on the pleasingly plump Nintendo plumber.
Online retail giant Amazon warns of "shortages of this product across the U.S."
What's all the fuss about? More important: Is the hype deserved?
Six hours with Wii Fit -- a collection of more than 40 activities designed to improve balance, posture, muscle tone and aerobic fitness -- provides an answer to the latter query: Yes, with a few major reservations.
For the uninitiated: The game comes packaged with a bulky "balance board" for stepping, stamping and -- here's the bad news -- seeing how much the user weighs.
Players begin their Wii Fit experience by stepping onto a scale. The computer also takes into account height before calculating a body-mass-index measurement.
Gamers with fragile psyches beware: Wii Fit, though populated by the cutesy "Mii" characters performing cutesy tasks, proves to be a harsh judge of body type. Perhaps to soften the blow, it gives users the option of keeping their physical profiles private with a four-digit password.
The game also gives players a "Wii Fit Age" based on body-mass index, center of gravity and a few simple balance tests.
My 31-year-old frame garnered a Wii Fit Age of 41. Ouch.
The measurements aren't perfect, of course. The balance board, for example, can't account for muscle mass (no excuses -- just saying). Still, the fitness evaluation is a decent starting point from which to set goals that can be tracked via easy-to-read charts and graphs.
Once the player has been measured, various workout options become available (with more unlocked the longer one "plays"). The activities in Wii Fit are split into four categories: aerobics, balance games, strength training and yoga.
Aerobics and balance games basically qualify as fitness-oriented "mini-game collections." The amazingly sensitive balance board is used to mimic downhill skiing, tightrope walking and hula-hoop twirling. "Rhythm boxing" combines the balance board with the traditional Wii controllers.
Occasionally, the board isn't used at all. A three- minute "basic run" through an animated landscape is performed by jogging in place and holding the Wii remote in one hand. Speed is measured by how quickly the user pumps his or her arms.
The games prove more lightly entertaining than exhausting -- although my calves were sore after crouching through multiple attempts at "ski jump."
More taxing are the strength-training and yoga exercises, which employ more realistic animation with a virtual trainer (players choose a male or female guide). Stretching, lunging and crunching through a dozen of the activities, I finally broke a sweat.
While the how-to presentation is similar to a garden-variety workout DVD, the balance board also helps track how well each exercise is being performed.
The goal of many activities is to maintain balance, indicated by a small red dot on the screen. The virtual trainer, for example, could "see" my plant leg shaking during a yoga "tree pose" because my red dot was dancing around like an inebriated moth circling a flame.
All of which leads to the Achilles' heel of Wii Fit: the inability to create a customized workout program. Although the game smartly suggests pairing certain exercises in different categories, the only way to perform such combinations is to finish one exercise, exit to the main menu, then choose the second exercise.
Matching four or five activities, then, requires as many pauses while the user navigates multiple menus -- an annoying and unnecessary inconvenience when trying to keep your heart rate up and your muscles burning.
Also somewhat frustrating is the lack of multi-player options. Other than a two-person run, which requires dual sets of Wii controllers, Wii Fit is built for solitary training. It might have been fun -- and motivating -- to play with a partner.
Ultimately, Wii Fit can't replace a decent diet or a few hours on the treadmill each week. What the "exercise game" can do is offer entertainment while providing helpful fitness pointers and -- with consistent use -- better abs.
nchordas@dispatch.com
What's in the mix?
Wii Fit consists of four categories of activities: balance games, strength training, yoga and aerobics. Here's a closer look at offerings within each:
STRENGTH TRAINING puts brawn to the test with exercises to build and tone muscles. The 15 exercises include arm and leg lifts, and torso twists.
--The lunge exercises leg muscles while measuring the weight that the user puts on his or her front foot. The goal: Keep the weight meter high.
BALANCE GAMES challenge the state of equilibrium. The nine mini-games include soccer heading, ski jumping and tightrope walking.
--Ski slalom asks players to navigate flags during a downhill race against the clock. Slight pressure applied with either foot turns the snowboard.
YOGA helps improve posture, balance and flexibility as well as tone muscles. The 15 exercises include the cobra, downward-facing dog and sun salutation.
--The tree pose encourages the user to stand straight, keeping the hips aligned with the back. The small red dot measures balance; ideally, it should remain still.
AEROBICS get the heart pumping while burning body fat. The nine mini-games include basic step, advanced step and hula hoop.
--Rhythm boxing involves taking steps on and off the balance board while using the Wii controllers to throw punches. The goal: Deflate the punching bag.
Source: The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
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