When Dance Dance Revolution burst onto the dance floor, the world took notice. Suddenly, video games broke the controller and turned the living room into the once-existing arcade. Since then, the release of peripherals and games that got players on their feet have been a no show. That is, until Nintendo announced Wii Fit. Packaged with the Wii Balance Board and the aim to turn the gaming masses into fit yoga instructors and strength trainers, but now that it is here does Wii Fit really work, and more importantly, is it worth the price tag?
The first thing that many people notice when they first spot Wii Fit is the Balance Board. The Balance Board is a wireless, four sensor scale of sorts that tracks your center of balance and has the added bonus of weighing the player. Does it work? I am surprised to say, especially after the Wii Zapper, that the Balance Board works, and works really well! When it is finally linked to the Wii, it is convenient and most importantly, fun. Playing games with your feet is a fun, and new, experience that should be utilized in as many games as possible from here on out. The only drawback that it brings to the table is its steep price. By adding this behemoth of an object to a game package, you increase the amount of money it cost to sell. Wii Fit is by no means a cheap investment, especially since it seems to be as hard to find as a Wii itself.
When players are finished setting up the Wii Balance Board, creating save data, and setting up individual profiles, players are finally ready to use Wii Fit. But wait -- before even beginning the game, the on screen caricature of the Balance Board prompts players to take an initial test to measure the balance and Body Mass Index of the player. This tests consists of entering one's own height and performing some quick balance tests. This is where Wii Fit makes its biggest taboo. With the vast amount of body types that will play this title, the game simply cannot accurately depict the overall health of players, and most commonly, over-estimates the health of the player, resulting in an often off obese rating. However, if one takes the result with a couple grains of salt, then the over-time depiction of one's weight can become a fun experience to watch decline.
You finally set up your profile, performed the necessary test to start off, so you can finally do as you wish -- And here we meet, yet another, issue. The game allows players to train with the any of the four categorized exercises: Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics, and Balance games. Then players can test themselves to see the progress over time. However, most of the exercises are locked from the beginning, akin to Brain Age. The only way to unlock them is to play the first five activities in each category until you acquire enough play time to continue on. This deters many players who just want to jump, but it also rewards hard work and continued effort.
The activities included range from actual yoga techniques complete with breathing techniques to fun mini-games for players to test their balance. Favorite games from the testing period include a virtual jog, push-ups, and the Downward-Facing Dog yoga stretch. Enjoyment of any of the activities, including the mini-games, is directly related to how much one enjoys stretching. Every activity sets out to make you move -- and make you hurt -- and the game succeeds. On more then one occasion with my experience, I walked away with muscle fatigue. Not a negative experience, but proof that the game is making us move muscles we just aren't used to using.
