Game Info
Game Name: Wii Fit
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): Wii
Genre(s): Sports/Simulation
Release Date(s): May 21, 2008
ESRB Rating: E
Get fit…Now!
Get on the mat and drop and give me twenty! Wii Fit is here and it is out to get you to lose those unwanted pounds. Through a combination of exercise and fun games that keep you moving, Wii Fit is here for you! Drop those pounds! You can do it!
Wii Fit was the release game that came with Wii Balance Board. As a result, Wii Fit became a big seller with the board and game selling out and making a killing in online resale. It was seen pretty revolutionary and some places incorporated it into exercise plans. Wii Fit was followed by a partial sequel called Wii Fit Plus in that added new activities and smoothed out some of the rougher edges of the game.
A player (or in the case of Wii Fit it is more of a “user”…with multiple family members able to keep track) first does a body assessment. This is kind of fun but also scary. Wii Fit is going to tell you if you are fit or a lost cause by giving you your actual age. The Wii Balance Board is good at assessing but a slight problem is that 330 lbs is the listed upper weight. I have read however that the board can withstand a lot more but with a reasonably high price tag, I don’t know that I would test it.
Just one more lap!
The game is broken down in to different exercise areas and games. There is Yoga and Strength training with specific exercises that the gamer is supposed to perform (or in the case of Yoga hold) with thirty different exercises. The Wii Balance Board monitors your balance and grades you on the basis of what it senses. I have to admit, I was rather impressed by the sensors in the board because if you wobble, it feels it. The exercise aspects of these games are good, but the biggest drawback of both Yoga and Strength training is that you can’t string together a workout. That means between each exercise you have to use your Wii Remote to select the next exercise instead of continuing to exercise. That is frustrating and takes away from the exercise. This is one of the aspects of the game that was rectified with Wii Fit Plus, but it seems like rather poor planning to not have this as part of the original game.
Oh yeah, shake it!
The games are a fun break from the exercises, but also have the same problem of having to stand down between games to select them. Some of the games have fun goals but others really aren’t game as much as exercise masked as games that will get you going. Games like the step game take a page from Dance Dance Revolution and have you trying to match up with your Mii (who is in the game as your avatar) on the screen. Others like running don’t even utilize the Wii Balance Board and just have you using the Wii Remote.
Wii Fit is a nice and good attempt at utilizing the Wii’s motion abilities. It works with this game though there are a few miss steps with a limited number of activities and no way to make an exercise plan. The price tag is a bit high especially considering that barely any games have utilized the Wii Balance Board in a great way since Wii Fit’s release. I wanted to like Wii Fit more, but I see people’s Wii Balance Board collecting dust in the closet like mine as the novelty wears off.
