Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii Reviews by Gamers

For starters the woman has the largest nostrials of anyone I have ever known and she insists on lifting her head and looking down her nose as she talks to you.

The interface is clunky and not that intuitive. The "boot camp" moteef is not that well done.

Onto the excersizes; the one thing they did better than the Wii Fit is that they take you from excersize to excersize without having to stop and go through a menu. That is where this game being better than the Fit starts and ends. The only excersize that resembles your physical activity is the speed walking excersize (which you are forced to do alot) all the other excersizes involve you moving in a wierd way and very often have nothing to do with what is going on the screen. For instances, there is a log jumping excersize which involves you very quickly squatting up and down while your avatar slowy jumps from log to log, the more you jump up and down the more logs you jump. On the up side the excersizes do get your heart rate up and they do make you sweat quite a bit. So if you don't care that the "game" itself is not the well designed then the excersizes will get you in shape (perhaps even a little more agressively than the "Fit").

I decided to keep this game just to break up the monotony of doing "deep breathing" and slow as "advanced" step of the Wii fit. I am really looking forward to the 3 new balance board fitness games coming out this year and will certainly give them a try when the time happens.

I can leave you with this: on 1/1/09 I was 221lbs and on 3/3/09 I am 206 and I did it all using the Wii Fit and this game. So it does indeed work. 30 minutes a day and you will be in much better shape in 2 months!

This game is exactly what it is suppose to be... FITNESS! The jogging part is a nice touch to the game. You can actually track the calories burned, but you have to actually do the workout or the calories burned will not be correct. I thought there was going to be more game play to it. If you want a good workout while unlocking diet tips, then this is the game to play.

I was very excited for this game before it came out. I like the Wii Fit game, yet wanted something to get a more intense workout. I was hoping this game would do that yet it's not even close. This game is so boring. After trying 2 or 3 of the badly designed exercises you realize there is no chance you could ever get into a routine of working out with this game, and it's just not enjoyable at all. Don't waste your time trying this game. It's not worth it.

Although this game was fun, and I DID sweat in the 30 minutes that I played it, I was equally frustrated with the huge lag time between my movements and my character's. During the punching bags, the log jump, and the dodging the punching bags exercises, my character didn't even move!! I wonder if Jillian even tried it out before she approved its production.

As a once in a while alternative to the Wii Fit, maybe this game would be okay, but it left the drawing board WAAAYYY too soon! For now, I'll stick to the Wii Fit.

We received it one day and sealed it to send back the same day.

We couldn't get the mii to perform correctly and got frustrated and quit after about 10 minutes! This is the worst game we've ever played.

We thought we should try it ourselves anyway after reading the poor reviews. At least we can say we tried. We're glad we didn't purchase it based on the Jillian Michaels name.

If you're like us, you'll want to see for yourself. Just don't expect too much.

My wife has been excited to get this game and although I had a spot in my queue open and saved for Killzone 2, I figured I'd get it for her anyway.

What a waste of time. She was done playing within 20 minutes of starting.

The recognition using the balance board was horrible and many of the mini-games (e.g. cannons, heavy bag) wouldn't even work although the meters showed that it was picking up the movement of the remotes and the board.

On top of all this, my wife is already quite fit so it's not like she wasn't giving it her all. She just like's Jillian Michaels so she wanted to try it.

She ended up saying that she couldn't believe that Jillian would let her name be put on something like that.

Not only that, but if you turn it off and turn it back on (moments later) you have to go through the whole weigh-in process and here a "long time no see" type message.

I was thinking... what???

Graphics were shoddy, even for Wii, in my opinion. The soundtrack wasn't bad but for some reason we couldn't pick anything. We try to pick dance and all of a sudden it changes to country. What's up with that?

If you want to try it, have fun and give it a go. It's one of those games you can pop in and be able to stick back in the mailer the same day.

Oh well... at least she got to try it. I wouldn't waste your time if I was you though.

This wasn't a good workout at all. It was hard to follow and very difficult to design your program. Wasted more time trying to get this game going than actually doing the workout. Even my 17yr old son who's a running back thought it was really bad. I would NOT recommend this even to someone in great shape.

Like 99% of the reviews that this is a joke of a game, it is so much worse than that.

The controllers don't correspond to your movements, graphics suck for a Wii game, music is ok, you can't see your characters outfit colors are way too dark....sure if you wanna screw up your TV for this pathetic thing they call a GAME....you can use the brighten button to see more color, but not a big change!

The only workout you will get from this is from trying so hard to get the character to do what you are doing....and you do flail your arms about, the tire excercise is HELLO....IMPOSSIBLE! I have never made that motion with my body to run through tires....SORRY, BUT NO! The only workout that you really get from this game in my opinion is for your arms/wrists, as long as you are moving those, your character will do whatever, has nothing to do with the rest of the body. All actions come from wrist, hand, and arms. PATHETIC, YOU CALL THIS A WORKOUT GAME? BS!

I know you want to try it for yourself, but trust me and the other bad reviews, save your frustration, anxiety, and stress for a REAL WORKOUT! REALLY, save yourself, DO NOT RENT THIS GAME!!!

It is really pathetic that Jillian Michaels endorsed this with her name and reputation...what the heck was she thinking. If I could cuss in this review I would, that is how bad it is, and I am not a cusser. From the moment you put the game in, to the moment you start playing it, you want to cuss, shout, throw the remote through the TV, take the disc out and play disc golf with it. WORST GAME EVER RENTED AND QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST ONE ON THE MARKET TODAY.

IF YOU REALLY MUST TRY IT FOR YOURSELF, make sure your kids aren't in the room, because you will throw the biggest fit of your life trying to get this game to work!

Wii Fit, Wii Sports, and Wii Sports Resort, very fun and challenging....stick with those for fitness...wanting to try Wii Active!

Final words to those of you still wanting to try it for yourself, BEST OF LUCK!

I like the activities and the option to choose the order and go with it but I do not like how you try your hardest and you barely walk or slightly jog. Its too hard to get your body to make your character move the way you want it and sometimes the direction you go on the "game" is different than how you are standing toward the tv. The log walk.. you walk regardless whether you move or not and the log jump and tires are VERY hard to make work. Its frustrating more than fun.
The color choices on your outfit are too dark.
The music is nice.
You have good duration choices.. 5 to 60 minutes.
You need a controller, nunchuck and the wii board.
I like the activities better than wii fit but wii fit moves when you tell it to and is not frustrating. I like wii fit better.

Here's how to get perfect stats... shake the controller and nunchuk. There you have it. The secret to physical fitness success. It says "compatible" with the Wii Fit balance board. Not so much. The game lacks feedback, so one doesn't know if the exercise is being performed correctly. The example/directions screen that pops up before each exercise is hilarious. It shows an image of someone performing the exercise in fast forward. Good luck with this one. I was disappointed.

We ordered this game after it was highly recommended by a friend. We attempted to play it for an hour one night and immediately returned it.

The controls did not seem to communicate with the game at all, no matter what configuration of remotes/nunchucks/balance board we used. In fact, at one point we stopped moving all together, and the game continued on as if we were still interacting. Another time, we were highly exaggerating our movements, and the character on screen held still as if we weren't doing anything.

In summary, the only thing we are happy about is that we rented this before we forked over way too much money to buy it.

Just read the reviews and decide for yourself if you still want to rent it. It's a joke of a game. Everything I read negative is true. I returned it immediately after putting it in, gave it a try & gave up. This is absolutely the biggest WASTE OF A GAME. If I were Jillian, I would be so embarrassed to have my name AND reputation on this worthless game.

I can not tell you how disappointed I was in this game. I even had my grown kids come over to see if they likedd it any better than I did.
The grafics were lame and all she had you doing was running. You can not get the character to move any faster or even as fast as you go. You can move your hands and sit on the couch to do everything that she was asking you to do.
Will not be buying this one.

This game looks like it was created by a bunch of elementary kids. No one could possibly be serious about fitness with this game. This is absolutely the worst game I've seen for the Wii.

Yep, I should of rented it for my wife, instead of her spending her hard earned $40 dollars on complete garbage. Neither one of us could get the controls to work in sync with what was going on in the game. I wondered if Jillian Michaels even played this game at all. The graphics look like old 64bit graphics. I'll take those big headed Wii avatars any day over whats in this game. Think I'll go trade this in get her ANYTHING besides this. Can't wait for Wii Fit resort.

My wife and I love Jillian Michaels so we tryied this game. It is absolute garbage. I promise you that if you rent it it will make you so mad just watching someone play it and it has nothing to do with Jillian. The graphic are horrible but worse than that is the way your movement sync with the game. Horrible Horrible Horrible

I have to say I got a "workout" from this game but only because I was trying to get the game to respond. The graphics are horrible and you can actually stop moving in certain games and it will keep your avatar moving at the same rate you were going. Do not waste your time and stick with the Wii Fit until something comes out that is better. This game seems like they rushed it to market and forgot to fix the flaws.

Are they kidding me? I'm supposed to believe that THIS is the same Jillian that we all know & fear from Biggest Loser??? NO WAY!!!

I so wanted to believe that this game was going to be a good workout - the next best thing to having Jillian yelling right in my face! But, it was not the case. I'm so glad it was just a rental & I didn't buy it! So many problems...

To begin with, the controls (as other reviews have said) are not in sync with what you do. I could quite literally sit on the couch & do nothing while my little avatar keeps going on some of the games - others, you have to repeat the motion several times to get it to work. And no matter how hard or how little I work, the comments from "Jillian" are the same. Now, I know enough about Jillian from watching Biggest Loser that if I were to take 5 steps and then stop, there's NO WAY her comment would be, "You're doing great!" Are you kidding me? NO! The REAL Jillian would beat me to a pulp if I tried anything like that!

If you want to PRETEND you're getting a good workout with Jillian, then this is the game for you. If you are serious about losing weight or working out, then WiiFit, WiiSports, or even My Fitness Coach are more suited to your needs!

If, like me, you refuse to believe all reviews & must experience it for yourself, please do yourself the favor of renting it rather than throwing your hard-earned money away on a purchase! Trust me, you'll thank yourself after the first 5 minutes (or less) of this "workout"! :)

Literally returning this within 1 hour of the mail delivering it. Played it for a bit and it is horrible!- Here is why
workouts are boring
controls dont work right EVER
Jillian just annoys you- not like she is pushing you to do better- more like a robot with that keeps repeating
didnt even break a sweat because I spent too much time trying to get the thing to work
doesnt use the balance board to its best abilities
why would you run by alternating legs on the board but not REALLY running?
Graphics are also very annoying- hope you like lots of army green and camo!

Stick with Wii Fit, much easier and user friendly!!!

I agree with most of the other reviews. I was not impressed at all. After about 3 times using this game I was ready to give it up. There was nothing really to keep me motivated and the jogging isnt very accurate with the controllers.
I did however feel a little sore after the second time using but I worked on it for two hours.

I enjoyed the graphics and the different challenges in this game, my problem with it was that it didn't seem to respond to my movements pretty much at all! I shipped it back to Gamefly after one frustrating turn with it. I spent way more time trying to make the game work correctly than I did working out.

This game is horrible. It does not provide much of a challenge or workout for that matter and could have been tested more before release. The controls do not work correctly and as far as the fitness aspect, you get more of a workout with Wii Fit and the Sonic Olympic game, lol. Anyway, I am glad we rented it instead of buying it because it is NOT worth the money at all! Two of my sons and I all tried it and between me and the teenage boys...we unanimously agree; it sucks and the graphics look really elementary.

This is not a game that you are supposed to win on per se. It is an exercise "game" and if that is what you want it will absolutely be worth it. I will admit that the running warm-up could be better but over all this is a great program.

If you are wanting a game to win and compete then dont buy this one. If you are wanting something to make exercise more enjoyable then by all means get this one.

If you are serious about exercise, and you have a little patience, then this game is for you. I do agree with most reviews that this isn't the best game. However, usually when a person is exercising they aren't looking for the top of the line video game. So, if you don't mind repeating graphics and minor difficulties with the controls then rent this game.

Side Note: Seeing Biggest Loser on TV, I expected to hear Jillian yelling at me. But I'm sorry to say she wasn't.