Wii Fit for Wii Reviews by Gamers

Nintendo, a company once focused exclusively on the art of making traditional videogames, is on a health kick. First, Wii Sports, a game that challenged players to get off their couches and make sporty movements to simulate the acts of playing tennis or going bowling. Not exactly a workout, but compared to the level of physical exertion required for most videogames, the bundled title might as well have been mountain climbing. And yet, it was just a baby step when leveled side-by-side against legitimate exercise. That is a point, though, the Big N is hoping to address with the release of Wii Fit, an ambitious and refreshingly different project that is only barely a videogame; here, for the first time, is an effort that could be used as a weight loss and management tool and unlike your recent trip to your local gym, you might have some fun between the repetitions.

Wii Fit is the result of famed designer Shigeru Miyamoto's fascination with measuring his weight every day and the inspiration gained after his team saw a sumo wrestler weigh in using two separate scales (he was too heavy for one alone.) They created the Wii Balance Board, a scale-like peripheral which comes packed in with every copy of Wii Fit. It's an innovative package, but it doesn't come cheap -- the Balance Board tacks on an extra $40; everything sells in America for $89.99, a pretty penny, especially for Wii owners accustomed to paying less for both the initial hardware purchase and the games designed for the system.

Look back on Jess's first test. Check back soon for our video review.

To its credit, the device is no joke. It very accurately measures your every subtle movement and momentum nuance as you step and shift to and from on the Balance Board. It's much more accurate than the WIi remote and it independently analyzes the input from your left and right foot, compiling the data into something meaningful and potentially encouraging within the context of the challenges, whether you're doing yoga poses, push-ups, or partaking in a host of mini-games created specifically for the device. Nintendo has compiled some 40 different challenges spread out across a list of categories including strength training, yoga, aerobics and balance board games, a robust roster that we'll detail at greater length on the next page.

But before we get to that, let's go over body mass index, or BMI, a measurement that Wii Fit relies upon to determine your Wii Fit age (yes, same concept as Brain Age) and to analyze your daily progress. It's also why Wii Fit has recently made the rounds in the press for reportedly labeling a child "obese." We believe that Nintendo made a misstep in relying solely on BMI to gauge weight loss success stories in Wii Fit -- the measurement was never designed to be utilized this way and the results are oftentimes misleading. If you stand 5'10" and weigh 150 pounds, your BMI will fall well within the standard and you will be labeled normal. However, the game doesn't account for different body structures and muscle mass. It merely measures your weight and assigns you a label. Fine, if you really are skinny or traditionally fit or even fine if you are truly obese. But what about all the people who already exercise on a regular basis and have greater muscle mass to show for it? Well, all that muscle counts for fat in Nintendo's title, a truth that creates potential problems right from the start.

Sadly, the game features no means to input this kind of data; it never even asks if you have a muscular build and it certainly doesn't enable you to enter exact fat percentage numbers supplied to you by an exercise instructor. Additions like these would have been extremely useful for those who do make a habit of going to the gym and want to incorporate Wii Fit into their workout routine, so hopefully Nintendo can make these options available, either in a future downloadable update or in an official sequel.

It isn't going to ignite the health industry ablaze, but where exercise is concerned, Wii Fit is nevertheless the real deal. Critics who called the motion-filed antics of Wii Sports gimmicky will have a difficult time making the same complaint of Nintendo's fitness effort, especially naysayers who actually plant their feet and hands on the Balance Board and engage in some lunges or push-up and side planks, or even some Tree or Warrior stands. As you try out the exercises and mini-games, you will be physically challenged, your heart rate will spike, you will need to control your breathing and yes, you're even going to break a sweat, particularly if you keep at it. We go to the gym on a regular basis, where our regiment includes everything from push-ups to weight lifting, but we woke up incredibly sore all the same the day after we first tried Wii Fit.

The exercise in Wii Fit is on a whole less daunting than going to the the gym since Nintendo has supplied you with virtual trainers -- male or female depending on your preference -- to take you through the challenges. The on-screen guides lack realism (they don't even move their mouths when they speak), but they do their jobs successfully, showing by example proper form and timing during your routines. They even react dynamically as the Wii Balance Board measures your input, offering corrective advice on your form, your breathing and your timing. You would normally pay a high-end fee for this type of personal training at a gym. Indeed, one of our co-workers who fancies herself a yoga expert tried out a few of the yoga exercises in Wii Fit and immediately commented that they were more enjoyable because of the on-screen guidance. Oftentimes she felt herself wondering if her form was correct when she went to the gym, but she felt much more confident about her posture and balance in the game.

This is partly true because of the instructors, but also because Wii Fit shows your subtle movements and shifts to you as you play, a highly useful addition. So when you're striking a yoga pose and holding the form, an on-screen reticule will appear, which represents your balance, and you must keep this reticule centered within a circle as you hold your posture. When doing push-ups, on-screen meters will let you know when to lower yourself and rise again. You will see fluctuating circles on-screen meant to illustrate when you should breathe in and out. And even when you're playing mini-games, such as skiing or ski jump, you will need to keep that reticule balanced within the sweet spot in order to gain proper speed down the slope. It's all very smartly designed and really helpful as you workout, as you never feel like you're fumbling through the motions.



Unfortunately, Wii Fit does not provide equally valuable guidance for your high-level workout routine. It will occasionally suggest trying an accompanying yoga pose after you've completed the first and it will recommend that you take a break every so often, too. But don't expect a fully-developed exercise plan because there's none to be found, a disappointing omission. Furthermore, it doesn't meticulously analyze your progress and guide you to the next step in the healthy exercise course. You can, for example, engage in push-ups all afternoon and the next day, you could do the same, leaving your muscles no time to relax -- a practice that health instructors advise against.

Perhaps more than any other game, Wii Fit is likely to appeal to the coveted casual audience. It's already sold two-million-plus copies in Japan and it's poised to do even bigger sales in America. But for a title that is so geared toward the everyman, it clings onto one hardcore fundamental -- unlocking challenges. So if you're the type who wants to jump right into everything that Wii Fit has to offer from the beginning, you're out of luck. You'll need to spend days upon days partaking in all of the modes to earn Wii Fit minutes, which eventually add up and open up other portions of the experience. It's a slow process and it's a little more difficult than we would prefer. That being true, we're quite sure that players unfamiliar with unlockables will find the undertaking daunting, time-consuming and altogether frustrating. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, it also provides both a reason to play every day and also to try out the various challenges and games, of which there are many.

In strength training alone, there are 15 different exercises, including single-leg extensions, jackknives, plank and tricep extensions, push-ups, and challenges like push-up contests and plank contests. These are all incredibly challenging and equally satisfying. You will feel as though you've just returned from the gym only moments after you complete a series of these physical tests. If form and posture are more your thing, you've got yoga, which houses another 15 challenges like deep breathing, spinal twists, shoulder stands, sun salutations, standing knees, palm trees, chairs and triangles. We thought the yoga challenges would be a breeze, but we're happy to report that they are just as difficult, entertaining and physically taxing as the strength-training selection. Balance plays such a role in the yoga exercises that you will inevitably become aware of your posture, an added benefit. Even the games in Aerobics, like hula-hoop, seem gimmicky at first, but as you play, you will eventually start to notice that your breathing has quickened. There's no doubt that Nintendo has really created a healthy (har, har) and diverse list of exercise possibilities for the experience. And you will keep coming back to them.

There are a few minor notables about the Wii Balance Board. One, as you start to sweat -- and you will -- your hands may slip off the peripheral during push-ups. The device has some grip, but it's not enough, and on occasion we found ourselves wishing we had worn gloves, or that Nintendo had provided some other means of stickiness to the Board. The other -- and this relates to the game as a whole -- is that few homes will feature the workout room and setup to adequately play all of the challenges Wii Fit has to offer. Everybody will be able to clear up some space, but it's an altogether more difficult undertaking to position your TV for all the right workouts. If you're doing yoga poses, you'll want it at eyesight. If you're doing push-ups, you'll want it closer to the floor. We've got hanging plasmas in our homes and we have to look way up when we're on our hands doing push-ups. Something to think about.

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