This would be my latest obsession, and from what I have gathered it is an obsession of many other people around the country...considering that this game has sold out 4 Christmas' running. I first tried the game when a housemate of mine bought it and brought it round to the house, and after that I had to have it...regardless of price. It is just too fun, too addictive and too group orientated not to get...or group competition is probably the best way to describe it.

Boring Stuff

Title: Wii Fit
Platform: Obviously the Wii
Producers: Nintendo
Age: Advised age is 16
Price: Here is where it can get a bit ouchy. Gamestation is doing an offer at the time of writing which includes the Wii balance board, the Wii Fit game, a cover for the balance board, rechargeable batteries for the balance board, non slip socks, a work out mat and a carry case for £99.99. And this is the best deal I have seen so far. If you are an idiot like my brother and have lost the controller then that is an extra £30, but that is beside the point, the game itself, with all needed accessories is to be found for £100.

Wii Mii

The idea of the Wii Mii is a staple of a large amount of the Wii games, in this you actually create your character on the Wii console first so that it looks like you , and then you can use this on the games. It is surprising how similar to yourself you can make the Wii Mii seem, but I have been reliably informed that some people look more like Mii's than other people do. It is this little character who will represent you throughout the game, and will be doing all the mini-games etc. You can create as many of these Wii Mii's as you like, which means that you can have all of your friends playing alongside you. Once created, these just have to be registered onto the game and the you are ready to start playing.

Game structure

There are several different sections to the game; the first would be the body test, which is available to take and record the data once daily per person. This is the embarrassing part of the program which records your weight, BMI and Wii Age. You then have the main training sections of the game, this incorporates yoga activities, muscle workouts, aerobics and balance games. All of these are individually graded and timed. As you go through the game more techniques and games can be unlocked in relation to the amount of time you spend on the games and exercises. The final main section is the graphs which you can examine and thus keep a tally on you weight, BMI, Wii age and the amount of Wii exercise you have done that say. The graphs start by keeping tabs over two weeks, but this can be changed so that you can see longer periods of time, such as a year and thereby measure how much progress you have made.

Body Test

This kind of explains itself really, but as I suggested earlier, this is the embarrassing part of the game...and if you are sensitive about your weight it is best to do this when no one else is looking. At its most basic form, you tell the game your height, it then measures you and puts this into BMI. This is then recorded on the graphs and the daily planner. Once you have done that, then that is the first part of the body test over and done with...and at this point you can call the rest of the family back into the room! You then pick a target that you want to aim for, and a time period to meet it - the game will record this and keep track of how close you are. It is here that the second part of the Body test begins, and this is how the game comes up with your Wii Age. The game will pick two random balance tests for you to complete, and this can be anything from standing on one leg, to keeping perfectly still, or even the agility test in which you have to use the weight you put on the Wii Balance Board to make your counter hit the blue markers. These tasks are more tricky than they would at first sight appear, as they rely on you having a great deal of control over how to use your weight and balance in your favour...plus the balance board, which is the main focus of these tests is highly sensitive to both your weight and how much weight in proportion you are putting onto each leg. Once you have completed these tasks you can be even more embarrassed by finding out your Wii Age is over double your normal age...or maybe that's just me. The Wii Age is based on your real age, weight and the performance that you gave in the previous two balance games...your aim is to get your real age or lower...I have never yet managed this.

Training

This is the main aspect of the game, and this is where it starts to get addictive. This is rather strange considering that all that is involved in the game are a series of exercise based games or workouts. These consist of yoga, muscle workouts, aerobics, and balance games.

The yoga speaks for itself really, it starts with the easiest yoga manoeuvres including deep breathing and the 'Warrior Pose', which even I can do! You first pick whether you want a female or male instructor and they will then walk you through whichever exercise you choose, you then move on to doing the exercise with the instructor doing it as well. While doing it you have a little yellow circle or oval which tells you where your weight is meant to be, and the aim is to complete the move while staying in the circle...which is harder than it looks. I've never personally been that interested in yoga, and have spent very little on this particular part of the game, except for when I need a warm down from the aerobics. As you spend more time on the exercises you will unlock more exercises which will gradually increase in difficulty.

The muscles workouts follow the same sort of pattern, but needless to say, are more trying on the muscles rather than on posture. The same trainer you picked for the yoga exercises will take you through the different exercises, which are aimed at building and toning your muscles. There are approximately 20 exercises, again the same as the yoga, and they also go up in difficulty as you unlock more exercises. The scoring is the same as for the yoga, with the aim being to stay as steady as possible while doing work outs like push ups, lunges and torso twists.

The next main training section is the aerobic exercises, and this is where I spend most of my time on the game, and as the name suggests these are the most directly active exercises on the game. You have hula-hooping, running, and dance stepping as the principle exercises, and each of these have more difficult levels to be unlocked as you get better at the them. These are the activities in which you actually feel like you are exercising! They are assessed on how many hoops/steps you can manage, or on the running exercise they work out the burn rate that you have been working on. Once you have unlocked the higher levels of these they start to be quite a work out.

And finally, the balance games. I don't think these exercises, however much the game suggests that they may improve your balance and weight proportions while standing and moving. These are a series of cute mini games in which using only your weight and balance on the Wii board you can manoeuvre your character into doing what you are meant to do in the particular mini game. Examples of these particular games are ski-ing in and out of poles, ski-jumping, and catching fish with a penguin. All of these are great fun to give credit, but they have very little to do with fitness me thinks.

All of the high scores for each exercise or game are put on a high scores board...which adds a definite competitive edge to the game, as I for one refuse to be beaten by my brother at anything! Because you can have so many people playing individually on the Wii Fit this means that the score boards get far more competitive as each person tries to best the other...and also beat your own high scores.

Graphics

The graphics in the game are typical Nintendo cutesy style graphics, in comparison to the spectacular Playstation 3 graphics which are highly realistic, these are nothing special. However, I don't believe that this is what Nintendo aims for with their graphics, instead they aim to appeal to all age ranges with which can almost be called cartoon graphics...and if there is one thing that they can be called it is definitely cute!

Sound effects

These are in much the same style as the graphics, very, very cute. Most people who have used the game with me have had the instinctive reaction of 'Ahhhh, cuuute!!!' on first hearing them. Most of the sounds come from the representation of the Wii Balance Board on the computer, it talks to you in this really sweet voice...which you can't help but just love.

Does it make you fit?

Well, that really depends on how you use it. Nintendo has had plenty of complaints based on the fact that people haven't lost weight while using it, but I would personally suggest that this is because they have only really been using the balance games, and possibly the yoga techniques. The game quite obviously cannot make you fit, you have to put the effort in yourself, the game just gives you the opportunity. The exercises on the game allow you to push yourself, and the body test gives the opportunity to set goals and keep to them, but that effort has to be put in.

Downsides

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There are a couple of downsides to the game, but none of them are particularly major. The largest would be the embarrassment factor of gyrating your hips while hula-hooping, or failing magnificently to complete one of the exercises while in the company of your friends or family...you need to have a certain amount of confidence...unless you want to do your exercises in the dead of night!

The second downside is that you don't unlock exercises based on how much time that you spend in each area, which would be sensible - unlocking a balance game after playing the balance games would make sense, but instead you may unlock a new yoga move even if you have never played the yoga games. I have to admit this did annoy me, likewise, the fact that gaining an advance level didn't work on how well you'd played the beginner level, but instead, how many times you had played it. It's a very small annoyance, but an annoyance none the less.

Conclusion

The game is amazingly fun, and surprisingly good at keeping you fit...for the first time ever I have actually managed to stick to a sensible exercise schedule. Being able to watch your progress definitely in graphs and weight, and strangely the little representation of the Wii Balance Board is rather good at making you feel like you can do it - and it is very sad when a computer representation is encouraging you! But this is an addictive, fun and healthy game...the main issue would be that to buy all of the gear it is a little bit expensive...but so, so worth it. And it's still cheaper than gym membership! Or for that matter than buying your own gym equipment!