Published: Wednesday, 14th May, 2008 12:00
Wii Fit
By Narin Bahar
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A computer game that gets you fit is up there with fat busting chocolate in terms of dream marketing. But is Wii Fit actually any good? Or are the only pounds it'll help you shed the 70 you'll need to fork out of your wallet?
The first thing that's going to help you get fit is carrying the box home from the shop. The Wii Balance Board is very sturdy and robust and, well, heavy - as you'd expect for something that is usable by exercisers weighing up to 23 and a half stone (150 Kg). It looks like two pairs of bathroom scales laid side by side, and is filled with pressure points to assess your every movement.
The board works with more than 40 different muscle, yoga, aerobic and balance exercises, although when you put your disk in and start the number of options you'll have are less than that - the more time you play the more things you unlock to play. There are lots and lots of options here - from muscle stretches and step aerobics to the kind of fun minigames the Wii is famed for. The more serious ones are explained by a male or female personal trainer who ensures you're doing them properly, but the mini games are straightforward enough to be dealt with by messages on screen - and are populated by your Miis which makes trying to dodge flying football boots and the like even more entertaining.
Over a week in to using Wii Fit regularly I can honestly say exercise has never been this fun. I'm averaging half an hour or so a day which soon adds up and can only be a good thing since it's exercise I wasn't doing before.
That said, there are a couple of minor oversights. The price tag is hefty, there's no option for warming up and there's almost a little too much freedom - having a circuit to work through (say half an hour of stretches, aerobic exercises and minigames picked at random) would be a useful thing to avoid the temptation to stick to your comfort zone and instead round out your exercise regime.
The key thing about Wii Fit - that is either inspiring or utterly depressing depending on your mindset - is that it tracks your progress. So once you've set it up and assigned yourself to a Mii it will work out your BMI and weight in relation to your height and age and then ask you what you'd like to do as your target. These can be weight or BMI related and anything too strenuous is called into question by our chirruping scale guide. It's a great motivation tool although falling into the trap of doing the weight/age test every day is a mistake - with your weight fluctuating depending on the time of day and the like, being told you've gained 2lbs in 18 hours is rather depressing even before the scales ask you why. Justifying that late night snack to your Wii feels slightly wrong and very depressing indeed. Stick to a regular once a week weigh in to avoid that road to madness.
Overall though, Wii Fit is a revelation. Although, as with those exercise DVDs that come out in the run up to Christmas every year, the fundamental fact remains buying it isn't enough - you actually have to use it to get the benefit. But since it's huge amounts of fun, so why wouldn't you want to?
* Wii Fit is out now exclusive to the Nintendo Wii, RRP £69.99
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