Wiicked

Amy picked up WiiFit yesterday. For those budding eBay entrepreneurs out there, she did this by calling the local GameStop every morning for three days straight to see if they had received any with their most recent shipment. No, try back tomorrow. No, try back tomorrow. Yes, we have a few. Hurry, hurry. Get in line with other people buying WiiFits. Whoopie!

I have mixed feeling about the game itself though.

The balance board (or whatever you call it) is really a digital scale with built in wireless connectivity. Most of the minigames revolve around shifting your weight about while standing atop it. This lets you simulate everything from hula-hooping to downhill skiing. It is also integrated with strength training, cardio, and yoga exercises. Unfortunately for some games it's too large (like when Amy is doing the step aerobics class) and for others it's too small (like when I try to do pushups). I suppose that's just the way it goes.

The structure of WiiFit is derived from of Brain Age. It even has the calender stamps. You create an account for yourself and give the game important information like height and birthdate. Then it tracks your weight, derives your BMI, and asks that you set health goals for yourself. You play minigames and do exercises in order to accumulate points to unlock other games and exercises.

Theoretically these games help you lose weight and maintain fitness and posture, but I have my doubts. While a few of the games do give you a little burn and can potentially raise a sweat, at around 3 minutes, they're all very short. 3 minutes is a warm up, not a proper cardio workout. This makes me wonder whether WiiFit will actually move you towards accomplishing your stated health goals.

The big problem is that WiiFit seems to have the faults of Brain Age as well. It keeps track of when you play, but has no idea if you workout outside of the program. I hate getting guilt tripped about how often I play. Being called a health slacker right after I finish a 30 minute cardio workout on real exercise equipment just pisses me off.

Right now, it's a mixed bag for me. But hey if we wind up annoyed by it, there's always a market on eBay.