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EA Sports Active: Cardio and Resistance Training on the Wi
Written By: Raymond Padilla(G4TV)
Yesterday, I checked out EA Sports Active at Gordon Biersch restaurant brewery...because there's no better place to check out a fitness game than an establishment known for its beer and garlic fries. EA describes the game as "designed in collaboration with fitness experts, EA Sports Active gives you fun, easy to learn exercises and activities that create a western fitness circuit you can do with family and friends, all from the convenience of your living room". Basically, it gives Wii owners a way to get some cardio and resistance training in their living room. Given the success of Wii Fit and Jillian Michaels' Fitness, it's easy to understand why EA wants a crack at this market. I have little doubt that this will be a pretty big success, but I was surprised that it was kind of fun too.
Since my hands were full with a pint of schwarzbier and a plate of garlic fries, I had the sexy fitness lady demo the game for me. It uses a leg strap that holds the nunchuk, as well as a resistance band. The Wii Balance Board is optional, but not necessary. Players can create an avatar that looks like them, though I think it's funnier to work out as someone that looks nothing like you...I'm not sure why. As expected, making your way through the game is easy as pie so that casual players won't get lost in menus. Each exercise has a demo that clearly explains how each exercise is performed. It's like having a personal trainer at your house, but with the lovely option of cursing him/her out if you're not enjoying yourself.
Among the exercises I saw were boxing, in-line skating, and a variety of resistance exercises. Boxing was lot of fun, using the motion-sensing controls to measure how accurately players can hit targets. You're not throwing haymakers here; the idea is to get your blood pumping by throwing as many punches in as short a time as possible. In-line skating was pretty cool too; it had players navigate their way through an obstacle-laden course, alternating between pushing and jumping motions. The resistance band is used for a number of exercises that tone the muscles. Other activities include tennis, basketball, volleyball, lunges, and more. With over 20 exercises, boredom shouldn't be an issue.
Along with the various exercises, there are informational sections of the game that help players adjust their nutrition and lifestyle. Honestly, I didn't really notice these features. They're mostly reading, with some input, and the combination of a great beer and a sexy blonde was too distracting.
Overall, there are good number of modes and a great number of exercises. If you want to keep your body busy and don't want to leave the house, EA Sports Active appears to be a fun way to do it. While some question the effectiveness of video-game exercise, this title looks quite effective. It gets you body moving in different ways, which undeniably gets your heart beating faster for a cardio workout. The resistance band also helps people tone their bodies, though EA should probably include different kinds of bands. Obviously, I'd require a much stronger band than TheFeed's Brian Leahy.
Is EA Sports Active something the typical G4 reader will buy? I'd guess no. Is there a good chance that EA will sell more than a million of these things? I'd guess so. Given the ridiculous installed base of the Nintendo Wii, I can easily see this game being a huge hit. While it's not something that will appeal to most enthusiasts gamers, it's a fun way to exercise and, for gamers that are curious about the business, an interesting experiment by a Wii third-party publisher.
Written By: Raymond Padilla(G4TV)
Yesterday, I checked out EA Sports Active at Gordon Biersch restaurant brewery...because there's no better place to check out a fitness game than an establishment known for its beer and garlic fries. EA describes the game as "designed in collaboration with fitness experts, EA Sports Active gives you fun, easy to learn exercises and activities that create a western fitness circuit you can do with family and friends, all from the convenience of your living room". Basically, it gives Wii owners a way to get some cardio and resistance training in their living room. Given the success of Wii Fit and Jillian Michaels' Fitness, it's easy to understand why EA wants a crack at this market. I have little doubt that this will be a pretty big success, but I was surprised that it was kind of fun too.
Since my hands were full with a pint of schwarzbier and a plate of garlic fries, I had the sexy fitness lady demo the game for me. It uses a leg strap that holds the nunchuk, as well as a resistance band. The Wii Balance Board is optional, but not necessary. Players can create an avatar that looks like them, though I think it's funnier to work out as someone that looks nothing like you...I'm not sure why. As expected, making your way through the game is easy as pie so that casual players won't get lost in menus. Each exercise has a demo that clearly explains how each exercise is performed. It's like having a personal trainer at your house, but with the lovely option of cursing him/her out if you're not enjoying yourself.
Among the exercises I saw were boxing, in-line skating, and a variety of resistance exercises. Boxing was lot of fun, using the motion-sensing controls to measure how accurately players can hit targets. You're not throwing haymakers here; the idea is to get your blood pumping by throwing as many punches in as short a time as possible. In-line skating was pretty cool too; it had players navigate their way through an obstacle-laden course, alternating between pushing and jumping motions. The resistance band is used for a number of exercises that tone the muscles. Other activities include tennis, basketball, volleyball, lunges, and more. With over 20 exercises, boredom shouldn't be an issue.
Along with the various exercises, there are informational sections of the game that help players adjust their nutrition and lifestyle. Honestly, I didn't really notice these features. They're mostly reading, with some input, and the combination of a great beer and a sexy blonde was too distracting.
Overall, there are good number of modes and a great number of exercises. If you want to keep your body busy and don't want to leave the house, EA Sports Active appears to be a fun way to do it. While some question the effectiveness of video-game exercise, this title looks quite effective. It gets you body moving in different ways, which undeniably gets your heart beating faster for a cardio workout. The resistance band also helps people tone their bodies, though EA should probably include different kinds of bands. Obviously, I'd require a much stronger band than TheFeed's Brian Leahy.
Is EA Sports Active something the typical G4 reader will buy? I'd guess no. Is there a good chance that EA will sell more than a million of these things? I'd guess so. Given the ridiculous installed base of the Nintendo Wii, I can easily see this game being a huge hit. While it's not something that will appeal to most enthusiasts gamers, it's a fun way to exercise and, for gamers that are curious about the business, an interesting experiment by a Wii third-party publisher.