(I do admit, this is going to be a bit haphazard in its creation; I'm writing this at 2:30am, and it's going to be a bit out of sorts. I'm just writing things as they come to mind. I may edit this later, I may not. It'll still cover everything I want to touch on, though.)
Okay. Let me begin by saying that you should not be going into this game expecting 'fun'. I say this because first and foremost, it's a game centered around exercise. Most of us hate this eight-letter word with a passion. The creation of a game that's engaging enough to make us want to come back just to exercise is going to be a rather drastic undertaking, especially with a growing library of lackluster exertainment (Is that even a word? If not, hey, why not) games on the market, so EA has its work cut out for it. And the first thing that most people are going to do is compare it to Wii Fit. And after playing this through a couple of times, it brings to the forefront how much Wii Fit is lacking in the way of actual exercise, instead choosing to carefully mask exercise as a series of balancing routines.
With that in mind, EA Active was purchased as a gift for me to both cushion the blow of getting laid off, and as a way to keep my ass out of my computer chair for half an hour a day. I've given it a couple runs through, and I have to say, I definitely find it more interesting than the other exercise-related titles that I've had the opportunity to at least trial-run. It starts out offering the option between running a variety of daily workouts, or taking the 30 day challenge. I'm not a pro at exercise, so I never know what workouts to do. The game comes with a resistance strap that's not particularly strong, but is more than enough for a game like this. But hey, if you were a professional, you'd be at the gym, not playing a Wii exercise game. Besides, it's plenty strong for what's needed. As well, it comes with a leg strap that's intended to go around the upper right thigh. I find that it tends to slip fairly easily, but as a man of no small stature, that may have something to do with it. The leg strap has a pocket for the nunchuck.
The primary feedback comes through the Nunchuck and Wii Remote. With the nunchuck in the leg-strap, that's the game's method of monitoring leg activity in exercises like walking/jogging, stretches, et cetera. I've had no problems with this setup, other than the strap slipping, and found that it tends to detect motion fairly well. The remote stays in the right hand pretty much all the time. You've also got the option of using the Balance Board for some exercises, but it's by no means required. They did a fairly decent job of including that as an additional accessory and integrating it into some exercises that are easily adapted for use with or without the board.
The 30 day challenge seemed like a reasonable way to go, and it does a good job of taking a novice through the steps. It provides a 30 day calendar that lets you know what days to work out and when to rest, and each day comes complete with a routine that you can selectively opt out of if there are particular exercises you're not fond of. Personally, I hate lunges, so I tend to avoid them. You choose a trainer when you start out, male or female. I actually liked these trainers a bit more than Wii Fit's. When you're unfamilar with an exercise set, or if it's the first time you're doing it, the trainer will walk you through the motions. Both of them are actual people, not just in-game creations, so you see how a person would actually perform them, instead of a mo-capped model. As well, when you're in the middle of your routine, the trainer will cheer you on with positive reinforcement. This may seem silly, but I thought it was a nice little touch
During your workouts, the game comes with five different genres of generic types of music (electronica, 'modern beats', guitar/rock alternative, dance club, hip hop/urban) to provide some background music while you work out. The music isn't amazing, but it's certainly enough to keep you moving through your routine. Personally, I rather like the electronica selection. When you finish, there's a quick set of graphs, just to show you what you've done compared with the estimated daily amount. As well, each day, the trainer will rate you on a medal scale (gold/silver/bronze) based on your workout, as well as your entries based on your other activities yesterday and a quick questionnaire. Your end result is no different, and some people may ignore it outright, but as I said before, the additional positive reinforcement may encourage some people to be more thorough with the game. As well, your daily results add up as part of the 30 day challenge's end goals, which are set when you begin. The defaults (for my game, at least) were 500 calories burned in workouts alone in 7 days, 7 days of workout time in 30 days, and 5 workout sessions in 7 days. You may be able to customize these, but I have yet to try.
If the 30 day challenge isn't your preference, there's still a wide variety of daily workouts, with a wide variety of preset routines and the option to create your own based on cardio, upper body, lower body, and their variety of sports games. The creation process is fairly thorough, and is enough to allow you to create a well-rounded daily workout, or to easily concentrate on one section. It'll let you know how much you're working each section of your body or your cardiovascular system, along with the estimated calories burned by that workout, and the time it would take. One big bonus of these daily workouts that Wii Fit is severely lacking in, is the ability to work out with a friend. Get a second remote and nunchuck, and they can sweat right along with you. And to keep you interested in the long run, EA Active comes complete with achievements in the form of 'trophies'. All of these are well within reach if you play fairly regularly, and they're fun little extras as another way to track how long you've been playing.
All in all, I'd say this is one of the more thorough, more engaging exertainment games that I've seen. I've enjoyed it every time I've played it so far, and think that if you've really got to make use of your Wii as an exercise machine, this is very likely going to be a worthwhile investment.
Labels: ea active, game reviews
