EA Sports Active

I know they're meant to cater to the casual crowd, but the idea of fitness-focused video games has always appealed to me. My fitness regimen has always consisted of me working out by myself with some sort of technology acting as the carrot on a stick, be it an MP3 player used on a run outside or turning on the TV while I work on the rowing machine. So it should come as no surprise that I instantly latched onto Wii Fit, the first game to really take fitness seriously while also making it fun.

THE VERDICT by Dave Rudden Dave Rudden's Avatar

As a long-time Wii Fit user, it was going to take some serious effort to knock that game out of my fitness regimen. EA Sports Active, however, was up to the task, providing better exercises with an excellent user interface. I've been using Active pretty consistently since it came out, and I can say without reservation that it's the best workout game on the market right now. If you've got a Wii and want to shed some weight, it's definitely worth purchasing, And at 30 bucks cheaper than Wii Fit, the only thing that will stay fat is your wallet.

In the year or so following the game's release, I probably put more time into Wii Fit than any other video game I own. I'd typically put in 10-30 minutes (depending on whether the weather made running worthwhile) of workout time for three to four sessions every week for over 50 weeks. Wii Fit had definitely ingrained itself into my routine, but there were some adverse effects, as I eventually got stuck in a rut of picking the same four or five exercises.

Act Active

Now EA Sports Active has arrived, and everything's changed. In a little over a month with the game, I can definitely sense a shift. My workouts are shorter, yet more vigorous. I'm using every muscle in my body throughout the course of 20 or so minutes without having to determine the right order myself. And even though the game is missing a few key features, I know that EA Sports Active will be my new main fitness tool.

Though a far cry from Wii Fit's Balance Board, EA Sports Active comes with a duo of fitness-focused accessories that are necessary to complete the exercises. The flashier of the two is a resistance band (think a large rubber band that's been cut) that you attach to two grips. The band is then placed underneath the soles of your feet as you stand to provide a counterweight for arm and upper body strength activities like lateral raises. The other item that comes with the game is a Velcro leg strap with a pouch on it for the Nunchuck. When engaging in an activity that utilizes lower-body movement like rollerblade jumps, lunges, or squats, the game senses the movement of the Nunchuck on your leg to make sure you've completed the rep. There is also Wii Balance Board support, but honestly, most of the exercises that use it aren't much better than the standard activities in the game.

EA Sports Active

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donkeykong57

Can you elaborate why the 30-day challenge is the biggest drawback?

Does it get too intense, causing you to quit instead of giving you a feeling of accomplishment and anticipation?

I'm excited to pick this up. It's awesome to see so many writers participating in the 30-day challenge.

hitmonlee

I absolutely hate this program. It rarely registers movements properly, the resistance band that comes with it offers very little resistance, and the damn leg strap that's supposed to hold the nunchuck constantly slips off my leg when I exercise with it on.

Save yourselves some money folks, get My Fitness Coach (aka Yourself Fitness on Xbox) for the cardio and for strength you could pick up this great set of resistance cables that Gold's Gym makes that hooks to the back of any door. You can get both for about $20 each.

modmeplease

I just bought this for my wife based on my co-workers recommendation. We'll see how she likes it and i'll come back with a review.

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