VG Review: 'Wii Fit'

“WII FIT”
Nintendo, for the Wii, rated E for Everyone (comic mischief), $89.99.

Video game companies have made a few attempts at creating games that would encourage cardiovascular exercise, but none have been as successful as Nintendo’s new “Wii Fit” game.

The title has been a surprise hit, selling out almost immediately in its first week. It remains a hard-to-find item online, selling upward of $155.

What’s all the fuss about? I spent a week with the game to see if it was worth the purchase (and would perhaps even help shed some of my unwanted pounds). Here’s a day-by-day account of my travails with the machine.

Sunday

"Wii Fit” comes with an 8-pound “balance board” — a wireless, pressure-sensitive peripheral you stand on while playing. After installing the (provided) batteries and taking a moment to sync the board up with the Wii console, I’m off and running (well, not quite yet).

As the game starts, a little virtual version of the board waves one of its corners at me, stresses the importance of proper balance and asks if I want to determine my “Wii Fit Age.” Sure, why not?

After choosing a virtual character or “Mii” to represent myself, I add in my height and other data. The game then measures my weight and BMI (Body Mass Index), and asks me to perform a series of tricky balancing exercises.

It turns out that not only am I overweight (though thankfully only borderline), my Wii Fit Age is an embarrassing 50 (I’m actually 37).

Nintendo has clearly taken several pages out of its “Brain Age” series for the portable DS system for “Wii Fit,” as the structure is very similar, right down to putting colorful stamps on your calendar each time you take the body test.

A few yoga and stretching exercises confirm that I am indeed the clumsy oaf I always suspected I was. The “tree” pose in particular seems designed to ensure I look as foolish as possible. Thankfully everyone in my house was asleep at the time.

Monday

Much better. My Wii Fit Age is down to a more manageable 40.

The game is divided into four sections: “Yoga,” “Strength Exercises,” “Aerobics” and “Balance Games.” There are only a few selections available as you begin, but the more time you spend, the more games and exercises you unlock.

The yoga and strength exercises are dominated by bland trainers, who, like Thomas the Tank Engine, have the creepy ability to talk without moving their lips.

It’s important to note that the emphasis here is on toning your muscles and improving your overall posture and balance. This isn’t a game that will turn you into Charles Atlas, let alone Jack LaLanne.

Tuesday

I’m surprised to discover that the Hula-Hoop game, wherein I swing my hips vigorously, Elvis-style, gives you quite the workout. I’m actually sweating here.

In general I find I prefer the aerobic and balance games to the trainer-based exercises. The latter do, however, provide a decent warm-up to the former, so I keep at them, though success on some of the trickier exercises remains elusive.

Oh yeah, my Wii Fit Age is now 31. Boo-ya!

Wednesday

An unforeseen consequence of the game is that I’m thinking more often about how I treat my body. I’m more aware of my calorie intake and over all fitness levels than I was before.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from snacking on Pop-Tarts at work today. The result: My weight shot up and my age is now 37. Oh well. Time for some push-ups!

Thursday

My wife has become intrigued by the game as well. Though, like me, she’s a bit unsteady on her feet in some games, she is impressed with its overall setup and design.

“You’ve brought home other exercise video games,” she says, “but this is the first one that actually makes me want to use it regularly.”

Friday

Now my kids have joined the “Wii Fit” craze. My son loves the marble tilt game (move left and right to send the marbles down the hole) while my daughter seems to take a perverse interest in jogging (running in place while holding the Wii controller). Both love the ski jump game (stand up from a crouch at the precise moment to execute a winning jump — no real jumping please).

I, meanwhile, have unlocked a rather addictive boxing game. I’m also intrigued by a balance game where I glide down a treacherous river in a bubble. One false move toward the walls and it’s over.

Saturday

I still have a number of games and exercises to unlock, but I think it’s safe to call “Wii Fit” a success. Though my weight hasn’t decreased significantly, my posture and sense of balance have noticeably improved.

I doubt I’ll be training every day, but I do plan to keep “Wii Fit” around the house. If I didn’t, my family would never let me hear the end of it.


THE PROS
Easy to set up and use; balance board is well-designed and neat way to train; exercises are fun. 

THE CONS
Trainers lack personality; you can’t string together workouts to create a routine; some games get repetitious. 

BOTTOM LINE
“Wii Fit” won’t turn you into a bodybuilder, but it’s a great, family-friendly way to get off the couch and start working off that flab. 

Copyright The Patriot-News, 2008

VG Review: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

"PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE” 
Nintendo, for the Nintendo DS, rated E for Everyone, $34.99.

"Professor Layton and the Curious Village” is a tough game to review.

On the one hand, it frustrated me frequently, often to the point where I contemplated flinging my DS across the room in disgust.

At the same time, I’d be a churlish philistine to not acknowledge its charm and style. This is an utterly unique title that deserves merit for attempting to go beyond your average “adventure game.”

The plot involves puzzle-master Professor Layton and his young ward, Luke. The pair are asked to come to the mysterious village of St. Mystere to help uncover a valuable treasure.

Once in the village, however, they discover a number of nefarious plots and shady characters, and find themselves immersed in the midst of an even larger, shadier mystery.

Despite what the plot synopsis suggests, you won’t spend your time interrogating suspects or pulling out your magnifying glass to look for clues.

No, it seems the citizens of St. Mystere are suckers for puzzles, and they’ll pester you to help solve their brain-teasers at the slightest opportunity.

These aren’t puzzles along the lines of “find crowbar in room A to lift rock in room B so you can get key to go into room C” that dot the landscape of most video games.

No, these are genuine puzzles, along the lines of “A man is going along the road at 50 miles an hour”-type word problems. You know, stuff about getting wolves and chicks across a raft or moving matchsticks to make words or figuring out percentages. Logic and math-style stuff.

And it’s here that I come across my real problem with the game: I’m no good at these sorts of puzzles. In fact, I’m downright awful at them, to the point where I vowed upon graduating high school that I would never ever look at another word or algebra problem again if I could help it. “Layton” broke my streak.

Still, if these sorts of brain teasers are your bread and butter, then “Layton” will be a pleasure to play. Not only do the puzzles range from simple to stumpers, but the game boasts a captivating, cartoonish design reminiscent of the film “The Triplets of Belleville.”

Most minigame collections for the DS have a thrown-together feel, at best, putting a bunch of mediocre puzzles under one roof and hoping for the best. “Professor Layton” tries to be a bit more ambitious than that. The fact that its goals lie outside of my meager abilities shouldn’t dissuade you from checking it out.


Copyright The Patriot-News, 2008

VG REVIEW: Super Mario Galaxy

"SUPER MARIO GALAXY"
Nintendo, for the Wii, rated E for Everyone (mild cartoon violence), $49.99.

Though it's easily one of the more popular consoles out there today, the Wii hasn't exactly garnered a thunderous herd of stellar games. There have been a few strong titles but nothing that screams must-own or really builds strongly upon the premise of the Wii's motion controls.

All that changes with the release of "Mario Galaxy." The first major Mario title for the console (assuming you don't count "Super Paper Mario" and "Mario Party 8"), "Galaxy" is a fun, addictive platform game that thrills and surprises at every turn.

The plot isn't significant, but for the sake of recapping, it can be summed up thusly: The evil dinosaur-turtle (or whatever he is), Bowser, has kidnapped the princess (again) and stolen a bunch of magical stars. It's your job as Mario to get them all back and set everything right (again).

To do this you wander the spaceways, either hopping or jetting across various tiny planetoids, some barely larger than Mario himself, solving puzzles and dispatching enemies along the way.

As you might expect, you'll do the usual bit of item collecting (a mainstay in any platform game these days), but for once the coins, gems and other doodads prove to be valuable, as they can unlock other areas or improve your health.

Taking a page from "Super Mario World 3," in "Galaxy" Mario can try on several costumes, each with its own special abilities. The bee outfit, for example, allows him to fly for short periods of time (though you have to avoid water). The "Boo" costume lets you become a ghost and pass through walls.

But it's not just the level design and add-ons that make "Galaxy" such a joy to play. The game's use of motion controls is intuitive, fluid and graceful enough to make you wonder why you ever bothered using a traditional D-pad. Shaking the controller, for example, allows Mario to do a spin attack, stunning his enemies. Other, more unique levels require you to do things such as holding the controller vertically to balance Mario on top of a rolling ball.

The game also boasts a co-op mode, where your friend can collect the little star bits that dot the landscape while you operate Mario. As multiplayer schemes go, this seems to be terribly unbalanced and is probably the weakest part of the game.

As the official poster boy for Nintendo, Mario gets his mug plastered onto a lot of games that barely rank above mediocre. Not so with Mario Galaxy." Like the best "Mario" games before it, it builds firmly upon platforming traditions to offer something original and inventive. You won't find a better game on the Wii console right now.


Copyright The Patriot-News, 2007

Swag of note: Diddy Kong Racing

This week's "SoN" comes courtesy of Nintendo, who are promoting the soon-to-be released DS title "Diddy Kong Racing." And what says large apes racing about in go-carts better than an oversize plastic cup?!

Unfortunately the photo doesn't really give a sense of the size of this cup. Trust me when I say it's abnormally big. I'm talking larger than movie theater large. You also can't see from the photo but it says "Gorilla Gulp" on the side.

But that's not all I got. Inside the cup was a bag of potato chips!

And some gum!

And best of all, lots of yellow crinkled strips of paper!

I am such a lucky man.