EA Sports Active Comments by Johnny Minkley

any chance EG can review the DS Walk with Me please..

As good as MGS4 then? ..... ohhh yeah i went there :P

I don't think Active counts as a 'game'.

I got active.....er for research purposes obviously........

Whats with the last screenshot? You ran out of press screenies for the game didnt you? :P

And as EG proceeds to dump over David Braben....

Pretty shoddy to review it so late in the day Eurogamer...it was released a month ago and has been in the UK top 10 since then.

I guess you're proving Peter Moore right when he says Wii software is reviewed late or not at all.

I want KFC now...

Oh well. Just ordered it based on this review. £34.99 on Play, cheapest I've seen it.

I like how the 'screenshots' show perfect people being happy instead of the game.

Good review, I think I'll pick this up at some point.

Spot on review. Agree with every word of it. I got it out of curiousity as Wii Fit last year had helped enormously with rehabilitation from badly torn achilles tendons ( ie. all but snapped ). It is far more about explosive exercise and cardio training whereas I found wii fit to be generally more successful in the balance and flexibilty arena. The resistance band is indeed shit, probably only taxing for the weaker toddlers out there. I got myself a pair of 3 kg wristweights which I use for everything including tennis and boxing and they do the trick but I think i'll want more resistance than that pretty soon. A colleague of mine has swapped the original resistance band out for a heavy duty reebok one and says he now finds the upper body stuff pretty taxing, and he's not exactly twig-armed.

One of the great things about it is that you can specify beforehand that you want to avoid doing certain exercises in the playlist. eg. the running exercises, high-stepping, kickbacks etc all go for my tendons so I block them before i start and get an uninterupted injury free workout every time. I have to say I have a full gym membership ( have been going regularly 3 times a week for months now ) and I'm now tempted to stop that membership and go with this... it really does give a decent workout, gives great feedback and bizarrely enough it really does motivate well. Most importantly though... you don't have to wait for some musclebound twonk to stop just sitting at the next weight station in your workout for 5 minutes chatting while he "recovers".

Johnny, that inline skating thing is indeed a complete bastard ... it's a very clever way of getting plyometrics into your workout without even realising it. That said the alternating lunge jumps are pretty close to injury central for me. Have to avoid them for the time being.

One thing, though, I think if there's one area where Natal will excel it's "games" like this. I can easily imagine just being able to stand in front of an Xbox Natal simply holding a set of weights instead of having to use wristweights/resistance bands AND hold the wimmote and 'chuck. For now though, the Wii is turning into a decent fitness machine.

As Wii Fit has been available for a year and the number of obese in the UK has, if anything, increased...and as EA Sports Active appears to be a better product than Wii Fit... should I finally expect to see a marked decrease in tubbies this time next year?

or will that tide only turn when Natal is released so that the Michelin men and women of Britain, officially the fattest island in Europe, can fling themselves around the room, flailing and wailing like the herd of elephants they so uncannily resemble.

By the way fatties...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/art...

If Stephen Fry can make the effort, so can you.

@CallousB

To be fair to the reviewer, it makes very good sense to review it after a few weeks of using it. That way you can tell if the product is any good.

I've been using it for three weeks and it comes highly recommended. Wii Fit is a joke really, but if its aim is to get people healthy and interested in fitness then it deserves some accolades. Active does require some dedication to use it. I get up at 6.30am to do the 30-day challenge - that's at the weekends as well. It definitely gives you a proper workout. Yes, it makes you sweat and it makes your muscles ache. It will certainly give you some kind of definition after repeated use - especially around the legs and arms. It won't turn you into Daniel Craig but it will give you the motiviation to build up a body shape that you feel happy in.

However, it must be mentioned that you MUST follow a healthy diet alongside Active. It's no good doing the exercise and then wolfing down a bargain bucket in the evening. All your hard work will be lost. ALWAYS make sure you have a glass of water or diluted juice nearby to keep you hydrated while you exercise.

Active won't be enjoyable at the beginning because, if you're unfit, you will find it hard going. However, don't lose heart. The results will be worth it, you'll be feeling better for it, and it does get easier over time. When it does use ankle and wrist weights to up your game.

Years ago I would have been crucified for saying so, but well done EA and well done Eurogamer for a VERY good and thoughtful review.

Good to hear some feedback in here. Was interested if it was minigames in the guise of fitness, or actual fitness.

The genius of Wii Fit is that it made exercise fun

No, the genius of Wii Fit is that Nintendo realized that Americans will spare no expense when it comes to gimmicky, flavor-of-the-month fitness/weight loss/exercise crap. I don't quite know how it is "across the pond" (though I'm sure it's not too different), but here, every fad weight loss thing gets its 15 minutes. Wii Fit is no different. It had about the same effect on waistlines (and taking-up-closet-space) as Atkins, Zone, Buns of Steel, Ab Roller, Thighmaster, South Beach Diet, etc. etc. etc. fucking etc. forever.

@Widge

It's a proper fitness tool. It is not a "fun" minigame compilation unlike Wii Fit.

It's ideal for people of all types and you can make it as easy or as hard as you feel comfortable with. Most of the 30-day challenges take between 20-30 minutes. Also buy some decent exercise clothes. It's worth buying good stuff like shorts with anti-bacterial linings. There's nothing worse than crotch rot!

With Wii Fit, I found that it was a pretty good motivator initially but once I'd unlocked most exercises, I had to make time for it all. One missed workout thanks to not being home all day, and next thing I knew I was out of the routine.

I still use it these days as a motivation tool, but I find walking four miles daily does a decent job of helping me lose weight, and because I'm walking home, it's kinda necessary too. There's no need to force myself into it.

Active looks like it'll require that sort of effort on my part, that will power to make the time. Not surprising really, considering it takes place in your living room. I envy the folk who can keep it up, but still - I am losing weight, so things are going well regardless.

I've actually been contemplating getting a Wii just for this(Is that a sign of how little the Wii means to me in terms of 'core' games?), after that review its pretty much made my mind up for me, I thought it sounded good and it's reviewed well pretty much everywhere.

Going to get this.

@Number1Laing

I agree to a point. People want a quick and effortless solution to losing weight. Even the new Alli pill has side effects like anal leakage. That kind of thing could ruin a romantic moment.

Motivation is the hardest thing to come by but a healthy diet and exercise is a winner every time. If a person is serious about losing weight and getting fit then they will. It's always easier to make excuses than to make an effort.

Just stick to the old tried and tested methods. You get fads in every walk of life.

I will be interested in Wii Fit Plus but it looks like it will be aimed at the elderly and unfit. Which is not a bad thing, mind. There's room in the market for both hard and gentle workouts.

I'm seriously considering moving the Wii into the bedroom because there's more space up there to exercise and it never gets used for actual games any more.

I think I was in the minority when I said this sounded good in the preview, so it's nice to see people are less mocking now.

It's allos good to see a considered review that's taken the time to really test the software. I will likely pick this up at some point, but it's a bit depressing that this is yet another Wii game that requires the purchase of extra add-ons.

How does this compare to my fitness coach which was widely reviewed as being a better fitness tool that wii fit as well?

Kudos to Mr Minkley for working with a 'game' for so long to give us a good review....

I was burgled, they took my Wii and the Wii Fit disk (but not the balance board???) and after replacing the Wii I've kept meaning to do something about getting an alternative disk somehow. Maybe I should get this instead.....if I can stomach the personal trainers who look like Nietschian Supermen. The whole "Haha, I'm what you wanna be and may never be" thing puts you off.

Can anyone suggest where to get a better Giant Rubber Band than that provided?

I started a thread about this game they wanted to kill me lol

8/10? When did Eurogamer become a "mommy blogger"? :P

was cheap(er) in argos last week 'i heard'... not sure if offer still on but was like 32 instead of 45 everywhere else on high street.

I found some of the exercises to register the poorest of any motion based wii game I've played thus far, the sports minigames are pretty toss and the trainer looks more like a scheming psychopath (with a huge ass) than a Nietzschean ubermensch, but it's true that my inner thighs still hurt three days on, and I cycle about an hour every day. It also makes you sweat, quite a lot, but it could be due to the fact that homes are generally less airconditioned than gyms. So until now I'm pretty much agreeing with the 8/10.

"I like how the 'screenshots' show perfect people being happy instead of the game."

Why should they show screenshots of the game display? You're not buying the game to look at pretty pictures - you're buying it (presumably) because you want to use it for exercise. Seems fairly elementary that pictures of that exercise actually happening would be more useful to show what it's about. No?

And mate... if they showed screenshots of fat, sweaty neckbeards to promote it, I'm pretty sure that would make me *less* likely to buy it. Evidently, you think that the shots of people playing it should reflect their neckbeardiness. And the people playing it should be sad, to reflect what it is really like to do exercise.

That was a great review and might well be worth a look.

I recently bought a 'recumbent' exercise bike which is, for those who don't know, one of those very comftable 'sit-down - legs a t 90 degrees - high back' bikes.

I read a book while exercising - didn't grab me.
I watched some tv/movies while exercising - didn't grab me.
THEN I tried playing the 360 while exercising and after some initial wobbles (Halo and geometry wars - the accuracy while cycling wasn't the best...) discovered that playing a turn-based game - especially the digi-crack that is Civilisation Revolution is PERFECT.

I cycle for at least an hour ( built up over a week or so from 10 -20 mins) and I actuallly look forward to coming home and exercising. I'm making sure I'm going for all the achievements on Deity to prolong the experience but I highly recommend for , at least, starting a fitness program.

Cheers,
TOOTR

Not referring to adverts, rather the in-game images.

I'm not looking for sweaty fat trainers, just someone I can identify with a bit better. Someone who isn't unfit, but isn't fit, just looks like they would get there with you. Like maybe an avatar rather than an actual person, whose body shape improves as your BMI does.

Maybe that's why Wii Fit didn't use actual video footage - an abstract-looking trainer is less threatening.

@TOOTR

I reckon there are still exercise bikes that you can plug your console into and play a race game. The Reebok Cyberrider came first for the Playstation 2, probably there are ones for the 360. 'Cycling' Burnout 2 was lots of fun but really intense.

@ jonsaan "How does this compare to my fitness coach which was widely reviewed as being a better fitness tool that wii fit as well?"______________________________
My fitness coach doesn't use the wiimote, nunchuck or balance board at al during the exercises as far as i can tell from wot the gf saysl. It's like watching a fitness dvd and dancing along to it. It's pretty rough too. Imo Ea Active> MFC by a factor of 6

That was an excellent review. Almost tempted to get a Wii just for this (currently nursing a broken ankle though, so it might be some time...)

I'm 22 days into the 30 day workout after buying this on launch weekend and it's a big step forward from Wii Fit as an active (yes you will sweat) game. Wii Fit does mini games and yoga/pilates type stretching better but other than balance and supleness does not do much for calory burining.

I think 8/10 is a fair and decent score. I'm going to buy a proper resitance band for month 2 and keep going to complement the odd session of football/golf/jogging/long walking.

Okay that's it, I officially no longer trust Eurogamer as far as I can throw Manhattan. This abominable thing doesn't work, all it does is scrape razor blades against your ears then throw up a system of meaningless gibberish in an annoying accent. If it were up to me it would get a minus 5.

I'm on my second day, my legs are sore, and I've managed to break my resistance band. Bugger. Any suggestions for a cheap replacement, preferably a heavier duty one?

I recently bought this band: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fitness-Mad-Res-...

I've found it works well as a tougher and more hard wearing replacement for the EA tissue paper band.