Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party

If you think waving your arms around in front of people you don't know sounds embarassing, imagine them watching you play a game with your buttocks. Yes, it's arseboarding time. In brief: the technology works. Shifting your weight right or left does indeed make the bunny on screen steer its sledge in the relevant direction. The goal is to guide your sledge through a series of flags, just like in Wii Fit skiing. There's definitely skill involved as the board is very sensitive to your movements, but it's easy to get the hang of how it all works.

Things get trickier halfway down the course when you're told to lean backwards to make the sledge gather speed. It's at this point you lose control of the whole thing, and start missing all the flags and crashing into the sides, and you hear a snigger from the man standing behind you, and you think well at least I don't have to take the Argos catalogue seriously for a living. The point is, the sledging game is fun and offers a proper challenge, much like Wii Fit skiing - and like Wii Fit skiing, it's likely to be good for playing with non-gaming friends after a few drinks.

So what else is new for TV Party? Well, there's the Pimp My Rabbit feature. This allows you to customise your rabbids with a selection of stupid clothes, and share pictures of them via Wi-Fi Connect. You can also upload high scores. There's still no online multiplayer mode, though. How come?

"It's about having the time and having the games that are fit for it," says Lacey. "Nintendo is very strong, it's their console, and that's why they're going to be the first to do it, with things like Super Smash Bros. It is going to happen more and more."

However, sounds like it won't necessarily happen for RRR. "It's got to be the right game for the online community," Lacey observes. "With party games the idea is you play together. If we're playing a dancing game and you're in Australia and I'm in England, I can't see you, and I want to be able to see you. This is a social game. Online is great for certain types of game, but TV Party is about watching each other make fools of ourselves."

So the emphasis is on foolishness rather than fitness, despite the use of the balance board. There may be some health benefits though. "You're not necessarily going to get big biceps, but it's very much action gaming, it's very physical. If you play it all day you'll break a sweat," says Lacey. "Active movement has a benefit, no matter how much or how little you do." Any chance of a Wii Fit-style calendar so you can track your progress? Lacey's keeping quiet: "There may be something in there, but I can't say anything."

The thing to remember, he continues, is that TV Party is all about fun first and foremost. "It's not about having the perfect body, it's about having a laugh. That's the most important thing for this type of game." Well, that, and the fact you can play it with your arse.