Santa brought the kids (myself included!) a new Wii for Christmas, and - once the supply backlog was caught up - a Wii Fit balance board as well. We're having so much fun with it, I thought I'd break my long silence on this blog with a review.
Just a touch of update. I've been a bad boy so far this winter. I've fallen into my usual sedentary habits, sitting on the couch, doing chores, lamenting the "bad weather", and not exercising much at all. The commuter bike has been languishing in the garage, and the road bike isn't even set up on the trainer right now. Shameless, I know. I'm more tired, have gained a few pounds, and my sugar levels are out of whack, too.
So, enter the new Christmas toy. I'll try to keep this review short, and to the point re: fitness and such. This review will cover the Wii system and the balance board hardware. I'll devote a separate report to the Wii Fit game itself.
Wii itself
First, the Wii itself is a LOT of fun. It may not have the high end graphics of the other systems, and might be missing the latest shoot-em-up, but there is a lot of family fun to be had, and the motion sensitive controls are a hoot! Even with the bundled Wii Sports games, you can get a quick workout. It's easy to work up a sweat with Boxing or Tennis, and the Bowling and Golf are surprisingly realistic.
We've also tried We Ski (awesome!) and Shaun White Road Trip snowboarding (also rocks!). These I highly recommend for some relaxing fun. They will get your adrenaline pumping.
The downside: Despite the many titles that do encourage you to get up and move, there are quite a few things that will also encourage you to sit down and vegetate in the traditional video game style. TwinBoy is addicted to LEGO Star Wars (admittedly a very fun game). It does allow you to initiate attacks (specifically Jedi moves and lightsaber attacks) with hand motions, as well as a few other things, but mostly it exercises your thumbs. Don't worry, he gets plenty of exercise jumping up and down and yelling at the game. He can't sit still to save his life.
It would be nice to have a game that does lightsaber duels by tracking your actual "blade" motions, rather than simply triggering a predefined attack move. This may already exist and perhaps I just haven't seen it.
It should be noted that Wii games are generally by nature cartoonish. If you are looking for hyper-realistic visuals, look elsewhere. This is the land of Mario, Sonic, and Miis, so you have to expect that sort of style.
Wii Balance Board (Hardware)
The Wii Balance Board itself seems well constructed. Solid, heavy, able to take some abuse. I would have preferred it come with a rechargeable battery instead of alkalines, but the starter kit (extra $$) included one. The standing surface is smooth and sturdy, and a nice, clean white color - for now.
This is the first downside I see. I'm not sure how to keep this clean. I can see why inexpensive covers for the board are a popular item. It is also just a bit slick if wearing socks, but works fine in shoes or barefoot. Again, an aftermarket cover would help with this issue.
The board dimensions are reasonable. It's small enough not to be overly obtrusive, but large enough to do its job properly. I'm 6 feet tall, and it is wide enough for me to place my feet shoulder width apart - barely. I could see an aftermarket "outrigger" cover with a stiff board that is wider for some games, or for very large or broad-shouldered people. It seems strong enough to hold quite heavy folk.
I have only one other major complaint so far. Apparently, only one board can be used at a time with the Wii, and it takes the place of one of the remotes. This is apparently a limitation of the way the balance board is recognized by the Wii system.
It would be nice to be able to use multiple boards for group exercise or multi-player games. For example, Shaun White Road Trip allows up to 4 players (with remotes) to zoom down the hill in multi-player mode. If you use the balance board, only one can use a balance board, and since that person also needs a remote (for tricks), only three can play. It would be nice to be able to use two boards.
Other than that, it's an incredible system. I can see why it is so popular and hard to get. The complaints I have are very minor, and do not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment.
Just a touch of update. I've been a bad boy so far this winter. I've fallen into my usual sedentary habits, sitting on the couch, doing chores, lamenting the "bad weather", and not exercising much at all. The commuter bike has been languishing in the garage, and the road bike isn't even set up on the trainer right now. Shameless, I know. I'm more tired, have gained a few pounds, and my sugar levels are out of whack, too.
So, enter the new Christmas toy. I'll try to keep this review short, and to the point re: fitness and such. This review will cover the Wii system and the balance board hardware. I'll devote a separate report to the Wii Fit game itself.
Wii itself
First, the Wii itself is a LOT of fun. It may not have the high end graphics of the other systems, and might be missing the latest shoot-em-up, but there is a lot of family fun to be had, and the motion sensitive controls are a hoot! Even with the bundled Wii Sports games, you can get a quick workout. It's easy to work up a sweat with Boxing or Tennis, and the Bowling and Golf are surprisingly realistic.
We've also tried We Ski (awesome!) and Shaun White Road Trip snowboarding (also rocks!). These I highly recommend for some relaxing fun. They will get your adrenaline pumping.
The downside: Despite the many titles that do encourage you to get up and move, there are quite a few things that will also encourage you to sit down and vegetate in the traditional video game style. TwinBoy is addicted to LEGO Star Wars (admittedly a very fun game). It does allow you to initiate attacks (specifically Jedi moves and lightsaber attacks) with hand motions, as well as a few other things, but mostly it exercises your thumbs. Don't worry, he gets plenty of exercise jumping up and down and yelling at the game. He can't sit still to save his life.
It would be nice to have a game that does lightsaber duels by tracking your actual "blade" motions, rather than simply triggering a predefined attack move. This may already exist and perhaps I just haven't seen it.
It should be noted that Wii games are generally by nature cartoonish. If you are looking for hyper-realistic visuals, look elsewhere. This is the land of Mario, Sonic, and Miis, so you have to expect that sort of style.
Wii Balance Board (Hardware)
The Wii Balance Board itself seems well constructed. Solid, heavy, able to take some abuse. I would have preferred it come with a rechargeable battery instead of alkalines, but the starter kit (extra $$) included one. The standing surface is smooth and sturdy, and a nice, clean white color - for now.
This is the first downside I see. I'm not sure how to keep this clean. I can see why inexpensive covers for the board are a popular item. It is also just a bit slick if wearing socks, but works fine in shoes or barefoot. Again, an aftermarket cover would help with this issue.
The board dimensions are reasonable. It's small enough not to be overly obtrusive, but large enough to do its job properly. I'm 6 feet tall, and it is wide enough for me to place my feet shoulder width apart - barely. I could see an aftermarket "outrigger" cover with a stiff board that is wider for some games, or for very large or broad-shouldered people. It seems strong enough to hold quite heavy folk.
I have only one other major complaint so far. Apparently, only one board can be used at a time with the Wii, and it takes the place of one of the remotes. This is apparently a limitation of the way the balance board is recognized by the Wii system.
It would be nice to be able to use multiple boards for group exercise or multi-player games. For example, Shaun White Road Trip allows up to 4 players (with remotes) to zoom down the hill in multi-player mode. If you use the balance board, only one can use a balance board, and since that person also needs a remote (for tricks), only three can play. It would be nice to be able to use two boards.
Other than that, it's an incredible system. I can see why it is so popular and hard to get. The complaints I have are very minor, and do not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment.
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