Digital Trends

Nintendo Wii Fit July 21st, 2008 | by Mike Kobrin

On Your Mark

Wii Fit comes on a single disc, and the package includes the Balance Board, which measures 20 x 12 x 2 inches and weighs a little over 8 pounds. The board communicates wirelessly with the Wii console, and it runs on four AA batteries (included) for around 60 hours of use. You can check remaining battery life by hitting the Home button on the Wiimote, and the board's battery shows up under the P4 header.

The four feet on the bottom are balance sensors; they'll conform to most surfaces, or you can attach the feet extensions for high-pile carpets. The sturdy board also has rubber bumpers on the outside corners so you can easily stand it up on its side for storage.

Make sure you have plenty of space around the board for your arms and legs to swing freely. Flying Wiimotes were a typical problem for Wii Sports games like tennis; this time the danger is from kicking over your TV or lamp while trying to execute Warrior Pose. Also, the balance board supports up to 330 pounds; if you're beyond that, you're better off with a real trainer and equipment.

Get Set

Setup begins with an automatic Wii console update asking you to update it so it can work with Wii Fit. The update comes from the disc and takes less than 30 seconds. Then you pair the Balance Board and console by opening up the board's battery compartment and the console's SD slot to press each device's Sync buttons. In our testing, pairing was immediate, indicated by the solid blue LED on the board's power button. Unfortunately you can only pair a single board at a time with the Wii, which inhibits multiplayer gaming.

After entering some personal info like height, weight, and age, the Wii Fit calculated our body mass index (BMI) and gave us a little lecture on how poorly people generally take care of themselves. Then it checked our center of gravity and took us through some basic balance tests to determine our body control. (Afterwards, it asked us if we trip when we walk.)

Based on these tests and our personal data and BMI, it calculated our "Wii Fit age" as 9 years older than we actually are. The game isn't rude about it if it thinks you need to shape up, but you'd still better have some thick skin.

The system then prompted us to set a goal for the next 2 weeks (we wanted to lose 5 lbs), and you can view your start date and progress on the large calendar. You can also check your progress on a graph and change your settings, or go to Wii Fit Plaza to add new profiles and change system settings.

Go!

The Wii Fit game retains the Wii's "cute" interface, with animated icons and slightly tongue-in-cheek (but still friendly) attitude. The graphics aren't meant

You can choose a friendly and encouraging male or female virtual trainer, and each time you complete an exercise, the system logs it, tracking your time and progress and giving you credits towards unlocking new exercises. (Incidentally, the system constantly reminds you to keep good posture, but the trainers seem to favor leaning on one leg!)

Most of the exercises are short and very basic to start with, but as you do more, you unlock longer times or more reps (depending on the exercise), as well as new exercises. For our initial workout, we completed 30 minutes worth of exercises from the four groups. We love that it times you only while you're actually doing exercise, so you don't get credit for checking your email in between sessions.

The most valuable aspect of the virtual trainer is that you can press the arrow keys on the Wiimote to change the camera angle and view the trainer from the front or back. The trainers also give you plenty of feedback on how you're doing, as well as the same moderately corny encouragement you'd expect from a real trainer.

Image Courtesy of Nintendo