Dancing Stage Universe (Xbox 360)
games,exercise,dance,fitness,Dancing Stage Universe,Xbox
dancing stage universe fitness weight loss game review
£39.99 (includes dance mat) - buy it now
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Guinea Pig: Kate Wright (Entertainment Editor)
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She says: Having never used a dance mat before, I found the idea of this game daunting, embarrassing and totally not cool. I\'m still not convinced of its coolness, as it\'s impossible to look in the least bit attractive trying to keep up with the wildly unrealistic dance moves this game asks you to do. Saying that, I did have fun and I did work up a bit of a sweat. My only grumble is that the music on offer wasn\'t up to much but, according to the instructions, you can download more from Xbox Live.
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Fun factor: Great, as long as you don\'t mind looking and feeling like a complete wazzack. I would think it would be much more fun if you had a dancing partner to share the shame with you.
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Ease of use: The game itself was fairly simple to set up, but be careful as the dance mat isn\'t exactly slip proof. As for the gameplay, some of the steps had me completely stumped but perhaps I\'m too old to compute this sort fast-paced stuff!
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Get fit rating: Once you\'ve mastered a few moves, working up a sweat is pretty easy to accomplish. There\'s also a workout mode to track how many calories you\'ve burned. Because of its health and fitness benefits, the game has also begun to appear in health clubs and school physical education classes around the country.
My Health Coach : Manage Your Weight (Nintendo DS)
games,exercise,gadgets,nutrition,fitness,pedometer,My Health Coach,Manage Your Weight,Nintendo
my fitness coach weight loss game review
£24.99 (includes pedometer) - Release date: 27 June, pre-order here
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Guinea Pig: Kate Wright (Entertainment Editor)
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She says: I was a little dubious about this product at first but having used it for a week now it has certainly helped to keep me motivated. Developed with the help of a nutrition expert and fitness coach, My Health Coach aims to aid you on the way to weight loss by giving you daily coaching sessions on your Nintendo DS. Included with the game is a pedometer that plugs neatly into your DS and downloads your daily step count. Other neat things include a built in food diary, which roughly monitors your calorie intake based on the daily information you provide it with, tips on how to increase your fitness levels, quizzes, a BMI calculator, graphs which record your progress, an exercise diary, and daily challenges for you to complete at your leisure.
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Fun factor: Not so much on the fun side but certainly a very useful tool to help you keep your eye on the prize. My only irk is that the Fitness Coach - a little stick man or woman depending on your preference, can be hugely annoying in a patronising \"shut the hell up\" kind of way.
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Ease of use: Very easy to set up, and everything worked as it was supposed to. Again - a small gripe - but when completing your daily food diary a few different food types simply weren\'t there, so don\'t expect a hugely accurate calorie count. Think of it more as a rough guide.
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Get fit rating: A good motivational tool.
Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii)
games,exercise,dance,fitness,Wii Sports,Nintendo,Wii
wii sports weight loss game review
Free with your Nintendo Wii console
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Guinea Pig: Kate Wright (Entertainment Editor)
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She says: After hearing about a guy who lost 9lb in six weeks thanks to Wii Sports I immediately started to think of this game in a new light. Forget standing there waving your Wii Wand around in a lack lustre manner - for this game to benefit your fitness levels in any way, it\'s time to start throwing yourself wildly around the room in a deranged fashion. If you want to burn serious calories, Boxing should be your game of choice, which can burn around 125 calories in 15 minutes. Even the bowling game can help you reach your goal - burning an amazing 77 calories per 15 minutes.
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Fun factor: Boxing is probably the most fun to play, but all the games are great. If you find it hard to imagine your Wii Wand as a racket/baseball bat/whatever, there are plenty of kooky attachments now available to solve this small problem.
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Ease of use: Extremely easy to figure out.
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Get fit rating: Its success has been proven by many!
Dance Factory (PS2)
exercise,music,dance,fitness,Dance Factory,PS2
dance factory weight loss game review
£29.99 (includes dance mat) - buy it now
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Guinea Pig: Jess Hopper (Beauty Editor)
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She says: Get fit while dancing like a demented chimp? It\'s like this game was made for me! I\'ve had a whirl on dance mats before and I\'ve been pretty good, but with this one, it\'s impossible to look even slightly graceful. The steps work you hard and you\'ll find that after just five minutes on the thing you just can\'t control your feet.
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The plus - and ever so cool - side to this dance mat is you can dance to your own CDs, and the game will generate the steps for you. It also has a calorie counter, so you can see the burn, not just feel it. Within minutes I was getting down to Calvin Harris like a disco queen and managed to burn off 19 calories by the time the first song came to an end. That\'s roughly a cornflake. But not bad for three and half minutes work. I persevered and after 15 minutes I made it to 100 calories and was still enjoying myself! I\'m not a gym fan at all so this could even be my new nightly regime...
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Fun factor: More funny than fun. You\'ll look daft. But being able to move to your own tunes raises the enjoyment level muchly.
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Ease of use: The steps are tricky and take a bit of getting use to, but the instructions are clear and it\'s no bother to set up.
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Get fit rating: Pretty tiring, but fun, so you won\'t feel like you\'ve hit the gym. Bring some freestyle arm movement into the fold too for added calorie burning.
Wii Fit (Nintendo Wii)
games,exercise,fitness,Wii Fit,Nintendo,Wii
wii fit weight loss game review
£69.99 (includes Wii Balance Board) - buy it now
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Guinea Pig: Kate Wright (Entertainment Editor)
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She says: Destined to be another huge success for Nintendo, Wii Fit is the next step up from Wii Sports. The groovy Balance Board not only weighs you and checks your posture, but also monitors how well your body performs each and every task. Everything a fitness freak could possibly desire is available on this game including yoga, balance exercises, muscle building exercises and cardiovascular exercises. Read our full review of Wii Fit here.
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Fun factor: I\'ve had an absolute blast using this game. It\'s funny, cute, helpful, slightly bizarre and a great incentive to get fit.
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Ease of use: Very easy to set up and use.
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Get fit rating: Wii Fit is a revelation for those of us fed up of going to the gym and paying through the nose for the privilege.
EyeToy Kinetic Combat Solus (PS2)
games,exercise,fitness,EyeToy Kinetic Combat Solus,PS2
eyetoy kinetic combat weight loss game review
£15.98 (includes EyeToy camera) - buy it now
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Guinea Pig: Jess Hopper (Beauty Editor)
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She says: Learn Kung Fu in 25 hours? Sparring simulation? No, this isn\'t The Matrix, it\'s the latest interactive EyeToy game that urges you to fight your way fit. If you have the room.
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This game does give you a serious workout and it\'s more fun than an hour on a X-Trainer. Forcing you to use your entire body rather than just your upper half, you jab and kick your way through four themed martial arts zones, all pretty spectacular, with your fighting gurus Matt, Anna and Leon on side. Kinetic Combat uses movement recognition so, unlike with the Wii, you can\'t just flap away at your opponent like a lunatic, you have to actually fight. You won\'t learn Kung Fu - but you can have fun kicking some simulated ass, and woah, does it make you ache!
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The only problem with this game is the amount of space needed to train properly. You need to stand around three metres away from the EyeToy and you\'ll need a lot of space on either side to pull off those deadly dragon kicks. It took a lot of furniture shifting for us to even get started, so don\'t buy this game unless you have the space to play it.
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Fun factor: Great fun! I\'m addicted already.
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Ease of use: Easy to set up and you don\'t have to be familiar with martial arts to play this - you can be a complete novice and still get a great workout. Again, the space issue makes it tricky.
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Knackered rating: High. You\'ll ache from head to toe after your first session - and the morning after is worse (although I am supremely unfit).
