Everything Wii Fit was lacking, this game has
EA Sports Active isn't really a game, but a fitness trainer. It comes with a resistance band - which smells minty :) - and a leg strap that holds the nunchuck for some of the exerices.
You start by setting up your profile. This part is pretty good as not only do you enter in you personal details, but you get to design your character and choose their body shape, hair style, clothing and even what shoes they have. You also get to select from 1 of 2 trainers (Guy or a Girl) and even can select what sort of music styles you want playing during your workout sessions - I thought that was a nice touch. After you set up your profile, you can then choose to start a 30 Day Challenge or Customer Workout.
The 30 Day Challenge is really good because unlike Wii Fit where you choose a single workout from the menu, do it and then go back to the menu and select the next workout (which is really annoying), your trainer asks you to select the level of workout you want to preform today, tells you how many calories they want you to burn and then takes you through a nonstop workout session.
Well at first it's not really nonstop as your trainer will appear before each exercise to explain what equipment is needed and how to execute the moves correctly. You might be raring to go and want to skip these short videos, but it's a good idea to watch them as they don't only explain the basics in preforming the move but also how you should hold the wii remote and nunchuck so the sensor can pick up your movement correctly.
I wore my Polar Heart Rate Monitor and Watch during the session so I could count my calories that I was burning, but there is a calorie counter in the top left corner of the screen which counts up when you preform the exercises. The way it works is by sensing how well you did the exercise - if you did a squat well then it goes up faster then if you performed it poorly. I'm not sure how accurate it is, as my Polar watch showed I burned over 340 cal within the half an hour workout but the game said I burned over 120cal - I think that's because my heart rate monitor was going for the whole 30min but the calorie counter was only counting when you were doing the exercises (and not during the tutorial videos). So I guess the good side of this is that you can be sure that whatever the counter on the screen says, you've really burnt off more than that!
During the exercises, your trainer is always giving you feedback, and not just general motivational feedback. If the wii senses that your not performing the move incorrectly, the trainer will suggest how to correct yourself. But if you're still not preforming it right, then the tutorial video will appear will explain it again.
My favourite part of this game was the custom workout as this is where I had a go at the sports themed exercises. I only had time to queue up a few Volleyball exercises, but I really enjoyed bumping, spiking and blocking - which makes you jump in order to stop the ball from coming over the net. I can't wait to try some of the other sports exercises like Basketball, Baseball and Soccer.
The only issue I've found within this games so far is that it's not always perfect when sensing certain moves, but I feel that is more of a hardware issue then a problem with the game. But most of the time it is very responsive.
It defiantly doesn't replace the gym, but will come in handy for when you don't have time to go. It's also perfect for people who want to workout but don't like the gym scene. I can't wait till I'm feeling better to give this one another go!