EA Sports Active Review
By Gaetano Prestia
We all know how hard it can be to work up the energy to go the gym. Especially for those of us on a minimum wage who can’t afford a gym membership, or those who just don’t have the time either side of work, going to the gym can seem like more of a chore than a beneficial thing for your body. Some people have the mental capacity to go for a work-out, be it rain, hail or shine, but it’s OK if you just don’t have the opportunities or resources to actually visit one on a regular basis. Thankfully, the Wii has been somewhat of a savior for those looking for a home exercise alternative, with Wii Fit dominating sales and offering a relatively good home workout. With the new EA Sports Active, however, Wii owners get a far more deeper and detailed home workout product that is surprisingly good at helping you work up a sweat in the comfort of your own living room.
What it comes down to is the fact that Active offers a fantastic workout. It’s not going to rival the real thing, but if you absolutely can’t visit a gym, this might very well be your next best option. It’s without a doubt the best fitness title available on the Wii, blowing Wii Fit out of the water with more realism and a more dedicated fitness tracking system.
You can choose either a single session or 30-day workout of which contains 20 different workouts that must be completed over the space of a month. Exercises vary from jogging on the spot, to bicep curls and boxing, and while most of the workouts are relatively short, the move from one exercise to another is done in such a way that you’re constantly moving – you can get quite a good cardio workout using Active.
Active comes packaged with a leg strap and resistance band, both of which are OK but you might be better off buying some of better quality from a fitness equipment store. You can also use the Balance Board, although it’s not totally necessary for a good workout. The resistance band stretches quite easily, which may make bicep curls from stronger people a little too easy. A regular gym junkie may have to do a few extra reps because of this. However, for those just beginning a workout program it should do just fine. The leg strap is used as a holder for the Nunchuck, which tracks movement and resistance during lower body workout exercises.
The saying goes that without pain there’s no gain. If you workout and you don’t at least break out into a sweat, you just haven’t worked out hard enough. Sore muscles after your first work-out are pretty much assured, no matter how well you stretch, so unless you are actually sore and you can feel your body adjusting to your improved fitness, you haven’t worked to your maximum. This is where Active excels, because it can really push you to the limit. Those of you who aren’t that fit may even find it a bit tough early on, whereas even dedicated gym junkies and fitness freaks should work up a sweat with some of the exercises. This is great, because the one thing Wii Fit didn’t have was a 100% dedicated fitness regime that actually made you sweat and hurt. It had plenty of enjoyable games that dictated plenty of body movement, but it just didn’t do enough if you wanted a genuine, hard workout. Active can give you that.
Active attempts to track your everyday actions outside of the game, ensuring that it gets to know your body and strengths and weaknesses as well as possible. It asks you what you’ve eaten and how much exercise you’ve done throughout the day, even if it was a simple drive to the supermarket. You’d be surprised at how many calories you can burn by simply washing your car for 20 minutes. Knowing how much activity you do during the day and how it actually transforms into exercise is a great tool for getting your body in shape and Active successfully assists in doing that.
The Final Verdict
EA Sports Active is the best fitness title available on the Wii. It will make you sweat and has a far more dedicated focus on weight loss and getting your body in shape based on your everyday activities. The activities can be real tough and the 30-day workout challenge is great for anyone looking for a dedicated fitness regime. While Active won’t (and shouldn’t) replace a trip to the gym, it’s a great alternative for gym junkies who want to fit in that extra bit of exercise, or for people who just want a nice work-out in the comfort of their own homes.
Overall
8.0/10