We got to check out EA Sports Active at EA3, the Electronic Arts pre E3 show. Now, I own Wii Fit, but the first thing I said to myself was, "after Active, I can cool down with Fit." I'll tell you that after a brief demo, my legs were feeling the burn and needed the stretch!
I was shown the activities by the Active Girl herself, Kathryn Peck, who looked like she had just gotten out of the gym. That is in no offense, just that this game WORKS and makes you sweat! Active includes exercises like running, boxing, dancing, lunges and more! We started off like normal, creating profiles with characters that looked a little more real as opposed to the Mii's. A leg pouch accompanies the pack so that the nunchuck can be slipped into and read all your leg movements. There's also options to completely customize your workouts and even keep track of your daily diet, including calories! A nice touch that would me make me think twice about ordering McDonalds for the third time in a week just to keep from seeing the numbers on screen. EA has been encouraging people to attempt the "30 Day Challenge" come June 1st. If you check out EA Sports Active's website, you can read testimonials of people who have lost upwards of 20 pounds on the challenge! That's amazing. Other stories include those just trying to tone up and how Active has increased physical as well as emotional health. The challenge also gives you "breaks" in between workout days as you would with real training. One day on, two day break, etc.
Kathryn actually put me on "easy mode", which I'm grateful for since I was wearing tight jeans and totally the wrong pair of shoes...totally...but we punched, ran, danced and even skated our way through about ten minutes of working out. The game offers a co-op mode so we could work out together which made it even more enjoyable. I also got to try bicep curls with the resistance band that can be made weaker or stronger depending on where you place your feet while stepping onto it. The band is also included. I didn't get to try anything with the Wii Fit board, but Active is compatible, although not necessary.
I thoroughly enjoyed EA Sports Active and am looking forward to trying the 30 day challenge myself. It is now available for Wii.