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How is this game?


Kimbychan
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I'm not a big fan of going to the gym even though I have a gym membership because I prefer to workout in my apartment.

 

I doubt this can truly replace going to the gym...but is it any good? Just Dance and Dance Central are fun to play but not really workout type activity.

 

So I guess my basic question is: does this game give you a good workout?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been using this for about a week, after I finally got fed up with and traded in UFC Personal Trainer. I was fed up of the shoddy detection, glitchy achievements and repetitive content.

 

So far (done the assessment, initial session and 2 further sessions of my program) I'm thoroughly enjoying this and finding it to be a great workout.

 

I'm 30, and my fitness is okay, maybe above average for my age. I play football a couple of times a week, and go for the odd run. I'm quite good with cardio but have the flexibility of a brick. During my assessment, Nike+ picked up on this exact thing, including which side was stronger than the other at different exercises, and gave me a Nike Fuel score to match. I did my first strength session today (I'm on a "Get Lean" program) and it totally slayed me, simply due to the fact that I was working muscles which I don't normally touch with my other activities. The game seems to tailor the activities to your initial assessment to work on the areas in which you most need improvement.

 

As for the game itself, it's thoroughly engaging. If you're on this site, I'm assuming you're a fan of achievements and general gamification. This is the major strength of it for me, as you find out how much Fuel you achieve in each drill, and you can try and work against yourself and improve your score.

 

The detection seems to be much better than anything I've seen before, even in my limited space. I've only had the occasional problem with accidentally banging into my couch! The game even picks up on small motions and gives you hints if you're not quite getting the exercise right.

 

I definitely recommend this, and am enjoying the variety of exercises, and the fact that the feedback is constant and encouraging. There's a demo on Xbox Live, so I would say that if you haven't tried it yet, give it a shot and make sure it works okay for you. Personally though, I'm really loving it!

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Definitely, I'd say it's a rock solid workout game. Essentially you can get everything out of a game like this that you can get from going to the gym except heavy weight training, and if you've made it to that point, you're probably comfortable going to the gym.

 

You'll need to get comfortable with the fact that Kinect detection isn't great (for any game), and you'll at times not get credit for things that you did properly. As long as you can keep from letting that frustrate you -- focus on doing the exercise right, just ignore the Kinect -- you'll be able to get a solid workout.

 

I've played a handful of workout games over the last few years, and I think the best are:

Nike+ Kinect Training (360)

EA Sports NFL Training Camp (Wii)

EA Sports Active 2 (Wii)

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 (360)

 

The Your Shape games probably have the best overall detection, and some of the better variety in exercises. However, there's very little structure to it, and there's no strong motivation or direction in which exercises you pick and which days you exercise. They also don't really incorporate warm-ups and cool-downs -- they're activities in the menu, but it's up to you to remember to do them, and pick the right ones based on your activities.

 

The Nike and EA Sports games are very program focused, and I found were much more effective for me. The 60-day challenges in the two EA sports games are brutal in a great way -- they're specifically designed to get harder and harder as you get stronger. The EA Sports games also incorporate resistance training (either with resistance bands or free weights) which is great for building strength too.

 

The Wii games are much better than the Kinect games at detection on floor activities (i.e. pushups, crunches, mountain climbers) because you're actually wearing something strapped to your leg and arm -- they've also got a heart-rate monitor built in, which is a cool addition to help you learn your limits and push yourself.

 

(As an aside, there's a lot of overlap between the EA Sports games in terms of content; the difference is primarily tone -- would you rather have your trainers or exercises have an American football theme, or a fitness resort/spa theme)

 

Lastly, I'd say that Nike+ Kinect Training has gotten a few things right that some of these older games haven't. It's more forgiving about detection -- if it's not detecting you on a tricky exercise, it'll just turn off detection and have you do the exercise on the honor system. It's also got little challenges (at the end of a workout, it'll ask you if you're feeling strong enough to do another set, or participate in a quick community challenge).

 

Lastly I'd say that if you've got limited space for your Kinect, you'll have a bit of trouble with any of the Kinect exercise games. There will be a few exercises in each that you just won't be able to get in the right position for, or that you'll have to do without detection. That isn't a dealbreaker -- there's plenty of activities in each that'll do fine -- but it's worth knowing.

 

Sorry that this was broader than you meant, but hopefully that helps you figure out what you need -- I'd say any of those 4 games could be a serious substitute for going to the gym if you take them seriously, get in a good rhythm and push yourself.

Edited by MrLukifer
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