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Move Fitness
When Nintendo revolutionised the realm of
virtual fitness in 2008 with Wii Fit, it would take their competitors a
few years to successfully catch up. Microsoft caught up first with their
unique controllerless gaming system called Kinect and when the
PlayStation Move was released, quite a few third-party companies jumped
onto the bandwagon. Now Sony have released their first fitness title
with Move Fitness that transforms your PlayStation 3 into a virtual
trainer.
Aside from sitting on
your couch with your DualShock controller with your calories enjoying
the fun, this time Move Fitness is assisting the player in removing
those calories. One point of Move Fitness is that you do need two Move
controllers to use this product as both Move controllers mimic your arms
and the PlayStation uses that to track your body movements. The
PlayStation Eye is last facet of this control system that tracks the
player in the real world.
However just like most
virtual fitness games for consoles, this title should be used in
conjunction with a healthy diet and "real world" exercise. Once you have
set up your profile and decided what kind of training routine you wish
to engage in such as a "Beach Body" or "Stress Buster", the title then
helps target certain parts of your body for this to happen.
Whether you want a
strenuous training program or something light to compliment your regular
training, Move Fitness supports a variety of fitness options. Move
Fitness to some extent will also help motivate you through real-time
feedback which definitely assists in the training process. With a total
of around 28 activities to engage in, it's easy for players to find
their favourite quite early on in the game.
My favourite virtual
sport is sparring and basketball. With the two Move controllers in hand,
sparring against your virtual trainer is quite fun as you punch and
dodge, knocking down your calories. Basketball mimics holding a real
ball quite well as you jump and attempt to shoot by releasing the
triggers to score. There are more normal training routines like star
jumps and the like but the sporty type events are the best.
Another highlight to the
title is the ability of multiplayer. The game allows up to three players
to join in and take turns at exercising. It definitely increases the
longevity of the title and the "fun". You can even track your friends
online and send out challenges such as star jumps (jumping jacks) or
squats to see who can burn the most calories. To help with the
customisation option of your workout, the game even allows you to create
your own personal tracklists.
The main problem with
Move Fitness for me is that even though you do lose the calories and the
virtual trainer works okay, you are still stuck in your house. I know
that when I train, I prefer to get out of the house so I can focus on
training as opposed to the myriad of distractions that are calling out
to me in my home like a Siren's seductive love song. Motivation is the
key factor to Move Fitness and without it, this game will definitely
start collecting dust. Your virtual instructor is also a little static
in the game and if there was more interaction with it and you, the game
would have assisted considerably with your motivation.
However... for those
people who have limited time in their life or do not like the crowded
and sweaty gymnasiums, than Move Fitness (provided you have the
motivation) could find a healthy place in your fitness regime. Other
motivators for the player are graphical statistics and online
leaderboards of how well you are training plus high scores. Compared to
EA Sports Active 2, Move Fitness feels like a light version of this
title due to the lesser amount of activities but the price point is
certainly cheaper.
Final Thoughts?
Even so, Move Fitness
will make you sweat and lose those dangerous calories. There's
definitely enough content in this game to keep you busy and hopefully if
Sony decide to release a sequel, they will make the title a little more
immersive with additional activities to compete in. It does showcase the
potential of this control system for the PlayStation Move and for those
people who are too busy to get to the gym regularly, this might be the
perfect addition to keep them active until the weekend. |
