Sunday, March 29, 2009

No title

Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. My sister has been in the hospital. Had heart surgery, things didn't go well. Life has been, well, touch and go to say the least lately. But hey, we do what we can, right? So here is a post I meant to put up a week ago...enjoy....
(insert time travel music here)

Well, my spring break is almost over. I can't believe its gone by this quickly. It shot by like a retarded bear on rocket skates (Smith, B. 2009 Journal of Inane but Quite Accurate Statements 3:101-103. I would like to take a moment to do something that I have not often done on this blog, a video game review.
Today's game: Wii Fit
Before getting into any specifics, let me give you a little background information. I have weighed 210lbs for as long as I can remember (ok, I can remember weighing significantly less when I was in middle school, but since high school). The only time I have ever been able to lose any significant amount of weight was when I had mono...not a good way to do this. About a month and a half ago my wife and I decided to get Wii Fit. We have been very diligent in playing, and have only missed a few days in this time span. I now weigh 194, and I have lost over two inches from my considerable waist line. Apparently there is something to be said for getting off the couch.
The game starts you out with an animate, somewhat anthropomorphic Wii Fit Board to guide you through your workouts. The first thing you do is take a body test, in which you discover your weight, BMI (body mass index), and your overall balance. If your BMI is too high, your character will proceed to blow up like a balloon on the screen, and the mostly cheerful childlike voice of the aforementioned Wii Fit board admonishes you for being obese. You then set a goal, and start with some training.
Four training categories are offered. Aerobics, Balance Games, Strength Training, and Yoga. Each of which has it's own strengths and weaknesses:
Aerobics- Strengths= running and seeing Admiral Akbar fall and bust his ass.
Weakness= redundant.
Strength Training- Strengths= can be a challenging workout if the right activities are chosen.
Weakness= can be a challenging workout if the right activities are chosen (is hard...)
As for the rest, the balance games are fun but mostly worthless, and the yoga is relaxing but not particularly challenging.
And now for the coolest feature of the entire game: Free Step.
No, seriously, stay with me here.
Free step allows you to do the step aerobics without watching the screen. The Wii remote plays a metronome for you, and occasionally gives you updates on how much time has gone by and how many steps you have done. Because of this, you can change the channel. Which means if you have another system, you can play TWO VIDEO GAMES AT ONCE! And one will help you lose weight! Personally, I enjoy playing KOTOR and Wii Fit together. They may clash thematically, but damn if the workout doesn't fly by.
So this is just a preliminary review. I will check back in again in about a month to see if I am continuing to lose weight. Nootch...

3 comments:

Kurt Pankau said...

Totally unrelated note:

what's your take on Google Health?

K

Ben said...

I love how you always back up your declarative statements with those trustworthy, scientific references.

Interesting review. If I can ever pony up the cash, I definitely need to try Wii Fit.

The0 said...

Hey there, you should get another Wii, and play Force Unleashed. Bukkake for the force and run your ass off.