By now you know what Wii Fit is all about in theory. The real question on your minds is what games there are and how they work. We got a chance to test our co-ordination on a handful of the games and what follows is a summary of our first impressions.

The Wii Balance Board is wireless and sits snugly on the floor in front of the TV. It operates on four batteries (which are included) and has a similar connectivity to the Wii Remote. Please note that you cannot jump on it and it has a weight limit of 150kg. The first time you use it you need to pop the Wii Fit disc in and then sync it with your Wii console. After these simple steps you are A for away and can then install the sporty new Wii Fit Channel.

As mentioned in our earlier article detailing Wii Fit, the game includes over 40 different exercise games. Initially only a handful in each section will be available but as players progress and spend more time playing, more games will be unlocked. Each game has a time limit within which you need to complete the task. Don’t forget to warm up!

Floppy Fish Fun

Catch the fish

What could be more fun than dressing your Mii up as a penguin? Picture this, one highly unstable iceberg with a newly pimped out Mii. The goal is incredibly simple, slide left or right to catch the fish that jump on to the iceberg and flop from one side to another. But venture too far to one side and you will face an icy dip into the ocean. We recommend you try your hand at this game to introduce you to how the Balance Board works.

Hula-Hoop

Your Mii stands in front of you on the TV and in the first challenge you must swing your hips clockwise in a hula-hooping motion. The faster you go the more revolutions you complete and the more your score increases. To throw some obstacles into the mix there are two additional Miis to the left and right which you have to keep an eye on because every now and again they throw a hoop your way. If you see a hoop flying your way, simply tilt your body either to the left or right to catch the hoop. The more hoops you catch the more points you earn.

Once you have completed this, you will do the same task but this time you will swing counter-clockwise. It wouldn’t be fair for me not to warn you that by this time you will be fairly red in the face and probably breaking a light sweat. It really is heaps of fun and after the exercise is completed it will analyse which side of your body you favour.

Tightrope walk

It took me a couple of turns to get the hang of this one. The task is simple, cross a tightrope between two buildings without falling off. Well, it sounds simple but balancing is difficult to master and just when you think you’ve got it you have to jump over a magnetic gnasher in the middle of the tightrope! To walk forward you take steps on the Balance Board, if you find your Mii is leaning too far to the left or right, you will have to lean in the opposite direction to correct it. It’s amusing to keep an eye out for the Miis in the buildings windows who gasp in horror when you overbalance but rewarding to see the little guys encouraging you to complete your daring task.

Ski Jump

Ski Jump is one of the most exciting yet frustrating exercises I tried. For those of you who are gifted with impeccable timing, you are going to love this. For the rest of us we are going to get hours of game play trying to perfect our jumps. The goal is simple and fairly easy to execute but difficult to perfect. You barrel head long down a ski slope picking up momentum with the trick being to have the right posture to achieve maximum velocity. That’s the easy part.

Once you get to the end of the ski ramp you need to jump and this is achieved by moving from a crouching position to a standing position. Now the secret to getting the longest jump lies in making this move at the last possible second. If you leave it too late you will bring much amusement to the crowd as you hurtle down the mountain as a Mii-Snowball. Time it right and you will go sailing into the blue yonder where once again balance is everything. Achieving the right posture will win you world acclaim but failing to do so will bring you back down to earth all too soon.

Ski Slalom

Easily the most fun you can have legally. This exciting game sees you manoeuvring your way down a slope, passing through the markers in the shortest time possible. Remember that the Balance Board is incredibly sensitive, one is able to achieve impressive changes in direction with just a slight shift in weight. It takes a fair amount of practice to prevent yourself from continually overcompensating. Nevertheless in the end it is worth the practice to earn victory on top of the leaderboard.

Table tilt

Another take on the great marble in the hole game. If you ever played Super Monkey Balls on any platform and were frustrated, you might want to steer clear of this one. It starts off easily enough with one marble and one hole on a circular platform. It gets more difficult from there with additional balls and holes being added. To spice it up further the platform shape continually changes. If any of the balls falls off the platform it spins the platform around and then drops the balls in again. So you lose time and can get disorientated as your balance was set on getting the ball from A to B, and now B has moved. It is surprisingly fun and extremely challenging.

“This is Mii in a bubble”…

Bubble up the river

You control the destiny of a poor Mii who is trapped in a bubble downstream. The canyon walls are perilous with spiky edges that will free you from the bubble, but send you plummeting into the raging river. You quest is to safely navigate the Mii bubble upriver by adopting a Segway stance. Lean forward to accelerate or back to slow down and, then the tricky part, shift you weight left or right to guide your Mii clear of the jagged cliff sides. Alas it must be told that my Mii never made it back to safety and I comfort myself hoping he found some drift wood to cling on to.

Heading

Your Mii stands in front of a soccer goal while your friend’s Miis line up to kick soccer balls at you. The goal is to header the balls kicked your way, lean either left or right in the direction which the balls come sailing at you from to do so. I must warn you that this is much easier than it sounds and that you should keep an eye out for cleverly disguised panda heads as well as sharp soccer boots which will also occasionally be kicked your way and result in a negative score should you header them. It is lots of fun and reminds me a bit of the soccer game in Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Yoga – Half Moon

The Yoga exercises bring Yoga class into the comfort of your own home. Let me explain the Half Moon pose for those of you who are not Yoga fundis. You will raise your arms in a straight line above your head, palms facing each other, before bending towards the left in a curve shape. If you feel the burn in your waist area you are doing it right. You will hold this pose for a stipulated time before returning to the centre position and repeating on the right side then returning to the centre again. Be prepared for stiff muscles the next day, this really is a work-out but fun and challenging at the same time.

Wrapping up

So far the game has really impressed us and we foresee many hours of addictive game play ahead. Look our for our review of Wii Fit which will follow shortly and make sure you keep track of how we are doing in the Wii Fit 25 Day Challenge.