EA Sports Active – Review Update & Win Yours Here

If you haven't seen it yet, check out my preview review of EA Sports Active with images from EA Sports Season Opener event.  Then leave a comment here, and you're automatically entered to win your own copy.  Winner will be picked randomly from all comments on June 1st.

EA Sports Active is an exercise Wii 'game' that offers a wide variety of targeted fitness routines right in your home.  I covered most of the basics in my preview, but there were a couple of things that I really wanted more (or any) exposure to, so I could get the full flavor of the thing.

The main one was the Wii Balance Board integration.  Though you don't need the Balance Board for anything, some of the exercises offer the option to add it.  It turns out that the Balance Board does actually give you some nice additions.  For example, one of the coolest exercises is the Cardio Boxing.  As targets appear, you punch with either the Wii Remote or nunchuk, depending on which arm you're supposed to be using, and at certain points you switch to the heavy bag for a bit and just go for it.  The Balance Board adds kicks and knee strikes to the routine, and (I think) works pretty well for getting your whole body involved.

The other thing I couldn't get a real good feel for was how the 30-Day Challenge mode really put together the workouts.  Though you can customize your own workouts through a simple mix-and-match interface (which is brilliant in itself), one of the main selling points is going through the 30-Day Challenge which tracks your progress and creates workouts for you based on your level of fitness, and (I assume) where you are in the Challenge and how you're progressing.

I obviously didn't get a chance at the preview to run through a few days of a Challenge.  Now that I have, I like what I see.  The mix definitely switches up in a nice way, and puts together good combinations.  It plays around with the variety, so you aren't doing the same things all the time, and it switches up the intensity to keep you going.  It also makes for good use of the exercises which use the resistance band, and those that take advantage of the legstrap nunchuk holder to get your lower body involved.

There really are a nice range of exercises here, and because you also have the ability to put them together however you want, you can get exactly the workout you're after. Here's a small sample -

• Cardio Dance
• Inline Skating
• Tennis
• High Step and Kick-Up Running
• Bent Over Rows
• Jump Lunges
• Squats
• Curls
• Volleyball

Even if you already have Wii Fit, this is a good title for you, because they're very different and I like having them both.  The Wii Fit has more of a Yoga orientation to it, and has some fun games.  EA Sports Active is a much more intense theory, and it will get you sweating.  It also has the ability to "play" with a friend which I think is a great option that a lot of people will like.  You can set up any workout just like normal, but go through it together.

I think it's also very interesting to have both of them, because they both have tracking options, but the Wii Fit tracks you looking a lot more at a BMI theory, while EA Sports Active is a lot more interested in calorie burn and intensity.

It's a fun, and pretty unique way to exercise, and it has a lot going for it.  Beyond what I've already mentioned, you get video demonstrations to show you how to do the exercises, your avatar onscreen copies your movements so you can see how you're doing, and you get constant feedback and encouragement just like if you had a trainer there with you.

You can check out a video below, and don't forget to leave a comment and get your own copy!

Are You Screening?

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About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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