EA Sports Active 2 Wii

EA Sports Active 2 Product Details

Released on 19/11/2010

• Gamescom 2010: David Beckham to endorse EA Sports Active 2

  EA Sports has drafted in some heavyweight celebrity endorsement for its new fitness title EA Sports Active 2 in the form of David Beckham.

  It was confirmed at the Gamescom event in Cologne that the former England captain will be the brand ambassador for the new Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii game when it launches this November.

  This means that Becks will be featured prominently in endorsing the benefits of the new title, which allows gamers to get fit using motion tracking data and a heart-rate monitor.

  As they power through their personalised workouts, the sensors send information to the console where they can then be shared online, allowing users to measure their progress over time compared to others around the globe.

  Beckham said: "EA Sports Active is impressive and includes many elements that I have seen throughout my football career."

  It will be the first game in the series to feature on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, having previously found success on Wii with releases such as EA Sports Active: More Workouts.

• Get Off yer Couch!

  Get Off yer Couch!

  Asthmatic athletics

  

  The popular image of video games is that of a pastime requiring no more physical effort than a sofa slouch and nimble thumbs – along with a carb-heavy diet of pizza and sugary soda. The fast-track to a slow death from obesity, in other words.
  

  Fitness games fly in the face of that assumption, but they're not the recent invention many think they are. Even as far back as 1982, companies like Atari were looking at ways of connecting exercise bikes to a virtual reality under the codename Project Puffer. In 1986, Bandai released a control mat for the Nintendo Entertainment System which came with Family Fun Fitness, a suite of exercise games. Nintendo was so impressed, it bought the product and repackaged it as the more exciting sounding Power Pad.
  

  This, of course, led to games like Konami's seminal Dance Dance Revolution, which ushered in the age of the dance-mat as a legitimate and popular game controller. 2005 brought EyeToy: Kinetic to the market - the first modern motion tracking exercise game - while 2006 saw the short-lived and rather naffly titled Gamercize system wire actual exercise equipment up to games consoles.
  

  The rise of the Wii

  It was the Wii that really pulled all these ideas together to create the fitness game genre though. Indeed, it almost had to be Nintendo who would finally crack the nut and make gaming and exercise feel like natural bedfellows. The Wii was a friendly machine, and with titles like Wii Sports it had already made jumping around part of the gameplay experience. Here was a console where the all important mums and dads might buy into the idea of gaming to get healthy.
  

  

  With Wii Fit's balance board Nintendo finally had the peripheral to make it work, while the software cannily combined solid fitness goals with more accessible video game mechanics. Motivation is the key to any exercise regime, and video games are nothing if not efficient effort-to-reward systems. What better approach than to tap into our natural desire to beat our last score, to reach the next level, and to be congratulated for doing well?
  

  In the years following Wii Fit's 2007 release, the floodgates opened. Celebrity endorsed fitness packages aped Wii Fit's style, but without adding much to the genre. It was only when Sony and Microsoft got involved, with Move and Kinect, that there was enough competition to drive the development of even more advanced fitness games.
  

  Which brings us to today, and the chart-topping success of Zumba Fitness (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii). Based on the popular fitness franchise, it ditches the squats and thrusts in favour of more fun dance-based exercise. With its Latin rhythms and have-a-go simplicity, it's no surprise that it's selling so well – this is a fitness game disguised as a dancing game, which is then dressed up as a bloody good laugh. Perfect for people who might otherwise feel intimidated by the genre.
  

  EA Sports Active 2 (Wii, PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect) goes in the complete opposite direction, with its wireless heart-rate monitor and resistance band accessory. This is the game for serious fitness nuts who really want to push themselves further with each new workout, with loads of stats and options to tweak your experience for maximum calorie-crushing impact.
  

  Similar in style, but slightly less ferocious in approach, is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. This also concentrates on scalable aerobic workouts with an emphasis on personalised training routines and lots of encouragement to keep the pace up. For players who have taken Wii Fit as far as they can, both titles represent the obvious next step.
  

  Workouts are for wimps

  

  But what if this is all still a little too much like leotards and headbands? What if you're worried that doing star jumps in front of your console won't impress your hard mates? Well, that's why there's UFC Trainer (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii). This manly fitness game for manly men offers much the same workout results as other fitness titles - but in a style that makes you feel like you could kick a man's head through a wall. Heavy on the cardio and sparring, it offers an experience as tough as its name suggests. Unless you actually do fight in the UFC, we suggest you don't go steaming in, ready to show off with the hardest settings.
  

  It's doubtful that motion control is going anywhere soon, what with Wii U around the corner and the next Xbox likely to incorporate Kinect, so it seems that far from being a passing fad the fitness game is here to stay. Maybe the stereotype of the lardy wheezing gamer is finally coming to an end. Pass the leg-warmers.

• Fighting the Flab: Fitness Games for Everyone

   

  So it's somehow February already. How did that happen? Where the heck did January go? It seems like only a few days ago that we were boldly staring 2012 in the face, suffering the guilty throb of a New Year's Day hangover, vowing to get more exercise and halt that expanding waistline in its tracks.

  Didn't quite work, did it? The cold mornings put a stop to the jogging after a few half-hearted attempts, the gym membership card has already slipped to the back of your wallet and the takeaway around the corner is issuing its siren's call.

  Stop! It's not too late! And, conveniently for us, games can come to the rescue. The rise of motion gaming means that there's never been a better time to get fit in your own home, far away from the judgemental gaze of the Gym Adonis. Whatever console you have, whatever sort of workout you're after, games have the answer.

  

  For an all-round fitness regime that won't scare you off, take your pick between Your Shape - Fitness Evolved 2012. Available for Kinect, it offers a variety of workouts and can be customised to ease you in gently, like a cat into a hot bath. And since Kinect is scanning your whole body, it won't let you slack off - keep those knees up and those shoulders back, and you'll be fitting into those old jeans before you know it.

  Alternatively, you could try EA Sports Active 2, available for Wii, Kinect and PlayStation Move. Packaged with a resistance band and heart rate monitor, this is the ideal choice for those who want a structured regime with a scientific core. EA even got a university to test its effectiveness, so you know it works.

  Perhaps you prefer some fun in your fitness? If that's the case then Zumba Fitness 2 is the obvious candidate, disguising its exercise routines inside groovy dance-offs that'll make you burn calories like it's bonfire night. Zumba Fitness 2 is only available for the Wii, but the original game is also available for PlayStation Move and Kinect.

  In a similar vein, the spin-off game from TV reality-fitness sensation The Biggest Loser is worth a look on Wii and Kinect, though it's perhaps most interesting for being one of the only fitness games available for the Nintendo DS. Obviously, you need to be an honest soul when entering your weekly weigh-in and exercise success, but for the gamer on the go, it's very handy. Or you could just invest in a 3DS, the only console with a built-in pedometer that rewards long walks with coins to spend on jigsaw pieces and warrior cats.

  

  Too silly? OK, let's get serious. Like, really serious. It's UFC Personal Trainer, the fitness game for blokes and lady-blokes who want the sort of ripped abs and bulging biceps that will allow you to survive five minutes in a cage with Junior dos Santos. It's out on Wii, Kinect and PlayStation Move and puts the "grrr" in "looking great".

  But that's only scratching the surface. Former Spice Girl Mel B will help you get fit in the self-explanatory Get Fit With Mel B. The My Fitness Coach series offers several Wii-exclusive aerobic routines, with a personalised trainer. If you demand a little narrative with your exercise, workout guru Jillian Michaels will take you on a bulge-battling jungle expedition in Jillian Michaels' Fitness Adventure.

  So, come on, there's clearly no excuse. Dig the tracksuit out from the bottom of the wardrobe, fire up your console and tone that tum.

• Get off the couch - GAME looks at fitness games

  
  

  

  Asthmatic Athletics

  The popular image of video games is that of a pastime requiring no more physical effort than a sofa slouch and nimble thumbs - along with a carb-heavy diet of pizza and sugary soda. The fast-track to a slow death from obesity, in other words.

  Fitness games fly in the face of that assumption, but they're not the recent invention many think they are. Even as far back as 1982, companies like Atari were looking at ways of connecting exercise bikes to a virtual reality under the codename Project Puffer. In 1986, Bandai released a control mat for the Nintendo Entertainment System which came with Family Fun Fitness, a suite of exercise games. Nintendo was so impressed, it bought the product and repackaged it as the more exciting sounding Power Pad.

  This, of course, led to games like Konami's seminal Dance Dance Revolution, which ushered in the age of the dance-mat as a legitimate and popular game controller. 2005 brought EyeToy: Kinetic to the market - the first modern motion tracking exercise game - while 2006 saw the short-lived and rather naffly titled Gamercize system wire actual exercise equipment up to games consoles.

  

  The Rise of the Wii

  It was the Wii that really pulled all these ideas together to create the fitness game genre though. Indeed, it almost had to be Nintendo who would finally crack the nut and make gaming and exercise feel like natural bedfellows. The Wii was a friendly machine, and with titles like Wii Sports it had already made jumping around part of the gameplay experience. Here was a console where the all important mums and dads might buy into the idea of gaming to get healthy.

  With Wii Fit's balance board Nintendo finally had the peripheral to make it work, while the software cannily combined solid fitness goals with more accessible video game mechanics. Motivation is the key to any exercise regime, and video games are nothing if not efficient effort-to-reward systems. What better approach than to tap into our natural desire to beat our last score, to reach the next level, and to be congratulated for doing well?

  In the years following Wii Fit's 2007 release, the floodgates opened. Celebrity endorsed fitness packages aped Wii Fit's style, but without adding much to the genre. It was only when SONY and Microsoft got involved, with Move and Kinect, that there was enough competition to drive the development of even more advanced fitness games.

  

  Which brings us to today, and the chart-topping success of Zumba Fitness. Based on the popular fitness franchise, it ditches the squats and thrusts in favour of more fun dance-based exercise. With its Latin rhythms and have-a-go simplicity, it's no surprise that it's selling so well - this is a fitness game disguised as a dancing game, which is then dressed up as a bloody good laugh. Perfect for people who might otherwise feel intimidated by the genre.

  EA Sports Active 2 goes in the complete opposite direction, with its wireless heart-rate monitor and resistance band accessory. This is the game for serious fitness nuts who really want to push themselves further with each new workout, with loads of stats and options to tweak your experience for maximum calorie-crushing impact.

  Similar in style, but slightly less ferocious in approach, is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. This also concentrates on scalable aerobic workouts with an emphasis on personalised training routines and lots of encouragement to keep the pace up. For players who have taken Wii Fit as far as they can, both titles represent the obvious next step.

  

  Workouts Are For Wimps

  But what if this is all still a little too much like leotards and headbands? What if you're worried that doing star jumps in front of your console won't impress your hard mates? Well, that's why there's UFC Trainer. This manly fitness game for manly men offers much the same workout results as other fitness titles - but in a style that makes you feel like you could kick a man's head through a wall. Heavy on the cardio and sparring, it offers an experience as tough as its name suggests. Unless you actually do fight in the UFC, we suggest you don't go steaming in, ready to show off with the hardest settings.

  It's doubtful that motion control is going anywhere soon, what with Wii U around the corner and the next Xbox likely to incorporate Kinect, so it seems that far from being a passing fad the fitness game is here to stay. Maybe the stereotype of the lardy wheezing gamer is finally coming to an end. Pass the leg-warmers.

  Published: 10/08/2012

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