Tancap Blog

Update (04/05/11): Due to new issues introduced with the latest patch and lack of promised DLC, I’ve had to lower my rating in several areas.

Past versions of Active set the standard for exercise games.  Can Active 2 build on the success of it’s predecessors?

EA Sports Active 2 brings the works almost identically to its predecessor offering a short and long term structured workout program that consists of both conventional and sports based exercises including both warm up and cool down routines.   (other features here).  While there seems to be more repetition in the exercises contained in each day’s set, there is still a sufficient number to keep things interesting.  EA has also promised additional content will be released as DLC during the first quarter of 2011.  Both graphic and audio assets are of the same high value of its predecessors and what you would expect from EA.  There are two major differences this year are the controller-less Kinect (or Total Body Tracking System for Wii and PS3) and heart rate monitor.  For the most part the Kinect based controls work well, there are a couple of important items to keep in mind.  First, wearing loose fitting clothes can cause issues.  Second, make sure you have at least 6 feet in front of you when playing.  This means when doing exercises such as push ups your head needs to be 6 feet away from the Kinect sensor.  This issue is a bit troublesome as many people already have trouble finding the 6-8 feet necessary for most games and needing around 12 feet necessary for the floor exercises is a pretty severe limitation that isn’t well documented on either the box or website.

The other major issue I encountered was with the heart rate monitor.  Compared to a chest strap based heart rate monitor it was often significantly misreporting my heart rate.  During many of the running exercises it my heart rate would often drop well into zone 1 while my heart rate monitor had me in zone 4 or 5.  Based on other posts in the forum other people are encountering this issue as well.  I was able to get better results by making sure the bottom of the monitor strap (where there are a couple of green lights) was making contact with the bottom of my arm instead of being concerned with the orientation of the top of the monitor (which the instructions emphasize).  Because of the size of my arm near my elbow this made the top of the device end up in slightly uncomfortable position for some exercise, but led to comparable results to my chest strap based monitor.  While the heart rate monitor is used to judge fitness during a weekly heart rate check, it doesn’t seem to be used to measure calorie burn.  Instead calorie burn is measured based on the exercise and reps.

The other major new features are web integration and exercise groups.  All your exercise stats can be synced with the EA Sports Active website which in turn has integration with Facebook, Twitter, and a discussion forum.  Exercise groups allows a number of players to work together to accomplish an exercise goal such as burning a certain number of calories in 30 days.  Exercise groups seem to work fairly well, but there isn’t a way to get a list of groups to join in the game.  Instead you are forced to the community forum to find one.   The website integration is still in a beta stage (even the website itself has a “beta” label on it).  While it is currently in much better shape than “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved”, it still has areas (such as the “programs” tab) which are clearly incomplete.

The game also supports Kinect voice command, but because many of the commands were shortened to one word (For example, “show” instead of “show me how”) some users are reporting issues where background noises are triggering commands.  If you don’t like the game’s included music, you can import your own music into the game with custom play lists.  Overall EA Sports Active 2 is a solid offering that could of used a bit more polish before release.

Scores:

Graphics:

An upgrade from it’s predecessors on the Wii, but the graphics aren’t something you would want to use to show off the 360′s capabilities.

Sound:

Music is somewhat generic, but you can import your own.  Voice instruction is clear, if a bit lifeless at times.

Gameplay:

Although a bit limited in the number of exercises, overall there is a good variety of exercises and the outdoor based ones provide a nice change of pace.  Hopefully promised DLC in February will continue to evolve the game.  The exercise programs may start a little bit to easy from some, but otherwise provide a nice integrate exercise routine including warm-up and cool down routines.
Update (04/05/11): February has come and gone and no new DLC has appeared.  Worse, part of the fixes included in the patch switch off motion tracking for floor exercises.

Controls:

Although Kinect integration is not completely trouble-free, controls overall work well if you have enough space available.  The design of the heart rate monitor needs some work, perhaps a chest based monitor rather than an arm monitor would have been a better choice.  It is also disappointing that heart rate doesn’t seem to be a major factor in determining calorie burn.  Update (04/05/11): The March patch made menu navigation far worse due to the detection of selection of menu entries when hand tracking fails.  Also, floor exercise now have motion detection disabled by default.

Originality:

One of the first exercise games to make use of the Kinect.  Exercise groups and internet integration are nice new features as well.

Overall Single Player:

Despite a few control glitches and issues with the heart rate monitor, Active 2 offers a solid interactive exercise experience.

Overall Multiplayer:

Local multiplayer works fine, but really doesn’t add that much to the game.  Workout groups can add a bit motivation.

Reviewer’s Opinion:

Another strong entry from EA, but could have used some more time in development to polish some of it’s new features.
Update (04/05/11): The patch actually made a number of issues worse.  The lack of promised DLC doesn’t improve things either.

Screenshots: