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Developed in collaboration with Bob Greene, EA steps boldly into the reborn exercise genre. With a resistance band and thigh band used to hold the Nunchuck for some exercises, EA Sports Active promises a wide range of exercises used in a workout a regimen that will make you feel the burn.

For the most part EA Sports Active succeeds at what it sets out to do. There are fairly wide range of exercises that users are led through in a program to get them fit. There is everything between regular exercises like lunges and squats to sports routines based on volleyball, baseball, and basketball. If you choose to do the thirty day challenge program you will be walked through a series of exercise routines that are fairly well varied. Also, during those thirty days you will be encouraged to keep up other healthy habits like reducing the number of sugared drinks consumed, getting enough sleep, etc. Unlike Wii Fit, the activities in EA Sports Active are primarily aerobic. However, like Wii Fit, it does a good job of showing you how to do various exercises and integrating all of the Wii controllers including the Wii balance board if you have one. It does take a little time to switch between each exercise, but it is only the time it takes the game to load the next exercise off of the disk and there are not pages of text to have to hit ok to like Wii Fit. The aerobic focus of the game may mean it may be a bit too challenging (but still doable) for those who are out of shape.  In addition to completing the goals in the 30 day challenge, you can set up goals for total calories, number of workouts, and number of hours spent exercising during a given period of days.  To help keep you motivated, there are also trophies awarded for achieving various goals such as burning set number of calories during workouts.  Almost surprisingly for a game from EA, the production values are pretty average. The visuals are cartoonish, some of the track sequences have runners moving at walking speeds while the animation being shown is for running. The music while not bad, is rather generic. Also, if possible I strongly recommend getting a wireless nunchuck. For some exercises the cord going between the Nunchuck and Wiimote tends to get in the way. Also, since the 30-day challenge is fixed it can get a bit repetitive over time. You do always have the option of choosing from pre-made or custom workouts for a day as well, but a way to better integrate these into the 30-day challenge would have been much better. Overall, EA Sports Active is a solid exercise title worth heavy consideration if you are looking for a good exercise game. As I finished writing this, EA released EA Sports Active More Workouts that should address some of these concerns.

Scores:

Graphics:

Other than being somewhat cartoonish, strictly average looking for a Wii title.   The presentation is quite functional though.

Sound:

Music is generic.  Voice instruction is clear and easy to follow.

Gameplay:

The guided exercise routines work well.  There isn’t a lot of extra prompting between exercises, but you are given the opportunity to change the exercise equipment you are using when necessary.

Controls:

The best controls so far for a Wii exercise game.  Controls are accurate enough for the game to guide you if you are not completing an exercise correctly and are well integrated with all the Wii controls including (optionally) the Wii Balance Board.

Originality:

Not original in concept, but the integration of the resistance band and thigh band for the Nunchuck are good additions.

Overall Single Player:

Very good single player experience.  Lack of built-in variation between 30-day challenge exercise cycles limits re-playability a bit.

Overall Multiplayer:

Multiplayer is not a significant enough feature in this game to rate.

Reviewer’s Opinion:

A very good exercise game blemished almost only by some low production values.

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