The Nintendo Wii took a drastic departure from traditional video game console design by incorporating motion control remotes instead of a traditional, push-button controller. This allowed Nintendo and other video game developers to create home exercise games in which users could get off the couch and have fun while they worked out. Although there have been many imitators, Nintendo's original exercise game, "Wii Fit," remains the highest-rated exercise game in the system's history as of 2011.
Ratings
"Wii Fit" and its successor, "Wii Fit Plus," have been around since 2008 and 2009, respectively. Though newer exercise games have been released since then, the "Wii Fit" series remains popular with critics. Leading video game website IGN.com gives "Wii Fit Plus" an 8.2 out of 10 on its rating scale, while the meta-review website GameRankings.com gives the game a score of 80.83 percent from 18 compiled rankings, including those from GamePro.com and the "Official Nintendo Magazine UK."
Personal Trainer Top Pick
In May 2009, "PCWorld" magazine senior writer Darren Gladstone had top Wii exercise games like Jillian Michaels' "Workout Ultimatum 2009," "Gold's Gym Cardio Workout," "EA Sports Active Personal Trainer" and "Wii Fit" reviewed for quality by personal trainer Joel Hornsby. After playing the various exercise modes on all of the games, Hornsby concluded that "Wii Fit" was the best because it not only has a wide variety of exercises to choose from, but also contains top-quality instruction on how to perform all of the workouts so that you get the best exercise possible.
Exercise Features
"Wii Fit" includes fitness activities that range from yoga to strength training. If you are interested in burning calories, you can use the "Wii Fit" aerobics workouts or training games that focus on jumping and quick reaction. The game tracks your progress and can help you design a specialized workout program to meet your goals. One drawback of the game, however, is the body mass index calculator. IGN.com reports that this feature is highly inaccurate and does not account for body fat percentage.
Balance Board
What makes "Wii Fit" unique from competitor exercise games is that it comes with the Wii balance board accessory. Many of the exercises and games in "Wii Fit" have you use the balance board to stand correctly and use proper form during the exercises. According to Nintendo, correcting your posture so that you always are directly over your center of balance reduces the strain you put on your body in daily life.
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