Wii Fit Plus (Balance Board Not Included)

Wii Fit Plus, that is! I couldn't wait to try this new title because I enjoy and use the first one so much. When you start it up, the Plus goes and gets all your info and stats from the older version and brings them right into the game, so you can continue right where you left off, but with lots of new games and features. This is well worth the $20 just for the 15 new games.There are lots of nice new features with this Wii Fit Plus. I always wished I could set up routines instead of having to move from one menu to the next after each exercise, or that there were ready made routines that I could follow involving several exercises. With the Plus this is possible. You start in the locker room and select from Wii Fit Plus Routines, My Routine, or the Favorites menu. You go to another screen to decide what parts of your body or what type of goals you want to pursue and the difficulty level and length of time. Then the system will set up a routine designed just for you and your goals. I think it's much more efficient to go through exercises this way. You can also compare how you did each day and how much you're improving. There's a multiplayer mode so that more than one person can play, but you do have to take turns. Still, it's nice to not have to 'log out' each time a different person wants to play.Another new feature is that you can add babies or pets to the Plus. I have a big fat long haired 'mini' dachshund that was too embarrassed to be weighed today, but that pupper is going to get weighed tomorrow! They don't get to do body tests or play any games, but you can keep track of their weight and record it in their stats. Useful? Well, maybe not so much but big points for the cuteness factor.I love the games because it's such a great way to get exercise without even realizing it and the 15 new ones in this title are just as good as the old if not better than the first edition. Want to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time? One of these games will have you balancing on a big red and white striped ball (your Wii Fit board) while juggling smaller balls thrown to you by your assistants. Or how about Rhythm Parade where you march and raise and lower your hands on cue and in time with the music? Tilt City has you using your Wiimote turned sideways and the balance board to maneuver dropping balls into one of three color coordinated pails. It's easy at first, but when several different colored balls start dropping at once, it's a challenge. I love the balance games and if you're a fan of the balance board game with the little balls in the first game, there's one here that uses some different colored slots to "pop" the balls up over small obstacles and into the hole. You control their movement by leaning in different directions on the balance board.There are also 3 new yoga activities and 3 new strength training activities. That's not to say that some of the games don't improve strength and muscles. There is one game where you flap your arms like wings to fly from one target post to another over water to get points on each one. This is one where you want to draw all the curtains because you'll look completely ridiculous standing there on your balance board wildly flapping your arms like some kind of a crazy bird. But you won't believe how tired your arm muscles feel afterward and you don't even notice while you're busy flying from one target to another. There's another game, Island Cycling, where you step on the balance board to simulate pedaling a bike, trying to pass Wii flags where you accumulate points. You steer with the Wiimote held sideways. I was surprised how sore my calves were afterward, trying to control the speed of the bike.When you can get exercise while doing something that's challenging and fun without even realizing that you're exercising, that's a successful game. That's why I bought the Wii to begin with and this game takes full advantage of the balance board and all the interactive features. Can I walk and chew gum at the same time after playing these games? Well, maybe not yet but I can bust big blue and white balloons by running into them with my Segway on a beach and get almost halfway through the course inside a big ol' bubble in Balance Bubble Plus. Great job, Nintendo! Two thumbs up!

I'm an enthusiastic fan of Wii Fit - it is a fun way to get limber and in shape. Wii Fit Plus is an add-on for Wii Fit and adds a bunch of new games and activities into the mix! Plus you can weigh your pets!First, you definitely need Wii Fit to play the Wii FIt Plus games. This adds on to the basic Wii Fit set. So make sure you have Wii Fit - or that you buy a bundle of some sort - to be able to enjoy Wii Fit Plus. Make sure you have a balance board, as well as both a Wii controller and nunchuck. You'll need all of these to enjoy all the games.The Wii Fit Plus, first, adds in pets! You can enter a cute little avatar for your cat or dog. It won't let pets train, but it does track their weight. How you do this is you (the human) have it measure you - then you hold the pet in your arms and it measures you plus the pet. This is a great way to keep track of your pet's weight over time and to know if something is changing!For humans, there are lots of great new features. First, you can play a variety of multiplayer games. This lets you challenge each other to all sorts of fun.In my home I tend to be the only Wii Fit player, so I was more interested in the new games. I love the Kung Fu one, where you do various moves in time with the rhythm. I'm also a big fan of the segue game, steering your rolling two-wheeled scooter around the course with body movements. There's a juggling game, a snowball fight game, and a nice running game.An area I use quite a lot is the "routines" area. This lets you design a series of activities and have them just run non stop in a row. So let's say in the yoga area I enjoy tree pose, then palm, then sun salutation, then tree pose and then sun salutation again. You define that series of activities and then start it off. The game seamlessly steps you through those poses, one after another, and when you're done you get credit for all the time! It's perfect!I can't say enough good things about Wii Fit Plus. I love the yoga, how you can make the perfect routine for YOU, to meet your interests and the time you can spend. I love many of the new games. I find it really helpful to track my pet's health easily in the system.Is there a down side? I would love more customization. I would love yoga on a beach, for example, or in a forest. It can't be that hard for them to toss in new backgrounds. I would love new background music - or let us add in our own.I also think you should be able to choose your timer. Right now they have a "piggie" which I find a little inappropriate. Again it'd be easy for them to let you customize that, and really help out a lot.Maybe those things will come into play in Wii Fit 2!