Yoga (not real creative with the name, huh?) has users follow step-by-step instructions on the Wii Balance Board along with the Wii Remote.  The Yoga Gurus guide players through a variety of popular exercises, allowing them to monitor their progress with a dynamic tracking system and by setting up a schedule to follow.

Think of the Yoga Guru as your own personal trainer since they will make suggestions in order to help you be your most successful.

There are three play modes to choose from.  Story Mode allows players to progress from being a beginner through to becoming a Yoga Guru.  Training Mode is all about learning new poses.  Routine Mode allows players to choose from user-created or pre-created routines.

There are also mini-games that players can use to test their knowledge.  I love mini-games!

While the graphics aren’t the highest quality, I can see how this game could be beneficial to players of any age since it helps develop strength, flexibility and endurance while promoting the connection between the mind and body.

Post from: EveryJoe

“Yoga” For Nintendo Wii

The game unfolds in an amusement park where a secret agent has infiltrated the Central Control Tower and taken over the park.  Patrons are trying to have a good time with the games and on rides but they suddenly discover that the friendly clowns and other robotic characters have turned evil, which sets the park into a state of chaos.

You have a clear mission – restore order to the park.  As a third person shooter, you’ll play as either Melissa or Tony as you take down the bad guys using laser guns, bubble bomb pistols.  Making your way through the park brings a new challenge around every corner since the different sections of the carnival present new enemies.

Here is a product description from Amazon:

• Several unique guns to choose from including a Fireball Gun and a Magnetic Gun
• Explore five sections of the empty Amusement Park including Haunted Maze Mountain and Future World
• Blast a variety of malicious enemies including Robot Clowns, Hologram Ghosts, and Evil Bats
• Intense boss battles at the end of each stage will keep players on their toes
• Fill up your money bag by getting in-game bonuses and use your coins to upgrade weapons, health, and stamina

images: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

“Arcade Shooting Gallery” For Wii

Image: EA SPORTS

From Peter Moore:

Of course, I can’t resist pointing out that while I’ve always wholeheartedly endorsed moderation in anything you do, including playing games, it may be time for the President and his family to put their Wii to good use and fire up the 30-Day Challenge with EA SPORTS Active. This is a “game” even the President may not want to “step away” from.

…

Mr. President, here is my challenge to you: Try EA SPORTS Active and I guarantee you’ll need aides saying “Yes You Can!” to finish your first workout.

So what do you think? With President Obama step up to President Moore’s challenge and start to get active with EA SPORTS Active? Have you tried this Wii video game yourself?  You can read about the participants in the Wii 30 Day Fitness Challenge and check out their results at easportsactive.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

EA Sports Boss Challenges Obama

In case it’s not clear from this image, the Wii Riiser adds up to four inches onto you balance board, making step games much more challenging. 

If you’ve ever played Wii Fit then you’re probably familiar with the basic step and advanced step.  I think adding height to my balance board for these activities will really enhance the workout.  Also, there are the strength training exercises where only one foot is on the board and the other is on the ground.  If the board is higher, you should feel it more in your legs. 

The only problem with the Wii Riiser is that I’ve read that is only being shipped to U.S. addresses.  Hopefully, they find a way to get around that because I’d love to buy one!

image: Amazon

Post from: EveryJoe

Wii Riiser Aerobic Step for Balance Board

image: EA Sports

Nintendo Wii gamers who use the console to keep fit will be thrilled to hear that a new game, EA Sports Active, will be released on May 19, 2009 and it looks like the best, most comprehensive fitness game yet!

The game acts as a personal trainer and comes with a strap-on pouch for holding the Wii Remote (it attaches to your legs so that your leg and lower-body movements are tracked), a resistance band and a nutritional guide.  You will also have the option of using the Wii Balance Board.

I think this is really great!  There will be 20 minute workout regimes and a 30-day challenge to allow players to set and work towards goals.  After looking at the official site I noticed that the following exercises will be included (25 in all!): cardio boxing, basic dance, tennis, inline skating, kick-ups, cardio dance, kickbox, batting, volleyball, basketball, pitching & catching, serve, walk, jump, lateral raises, lunge reps, side lunge, squat/calf, lunge jump, squat jump, punch target, fast dance and punch bag.

There were no screenshots from what I could see (it’s probably too early) but I did find a promotional video.  Check it out:

Post from: EveryJoe

EA Sports Active Preview

I wanted to be a “cooking mama” too so I bought the game.  Sure, I couldn’t understand half of what she said as I attempted to move from one recipe to another but I didn’t care – her incoherent Japanese accent was part of the charm.

I’ve had that game for a while now and I still haven’t made all of the recipes, nor have I mastered the ones I did complete (I can’t get past “Try Harder” for the popcorn, but I digress…).  Still, I wanted to try Cooking Mama: World Kitchen so I got it.

The first thing I noticed is that Cooking Mama’s accent has been toned down – a lot!  Sometimes, she doesn’t even sound like she has a Japanese accent but, instead, is suffering from some sort of language confusion.  I was disappointed by that but I let it go.  Before I get into the things that I disliked, I would like to focus on the positive.

I like that you can customize your character.  Actually, it’s nice to have a face at all since in the first Cooking Mama game, all we had were hands (if anything at all – sometimes the salt and pepper just shook themselves!).

Along the same grain, I like that you have to do small things like put your tray into the oven and close the door or put the lid on the blender while you are preparing food, much like you have to do in real life.

I also like some of the new things you have to do to make your meals like use a meat slicer (pictured at left).

I LOVE that you don’t have to be perfect to get a gold medal.  Instead of going on the number of points you have (and whether you got “Very Good” “Good” or “Try Harder”), it uses a percentage to determine how much of the recipe you did correctly.  If you get 90% or higher, you get your gold medal.  I think it’s more fair.  There have been times on the old game where I got “Very Good” on everything except for one step and I had to settle for a silver.  Not fair.

The recipes are good too.  I prefer the ones in the first game but it is nice to make drinks like fruit juice in this one.  Also, if you are doing something like making kebobs (pictured above), you actually have to go outside to a barbeque which makes it more realistic.

There are drawbacks, however.  Some are similar to those present in the first game (like unrealistic cooking techniques such as catching meat that is falling from the sky) but others are just unnecessary.  For example, if you make a club sandwich, you not only have to use a toaster that shoots the bread hit into the air (and you must catch it) but you’ve also got to catch the meat, tomatoes and other ingredients as they fall from mid-air.  As if that is not bad enough, you’ve got to keep the plate steady so that the sandwich doesn’t topple over.  If it does, Cooking Mama shows up and tries to rescue your sandwich.  If she succeeds (you’re controlling her), then you don’t lose any points which, really, is a good feature of the game.

Another thing that disappointed me was the format of the actual game.  The first problem is that the original one had the recipes laid out in a cook book.  It was organized, neater and was more relevant to cooking.  Now the recipes are just thrown together in no particular way and you can go from screen to screen to see all of them.

I also disliked how the “Let’s Cook” section of the game worked.  In the older version, two players could cook at the same time using a split-screen.  This doesn’t allow that.  You can do activities together in the Cooking Contest section but it’s just little things like making rice or chipping ice.  This was probably the most discouraging change.

Despite it’s shortcomings, Cooking Mama: World Kitchen is a fun game and is a bit more challenging and realistic than the first.  It’s perfect for the whole family too!

images: Nintendo.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Cooking Mama: World Kitchen Review