Wii Fit Versus EA Sports Active 2

Recently I hit something of a milestone. Wii Fit informed me that I was on my 1000th day with the exercise game. Not that that is 1000 actual times used, but rather 1000 days since I started using Wii Fit.

It seemed like a pretty good time to take stock of the benefits I have gained from using Wii Fit, especially since I also purchased EA Sports Active 2 in the new year in an attempt to gain some strength for a skiing trip - always a physical challenge. Why did I choose another exercise game over Wii Fit? What did I feel I needed which Wii Fit didn't deliver?

Over the years I've used it, Wii Fit has given me a great boost to my fitness. It has served different purposes at different times. When I used to attend a gym regularly I used Wii Fit on my "rest days" between gym sessions; using the Yoga exercises to stay flexible, achieve some toning and improve balance. After giving up the gym, I moved over to a combination of Yoga, Muscle workouts and Step as my main exercise - using Wii Fit three times a week to stay in shape.

Wii Fit has consistently delivered on these things. I can honestly say that with proper use, Wii Fit has helped me to stay in shape over the years, lose weight and tone muscle.

However, once I was relying on Wii Fit for my main exercise, I found that my cardio capacity declined. Maybe it was down to my choice of exercises, or maybe it was just that the pace of Wii Fit is a little laid back, but I felt it wasn't really pushing me.

I knew I needed two things for Skiing: good leg muscle and good cardio fitness. At the GameCity festival in Nottingham in October 2010, I had the chance to try a demo of EA Sports Active 2. My memory of that demo was burning thighs and puffing for breath. I thought that if I wanted to be pushed, EA Sports Active 2 might be the way forward.

In my mind, what EA Sports Active 2 delivers over Wii Fit is twofold: Firstly, the game features workout programmes that feel like they have been designed by a fitness instructor. Rather than having to pick your own exercises, in EA Sports Active 2 the workouts present you with a balance of exercise which take you through a steady warmup, provide hard exercise for the middle of the workout and then slow things down again. The Heart Rate stats collected by the monitor worn throughout the workout attest to this. When conducting a workout programme, the sessions are also focused differently on different days; one day will be leg building, others core muscles, etc. Secondly, EA Sports Active 2 pushes the pace. The exercises are delivered in a rapid fashion (sometimes too quickly!) and the feeling of being in a gym class is upheld.

With EA Sports Active 2, I felt the improvement in my strength and cardio ability building steadily.

It's not without its flaws, as a piece of software: EA Sports Active 2 relies on being able to see the screen. For the exercises which prevent you from seeing it (such as pressups or plank exercises) Wii Fit is generally much better at talking to you and updating you on progress verbally.

I also found EA Sports Active 2's graphs to be an annoyance. The game collects all kinds of data about workouts and from surveys completed, but then insists on displaying the information from rest days on the graph. It's impossible to build up any coherent meaning from the data if the line chart drops to 0 every other day.

Some of the exercises, too, seem incompatible with an indoor workout. There are a few (a very small minority) which would probably work great in trainers on astroturf but when attempting them at home on a carpet, hard floor, or exercise mat (I've tried them all!) they are very difficult to complete comfortably.

Occasionally, too, the sensors are not as accurate as they could be. I'm not sure if it is down to the accuracy of the sensors or the way the game is programmed. Sometimes EA Sports Active 2 is in such a hurry to start the next exercise it registers your "resting" position in the wrong place and then can't measure your exercises. In the same way, there are some exercises which will happily register exercise on the "wrong" leg, but when you switch to the other leg it refuses to continue.

But, if I remember the early days I had with Wii Fit, I recall similar problems. The truth is, the software didn't get better; I simply learned how to use it and avoid the pitfalls.

EA Sports Active 2, as well as delivering a more challenging and rounded exercise experience than Wii Fit, also takes up less time. Wii Fit, including the time I spent picking exercises, navigating menus (and taking my own sweet time) was taking me over an hour to get a workout I felt was productive. As a result of EA Sports Active 2 pushing you harder and delivering exercises at it's own quick pace, this title delivers a challenging workout in about 30 minutes. It's a far better option for me to fit into my day and seems to deliver better exercise benefits.

In summary, lets not forget how pioneering Wii Fit was - the current market for exercise games can be attributed largely to Wii Fit's widespread success. But, EA Sports Active 2 delivers a more refined exercise: it helps you to push yourself harder, delivers seemingly expert guidance and offers greater variety than a pre-defined fitness DVD. If you are looking to get in shape at home then I can highly recommend EA Sports Active 2.