Wii Fit Plus Hands-On

Will this version actually get us off of the couch? We take the balance games for a test run.

One of the best features of the original Wii Fit was the balance games, given that the workout was too cumbersome due to all of the menu navigations. Wii Fit Plus is supposed to address those issues by including a way to play through the exercises without stopping. The game has also added 15 new balance minigames, several of which we were able to try on the show floor at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

For the most part, the balance board was very responsive with all of the games that we played. The hardest one was actually Perfect 10, the minigame in which you swing your hips to hit the numbered balls so that the total adds up to 10. It was a bit awkward doing pelvic thrusts and practically butt-checking the rep behind us, but the Bird's Eye Bull's Eye game was even sillier because you flap your arms to fly. Yes, you stand on the balance board, lean forward, and wave wildly. You'll fly higher if you flap your arms more vigorously, and the goal is to get to the finish line. Along the way there are numbered targets to land on to give you a time boost.

Tilt City was an interesting game in which you hold the remote sideways to tilt a platform onscreen. There are three platforms; the top one is controlled by the remote, and the two beneath it are controlled by your legs. Colored balls will roll down from the top, and you need to lean and tilt to get them into the corresponding pipe. It starts to get hectic when several balls are coming at you, but the controls are responsive so it was a lot of fun.

Snowball fight was like a mini point-and-shoot game, in which you throw snowballs at other characters while leaning left and right to peer out from your barrier. You have unlimited snowballs, so you can fire away as quickly as you can. Segway Circuit and Island Cycling were the least-exciting games from the selection because they were similar to one another. In these games, you move around the island either by leaning forward or walking on the balance board, and steering with the remote.

The final minigame that we tried was Obstacle Course, in which you walk, run, and jump from one end of the platform to the other. Stepping back and forth quickly will make your Mii run, and by bending your knees and pushing yourself up--without ever leaving the board--you'll make your character jump. Most of these skills were applied in the previous game, so it should be fairly easy to get the controls down. You'll have to jump over rolling logs and swinging cannonballs, and leap from one moving platform to another.

Wii Fit Plus has a good balance-game collection so far, but we will have to see whether or not the rest of the game can keep you motivated long enough to stay in shape. The game will ship sometime this fall--with or without balance board--so you can prepare in advance for those holiday calories.

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