Wii Fit Plus is a misleading title for this game, and yet oddly appropriate. It doesn't use Nintendo's new MotionPlus enhancer at all, so it shouldn't technically have "Plus" in its name. At the same time, Nintendo representatives told me that Wii Fit Plus will completely replace Wii Fit on store shelves, much like EA removes old Madden games when the new one launches each year. The game will go on sale this fall with and without the Wii Balance Board.
Fit Plus aspires to be everything its predecessor is and more. It has every exercise in Wii Fit, along with six new strength and yoga exercises. Those with weight history in Wii Fit will be able to migrate data to the new game. And if you have a dog or cat, you can start weighing it right along with you. (Side note: Nintendo keeps adding pets to games. There is even a Frisbee dog fetch game in Wii Sports Resort.)
Perhaps the most useful addition to Fit Plus are the exercise routines. These weren't featured on the show floor, but I am told that you'll be able to select from pre-made workout routines for the upper, middle, and lower body or create your own string of six exercises and save it for future use. There is also some photographic evidence that the game will help you choose a routine based on your own body goals: some might want to slim down, others might want to build muscle. Plus will also estimate how many calories you've burned during your session, a feature sorely lacking from the original.
I still don't understand why Nintendo didn't have workout routines or calorie burning estimates in Wii Fit. At the time, creator Shigeru Miyamoto said something to the effect of that he didn't want to force players into structured routines, and instead wanted them to use the product how they wished. His words are admirable, but he expected too much out of players. Wii Fit helps you set weight goals for yourself, and offers all the tools you'll need for the trek, but no map to help you get there. Hopefully Plus will offer that map.
Unfortunately, only balance games were available on the show floor. I suppose it would have been boring to watch people doing yoga at E3, but more conducive to my curiosity. Below is a breakdown of all the games on display.
This game tries to work your mind and your body, kind of a Brain Age for your hips. Four mushrooms, each a different color and number, surround your onscreen character. You have to shove your hips (a pelvic thrust, of sorts) into the mushrooms it takes to add up to 10. When I started, there was a 5, 4, 1, and 6. I chose bump your rump into the 6 and 4, but I could have also chosen the 5, 4, and 1. If you bump the wrong numbers, you can deselect by bumping them again. You're timed, so the faster you can do the mental math and bump them mushrooms, the happier your score will be.
Island Cycling should actually be called Island Jogging. To steer, you hold the Wii Remote sideways with both hands and move it up and down. To cycle, gently walk in place on the Balance Board. Your path around Woohoo Island (a name Miyamoto affectionately gave to the island during an E3 Q&A session) mimics the one you take during the running game in Wii Fit, with several checkpoints dotting the path. I never quite got the hang of this game, and biked around the island at a sluggish pace. Other attendees seemed to move much faster. I guess it's just not my game.
I've never ridden on a real Segway, but now I have virtually ridden on one. I imagine it's pretty much the same, right? Segway Circuit takes place on the beach—a beach full of pesky moles. To steer, hold the Wii Remote in your hands like the cycling game. Gently lean forward or backward to move the Segway and take out beach balloons. It works well, and I got a surprisingly good workout in my calves. They burned, much like they might after a hard day of Segway-ing.
This was the most popular Plus game on the show floor. Everyone wanted to try it, and everyone had a blast playing it. You play by standing on the Balance Board, a Wii Remote in your left or right hand. Your character is a Mii in a chicken suit, who you must guide onto a string of landing-pad targets, ending on a cruise ship. To get there, you have to flap your wings, quite literally. You lean in the direction you want to fly and flap your arms. It's embarrassing at first, but the fun soon outweighs the social discomfort. Once you land on a target, you get a time bonus. The target then goes dark and you must take off and continue onto the next target.
Fans of the classic Pilotwings series will be happy, as this game plays very similar to the Jet Pack game. Nintendo seems to enjoy ripping Pilotwings apart, as of late. Wii Sports Resort, which also takes place on Woohoo Island, begins with a skydiving free fall, and has an airplane flying game as well. Both feel exactly how one might imagine a Pilotwings Wii playing. Don't get your hopes up for a Wii version of this series.
There's nothing quite like a good snowball fight. This game plays like your classic arcade shooter. Your character hides behind a shield, while a team of Miis hide in the background, preparing to pummel you with snowballs. Standing on the Balance Board, you can lean left or right to peak out either side of your protective shield and fire off snowballs—done with a Duck Hunt style aiming reticule and A button. Be careful though, leaning outside the shielded area leaves you vulnerable to snowball attack.
The goal of Obstacle Course is to learn what it feels like to be Mario. By jogging in place on the Balance Board and fake jumping—jumping without actually lifting your feet off the ground—you navigate through a series of linear courses taken straight out of Mario Galaxy. Pits, moving platforms, and giant cannonballs all aim to block your path. I'd rather leave this kind of work to Mario. I found it tiring.
Tilt City is the most abstract game of the bunch. A series of red, blue, and yellow balls roll out of a tube on the top of the screen and you must tilt two levels of platforms to guide each ball into its appropriately colored warp pipe. The top level of tilting is controlled by holding the Wii Remote in both hands and tilting it. The bottom level is controlled by shifting your weight from left to right. It's a fun minigame, but doesn't fit in well with the others.
Two more games, Rhythm Kung Fu and Rhythm Parade, were also selectable in the demo, but both required the Nunchuk extension, which Nintendo refused to provide on the demo units. Judging by the pictures, both games are a lot like the rhythm stepping and boxing games in Wii Fit. There is also a Skateboarding game, according to screenshots released by Nintendo, but this was not in the demo. This makes me hopeful that there may be more games that we haven't yet seen.
I couldn't get a straight answer if all, or any, of the Balance games in Wii Fit would make the transition to Plus. If Nintendo stops selling the old Wii Fit, these games will be lost. Some, like the Ski Jump, were very fun, so I hope they consider bringing a few over to Plus. (Wii Sports Resort, a spiritual replacement for Wii Sports has updated versions of Golf and Bowling in it.)
If the rest of Plus is as improved as its game selection, and this appears to be the case, the game will finally give me a reason to put new batteries in my Balance Board and bring it back into the living room. Here's to hoping that Wii Fit Plus delivers the long-term addictive game we all hoped we were buying when we got Wii Fit.
Fit Plus aspires to be everything its predecessor is and more. It has every exercise in Wii Fit, along with six new strength and yoga exercises. Those with weight history in Wii Fit will be able to migrate data to the new game. And if you have a dog or cat, you can start weighing it right along with you. (Side note: Nintendo keeps adding pets to games. There is even a Frisbee dog fetch game in Wii Sports Resort.)
Perhaps the most useful addition to Fit Plus are the exercise routines. These weren't featured on the show floor, but I am told that you'll be able to select from pre-made workout routines for the upper, middle, and lower body or create your own string of six exercises and save it for future use. There is also some photographic evidence that the game will help you choose a routine based on your own body goals: some might want to slim down, others might want to build muscle. Plus will also estimate how many calories you've burned during your session, a feature sorely lacking from the original.
I still don't understand why Nintendo didn't have workout routines or calorie burning estimates in Wii Fit. At the time, creator Shigeru Miyamoto said something to the effect of that he didn't want to force players into structured routines, and instead wanted them to use the product how they wished. His words are admirable, but he expected too much out of players. Wii Fit helps you set weight goals for yourself, and offers all the tools you'll need for the trek, but no map to help you get there. Hopefully Plus will offer that map.
Unfortunately, only balance games were available on the show floor. I suppose it would have been boring to watch people doing yoga at E3, but more conducive to my curiosity. Below is a breakdown of all the games on display.
Perfect 10
This game tries to work your mind and your body, kind of a Brain Age for your hips. Four mushrooms, each a different color and number, surround your onscreen character. You have to shove your hips (a pelvic thrust, of sorts) into the mushrooms it takes to add up to 10. When I started, there was a 5, 4, 1, and 6. I chose bump your rump into the 6 and 4, but I could have also chosen the 5, 4, and 1. If you bump the wrong numbers, you can deselect by bumping them again. You're timed, so the faster you can do the mental math and bump them mushrooms, the happier your score will be.
Island Cycling
Island Cycling should actually be called Island Jogging. To steer, you hold the Wii Remote sideways with both hands and move it up and down. To cycle, gently walk in place on the Balance Board. Your path around Woohoo Island (a name Miyamoto affectionately gave to the island during an E3 Q&A session) mimics the one you take during the running game in Wii Fit, with several checkpoints dotting the path. I never quite got the hang of this game, and biked around the island at a sluggish pace. Other attendees seemed to move much faster. I guess it's just not my game.
Segway Circuit
I've never ridden on a real Segway, but now I have virtually ridden on one. I imagine it's pretty much the same, right? Segway Circuit takes place on the beach—a beach full of pesky moles. To steer, hold the Wii Remote in your hands like the cycling game. Gently lean forward or backward to move the Segway and take out beach balloons. It works well, and I got a surprisingly good workout in my calves. They burned, much like they might after a hard day of Segway-ing.
Bird's Eye Bulls-Eye
This was the most popular Plus game on the show floor. Everyone wanted to try it, and everyone had a blast playing it. You play by standing on the Balance Board, a Wii Remote in your left or right hand. Your character is a Mii in a chicken suit, who you must guide onto a string of landing-pad targets, ending on a cruise ship. To get there, you have to flap your wings, quite literally. You lean in the direction you want to fly and flap your arms. It's embarrassing at first, but the fun soon outweighs the social discomfort. Once you land on a target, you get a time bonus. The target then goes dark and you must take off and continue onto the next target.
Fans of the classic Pilotwings series will be happy, as this game plays very similar to the Jet Pack game. Nintendo seems to enjoy ripping Pilotwings apart, as of late. Wii Sports Resort, which also takes place on Woohoo Island, begins with a skydiving free fall, and has an airplane flying game as well. Both feel exactly how one might imagine a Pilotwings Wii playing. Don't get your hopes up for a Wii version of this series.
Snowball Fight
There's nothing quite like a good snowball fight. This game plays like your classic arcade shooter. Your character hides behind a shield, while a team of Miis hide in the background, preparing to pummel you with snowballs. Standing on the Balance Board, you can lean left or right to peak out either side of your protective shield and fire off snowballs—done with a Duck Hunt style aiming reticule and A button. Be careful though, leaning outside the shielded area leaves you vulnerable to snowball attack.
Obstacle Course
The goal of Obstacle Course is to learn what it feels like to be Mario. By jogging in place on the Balance Board and fake jumping—jumping without actually lifting your feet off the ground—you navigate through a series of linear courses taken straight out of Mario Galaxy. Pits, moving platforms, and giant cannonballs all aim to block your path. I'd rather leave this kind of work to Mario. I found it tiring.
Tilt City
Tilt City is the most abstract game of the bunch. A series of red, blue, and yellow balls roll out of a tube on the top of the screen and you must tilt two levels of platforms to guide each ball into its appropriately colored warp pipe. The top level of tilting is controlled by holding the Wii Remote in both hands and tilting it. The bottom level is controlled by shifting your weight from left to right. It's a fun minigame, but doesn't fit in well with the others.
The rest
Two more games, Rhythm Kung Fu and Rhythm Parade, were also selectable in the demo, but both required the Nunchuk extension, which Nintendo refused to provide on the demo units. Judging by the pictures, both games are a lot like the rhythm stepping and boxing games in Wii Fit. There is also a Skateboarding game, according to screenshots released by Nintendo, but this was not in the demo. This makes me hopeful that there may be more games that we haven't yet seen.
I couldn't get a straight answer if all, or any, of the Balance games in Wii Fit would make the transition to Plus. If Nintendo stops selling the old Wii Fit, these games will be lost. Some, like the Ski Jump, were very fun, so I hope they consider bringing a few over to Plus. (Wii Sports Resort, a spiritual replacement for Wii Sports has updated versions of Golf and Bowling in it.)
If the rest of Plus is as improved as its game selection, and this appears to be the case, the game will finally give me a reason to put new batteries in my Balance Board and bring it back into the living room. Here's to hoping that Wii Fit Plus delivers the long-term addictive game we all hoped we were buying when we got Wii Fit.