List of active games has been added

Since Walk It Out appears to be the last exergame to be released for a little while, and lots of folks who got Wiis for holiday gifts are asking around for games that help burn off the holiday feasts, I added a page (look up over the header) that lists all the active and fitness-related home console games I know of.

I haven’t tried all the games (I wish!) but I’ve written about many of them on this blog, and if I hear of any new ones, I’ll add them to the list.  (Right after I posted, I realized I’d completely left out the Eye Toy series.  Shows how good my Eye Toy experience was…)

Exergames have certainly exploded in the ten years since DDR arrived on the scene and gamers started wondering why their extra flab was disappearing.  It’s now in a genre of its own, and there should be something on that list to get practically anyone moving and grinning.

Hits and misses in newest exergame crop

The last console exergame “harvest” of the year came out in the past couple of weeks, with EA Sports Active: More Workouts, Tony Hawk Ride, Just Dance, and Your Shape. Out of those, More Workouts is getting the most praise, with eight 5-star reviews at Amazon and even several glowing reviews from the tough crowd in the gaming press.  Just Dance, a shake-your-Wiimotes dance game, got a couple of favorable reviews on Amazon as well, although the professional gamers have yet to notice it.

Tony Hawk Ride, with its skateboard controller, was the only game to have Xbox 360 and PS3 versions in addition to Wii.  The Wii and PS3 versions got some poor reviews, but interestingly enough, several Amazon reviewers liked the 360 game very much.  Maybe some Xbox owners are starting to have an appetite for casual and fitness games.

Your Shape, the Wii fitness game featuring a camera peripheral, is not faring so well at Amazon.  A couple of buyers say it is just like My Fitness Coach, also made by Ubisoft, but with a camera tacked on.  They’re saying that if you already have My Fitness Coach (which got very good reviews) don’t bother with Your Shape.

Lastly, the ultimate challenge is finding a review of Ultimate Party Challenge, the DDR-mat Wii game that’s been out for nearly a month now.  Does it actually exist?  What if they gave a party and no one came?  Doesn’t anyone want to risk $30, or is everyone really waiting on reviews now?

Be a Skateboard Hero

Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has had his name attached to video games for some time, but his latest license Tony Hawk Ride is a little different. It bypasses the Wii balance board for a controller all its own – a skateboard-shaped one. In lieu of wheels, it has a curved bottom so you can rock and pivot it with your feet to simulate various tricks, and propel your screen self (or your Mii on a Wii) by kicking your foot past a sensor on the side of the board.

Nintendo Channel on the Wii has this short tutorial video showing off the Rideboard’s tricks:

It remains to be seen how well this controller works, or how many calories it burns.  But since Tony Hawk Ride will be released on all three current consoles on Nov. 17, Xbox360 and PS3 owners will finally get a taste of the balance-board exergaming that has helped make the Wii such a sensation.