Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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338 of 344 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Cardio workout!, September 10, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I am an owner of a Wii Fit, so I wanted to try another interactive game that moved my whole body. This game is just as great as the Wii Fit. Here are a couple of pros and cons of Namco's Active Life Outdoor Challenge:
Pro:
Will move your entire body - if you looking for a cardio workout. There are a lot of games that you can play by yourself, against someone or as a team. You can use your Mii; and the game will collect fitness data that you can gage your fitness over time.
Con:
My kids kept jumping off the mat and off the small squares and triangles. They are not looking down at the mat, but up at the television. So you have to make sure your eyes and feet are coordinated enough for you to watch the screen and ensure your feet are in the right place on the mat.
The mat itself is like the Wii Remote so while was reading the instructions my daughter was using the mat to move the instructions before I could finish reading them. I thought I was going crazy because I wasn't using the actual Wii Remote to move to the next screen. (This will eventually become a pro when you really get the hang of it)
My daughters and I played for about 90 minutes and we were all sweaty and tired by the time we said ENOUGH! Between this game and Wii Fit I don't see how anyone could not get a good cardio and strength training fitness regime.
I am anxious to see how Namco will franchise this "interactive mat" into more physically challenging games...i.e. an Active Life series.
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179 of 182 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great exercise!, September 12, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not a kid. In fact I'm almost 60 and I bought the game for myself after getting Wii Fit a couple weeks ago and really enjoying the games that are included with that.
I LOVE this game (or series of small games) If you want a good workout and you're a kid at heart, you're going to love Outdoor Challenge. I've only played it by myself so far but I can tell you that it works every part of your body. I was dripping with sweat after 10 minutes. Some of the games you do standing, or I should say running in place and jumping over logs or jumping on a trampoline over water or jumping rope. There's a Mine Cart game where you're leaning to the side and lifting one foot while pumping both hands up and down to propel the cart at ever faster speeds. Or sitting on the mat and rowing with the "paddle" (wiimote) trying to get to the goal as fast as you can.
Like the Wii Fit games, it keeps track of your scores and the scores of others that play so you are constantly trying to beat your best scores and get top scores in the games.
This game is too much fun to waste on kids. Get it for yourself! It'll make you laugh out loud!
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138 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Workout!, September 20, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm in my 40s, been working out for many years and I'm a big fan of Dance Dance Revolution which stripped 50 pounds off me. I don't have Wii Fit, but this is the first game I've tried for the Wii that really gives DDR a run for its money.
At the beginning, go to Free Play mode first as it lets you practice all the minigames on their easiest levels. Once you get the hang of them, go to the courses on Outdoor Adventure mode that will unlock higher levels as you pass them.
The third mode, Exercise Training, has a variety of courses that range from about 5-10 minutes long. You can't fail the games on these courses; just keep playing as well as you can for the allotted time. One of the courses, 10 Minute Marathon, simply has you walking or running for 10 minutes. You can use this course for interval training; for instance, run for 10 seconds and walk for 20 seconds (or the other way around!) for 20 rounds. The Outdoor Adventure mode also allows you to design your own courses, although it seems you can only save one course at a time.
You get "Activity Points" for completing the exercise courses, which are put on a daily graph along with a Brain Age-like stamp. Unfortunately there is no calorie counter in this game (unlike DDR for PS2) and it doesn't record exact dates you worked out, just "2 days ago", etc. It also doesn't record your weight, but maybe that makes this more suitable for children than Wii Fit.
I'd like to add that this game is VERY beginner-friendly, especially compared to another Namco exergame for Wii, We Cheer (another excellent game, but with a huge leap in difficulty level). Active Life can be played by anyone - young or old, from sedentary overweight folks to athletes. On Free Play, there are scrolling instructions for each game that you can easily skip past, and Easy mode even has on-screen prompts. Exercise mode allows you to go at your own pace, even if you have to just walk through or keep taking breaks. On the other end of the spectrum, the most advanced courses are super-tough; I still haven't passed them! This is one game you won't "outgrow".
My favorite games are the mine cart (a real core/balance challenge), mountain boarding, pipe slider, speed skating and the most DDR-like game, whack-a-mole. The mat slides around a bit (putting it on a sticky yoga mat helped) and is probably too narrow for two "plus-sized" adults to play at once, but it responds very well. I would love to see future Active Life games add more enhancements to Exercise mode (like keeping track of scores, dates and calories burned) and add more types of games like perhaps a music/rhythm game and games that use lateral and forward/back jumping.
But overall, this is an awesome first entry for what I hope will be a long and successful series!
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