![Wii Active Life Outdoor Challenge [Game only]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71WvnuJK0kL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Wii Active Life Outdoor Challenge [Game only]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71WvnuJK0kL._AC_SS450_.jpg)
I try to make all my Wii game purchases ones that combine fitness with the wii game system and have wondered why they didn't yet have a major calorie scorcher with a game that was all about fun...
First let me say I wear a Bodybugg which accurately measures daily caloric burn...even down to seconds that I can see displayed on a wrist unit...I only mention this so you know I base my review not on perceived exertion but on true measured caloric burn.
And, for those who don't care to lose any weight (how I envy you!) I will also address the game aspect...bear with me...
There have been active games (Golds Gym Cardio, Sports Active) that burned good calories but got redundant.
There have been games (Sports Resort, for example) that weren't meant to be fitness games but were very active and fun but, well could still stand room for improvement on both active fun and caloric burn in spite of them being great games...
There were fitness games that burned few calories (Wii Fit was great for balance but expert reviews and my own measurement showed low caloric burn, for example)
enter Active Life Extreme Challenge. Finally...Fun. Very fun. And active. VERY active. And original!
While I enjoyed the first Active Life, they have kicked it up a notch in very unique games and a whole lotta sweat equity goin' on in order to do them.
FUN: Okay, forget calorie burn. We want fun in a game afterall, don't we? That's why they call it a game...bottom line, that's what everyone wants..Because the games they chose were so unique, you get something very original. And because they take these unique games to challenges that involve tricks and jumps and really thinking about game play, it's addictive. So many of the other active games I've bought contain repeats I have on other games...tennis...basketball..., shooting at something, jumping over something...yadayadayada...this packs a punch in originality with fun and heartpumping anyone in the family can play such as BMX biking, street luge, rock climbing, skate boarding, wake boarding, kite surfing, inline skating, acrobatic double dutch...
and the games ARE FUN. BIG FUN. Even if you don't care about activity and only buy it to challenge yourself and have fun...fear not...YOU WILL. We got the game several days ago and have worn ourselves out playing on into the night and sweating like crazy doing it but not caring...the games really take you in and challenge you and you don't even realize you are jumping around like crazy and getting your heart pumping like mad doing it. You just can't stop playing and laughing!
CALORIC BURN: Major. Like a workout dvd. I burned the same amount in the same amount of time as my aerobics class. But way better, I burned more because I didn't want to stop playing the games and time flew by...I wasn't thinking about making myself burn calories, I was having fun and the caloric burn was simply secondary. There is a reason, for example, that "Rocky" was seen getting in shape by jump roaping. The acrobatic double dutch will kick your heart rate into premium health and fat blasting at warp speed. But that's also one of my favorite games on here...especially getting into the fancy footwork once you get good at it.
LEVELS: There are four levels, from beginner to expert. You'll challenge yourself without boredom and this also allows anyone in your family to participate. But what you do in the games also changes as you get better at it. So, though there are less games than the first Active Life, they are enough fun and add enough challenges that the limit actually seems to make me want to play them more...I gain skill in each one and get greater challenges. So while the less choices of games may bother some if compared to the first Active Life, I personally like these better and they get me moving far more...
GRAPHICS: The Mii characters are cartoony-realistic. Think "Speed Racer" type renderings. The backgraounds are vivid and detailed and colorful and add visual "umph" to whatever you are playing, as does the interaction with the crowd and cheering when you do well. There is a lot to look at in addition to what you are doing in the game and I personally like that...it keeps it interesting for m. They left out no details here...When, for example, you do your kite surfing, you'll do so over the Pacific Ocean...then travel to the Grand Canyon for other gaming fun...you'll find yourself on a city street for your skate boarding tricks complete with storefronts, cars driving in the background, crowds gathering and milling about...nice! The detail transcends into what your character on the screen says as you play as well. When I nearly killed my street luger, she was yelling "nooooo!!!" which was rather amusing. She also said "drats!" or "darn" or something when I did poorly in rock climbing once she reached the top. And I made her scream in terror a few times. Nice touch to realism.
HOW IT WORKS:
BMX biking: here your feet are on the mat and you use the wii remotes. I chose the version where you run in place in order to accelerate the bike. You'll have fun and glow with sweat doing this one! It's a good mental challenge as well thinking about all you need to do with the remote (handlebar) and lower body so you get really into it. The graphics of your biking tour keep things interesting and fun as well. You'll do some jumps too.
Skate boarding, wake boarding, kite surfing: lots of jumping here which increases your heart rate some, but it's just dang entertaining even if it didn't hold that aspect because you must concentrate not just on jumping, but performing tricks to score. Again, this mental aspect brings in the fun and conentration. It took me a spell to master doing some of these tricks correctly to score well.
Rock climbing: You'll kneel on the mat and twist left and ride to use your hands...this actually is a good core strength and toning move as well as a nice break from some of the other heart pumping games on here! You have to get the rhythm down and you'll really work the upper body and have fun trying not to fall off the cliff and grab the rocks with both hands if you almost do.
Acrobatic jumping rope: you time your jumps and crack up remembering this old school version of entertainment...but this time you don't get tangled in any ropes if you do mess up and you'll fall without pain, unlike what used to happen back on the blacktop behind your school at recess. Once you get good at making it past fast ropes and slow you start warp speed tricks and they are fun.
You'll also sit on the mat and raceboard down the streets, directing your board with your hands aka "street luge". This is where my mii began screaming "nooooo!" as I accidentally steered her too close to the wall. She never crashed though.
Bottom line, this is my new favorite Wii game to come home to and burn off everything I ate that day! It takes gameplay into active calorie scorching so it is sure to please anyone in the house...BUT...that said...there are some things I would change:
NEGATIVES: All my negatives have to do with the mat. I really wish they could master a way of putting gloves on your feet and hands or something to find your moves but free you from the chains of mat play. I didn't like it on the first Active Life and I still don't. First, you have to concentrate on foot placement as much as you do about what you are doing during the game. Missteps cost you and they WILL happen, especially in such active games. I also thought for sure they'd make this mat bigger after so much bumping into your team players in the first game but it's the same...you simply can't put two adults on this mat to play the game together as commercials might have you believe...two size 5 females will still look like they are roller derby chicks knocking each other about trying to play on such a tight "playing field"...just don't even go there. Unless that is part of the fun to ya, I guess...
Plus, since we play many other Wii games, there is the storage issue of the mat, and having to take it out and put it away for this one.
And don't even get me started about what happens if a cat or dog enters the room and walks across the mat, or what happens since you can also use it for controls so you may wind up starting or stopping something you didn't mean to if you step wrong.
And, a minor detail: I preordered this game before it's release and there wasn't an option, at that time, to buy the game without the mat on Amazon...I thought it may be an improved mat so I bought the full system. Now that it's released, there is also the cheaper version without the mat if you already own it from the first version. Since there really is no change, no need to buy the mat+game package if you do have a mat. So now I have 2 mats...
CONCLUSION: In spite of my "not loving" the mat aspect of the game, it's originality, big dose of fun, and huge score on the activity meter make this a new family fave. And I will admit it's a nice change to set the wii remote and nunchuck down sometimes and simply do footwork, even if I gotta land on the mat just right.
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