Wii Fit: First Impressions (Strength Training)

I was very excited about the strength training.
I've never been motivated to do strength training in the past. Perhaps Nintendo could motivate me.

5 activities were initially available. (probably because I unlocked it during yoga)

1. Single-leg extensions
They were easy enough. I didn't feel that much resistance though.

2. Push-ups and side plank
I was impressed with this exercise.
It recognized when I did the movements, which is important.
Also, I could see myself being motivated to do this again.
And I was actually getting into a sweat.

3. Torso Twist
Another simple exercise that doesn't have as much to do with strength as it does with balance.

4. Jackknife
This is a variation on a sit-up.
When I watched the demo, I realized that you can totally cheat on this exercise and it would think you're doing it.
You basically lie beside the balance board and place your feet on it.
To the time of the whistle, you lift your feet and do the sit-up variation.
I did them for real, and obviously I could feel my abs working.
However, if you can't get over the fact that the board has very limited use in this exercise, you'll cheat, or at the very least you won't be motivated to do it again.

5. Lunge
Great exercise.
I felt the burn with this activity.
I could see myself being motivated to do this again.

Conclusions:
You can definitely get a good workout with some of these exercises (pushups, jackknife, and lunges), as long as you can motivate yourself to do it, and NOT cheat.

Next up: Aerobics

Wii Fit: First Impressions (Yoga)

Alright Yoga time! (I guess)

I'm normally pretty open to trying new things, but I was sure that Yoga wouldn't be my favorite part of the game.
However, I've tried yoga with the gf at home once, and I'll admit that it was very relaxing, almost too relaxing... To the point of falling asleep.

When the screen loads, there's only 4 poses to start.
The first exercise, Deep Breathing, is relaxing... But in the back of my head I was thinking that this better not count as one of the 40 activities.

The real highlight of the first 4 activities for me is the tree pose.
The first time I did it, I nearly fell off the board.
Needless to say, the Tree Pose is tough for a yoga noob.

Obviously you can guess that the gf beat me on every yoga activity.

Something to note. Switching out between profiles seems like a chore.

Conclusions:
For guys: You probably won't enjoy the Yoga.
For girls: It's relaxing, and you'll probably kick guys asses at it.

Next up: Strength Training!

Wii Fit: Eventual Review

Being Smarter Than the Average Bear, I realized that some of our friends haven't touched their Nintendo Wii's in a long time. So a phone call l8r and I have a Wii until I get it mine back from repair! Woot!

When the Wii arrives, I'm totally ready... This should only take a minute to start right? Hell no...

I totally didn't realize how long it takes to set up.
First I gotta hook it up.
Then I turn the Wii on.
Then I realize I need to sync the remotes.
I sync the remotes, and the Wii Board.
Then I turn on the Wii, and it tells me I need to do a Wii System Update.

*a few grueling minutes l8r*

Ok it's go time!
I load up Wii Fit.
Omg the Wii System Time is wrong...

*another few minutes l8r*

Aw crap my Mii's aren't on this Wii.
I load it up from the saves from my remote (luckily).

*another few minutes l8r*

After several screens, verifying my birthday, and setting a password (which I realize is pretty pointless), its finally time for the Body Test.

*measuring... measuring... measuring... All done!*

My Wii Age is 37! Boo!
At least I'm in the normal BMI range (though not by much).

In a few hours, the actual review...

Trials and Tribulations of getting Wii Fit

I'm sure there are many people out there that feel really dumb not to pre-order Wii Fit.
Guess what? It's been sold out everywhere and unless you want to bay $50 more on Ebay you weren't going to get one for a while.

I've been checking the stores constantly...

I went to Best Buy a few times (always sold out) and they said that last Friday morning, they had 150 units come in.
Unfortunately they had 300 people line up that morning. So 150 people went home unhappy...
Best Buy says check on Fridays.

I went to Future Shop a few times (always sold out) and they said to come in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. They were all very helpful though, which is nice.

I went to The Source a few times (always sold out) and they have no idea when they get their shipments.
Apparently they only received 2 copies of the game in their last shipment. (very sad)
Also, the sales reps that I spoke too seemed very annoyed (obviously by the amount of times he's been asked the question). Hopefully for the store's sake it was just that sales rep.

Despite the unlikeliness, I went to HMV, hoping it was there. Of course it wasn't, and he said that every shipment that has come in never made it to the shelves cause ppl were there waiting for the copies to come out the door.

I thought about going into the Sony Store and asking if they had Wii Fit... I chuckled and moved on.

I've been to EB Games three times.
The first two times with no success.

But the third time was the charm...
A friend and I walked in, and he asked the obvious question.
No was the reps reply... Grrr...

When are you expecting more asks my friend?
"Well lucky for you a Purolator shipment is scheduled to come in in 90 minutes."

No f 'in way!

I looked at my friend, knowing he had to leave soon, and I said "l8r man I'm sticking around!"
And I was immediately on the phone, calling a friend to head over since he wanted a copy.
Luckily for me I was the only one in the store looking for the game. (I think the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 had something to do with it)

So I stood there... And chatted it up with the rep.
What he didn't know was that I wanted a 2nd copy to give as a gift.
At the same time, my friend might not make it in time.
I had to hedge my bets and try to pick up 3 copies...
He turned out to be a really nice guy.

He told me that he's become desensitized by the amount of times he's heard the same question, every time there's a big release.
I suggested putting up Sold Out signs.
Apparently they've tried that... People will miss the sign completely, or will literally look at the sign, read it, and ask, "So it really IS sold out?"
That probably would piss me off even more. =P
So eventually he allowed me to take two copies.

40 minutes l8r the shipment arrives.
They were expecting 15 copies, but the shipment only had 10.
After being on the phone a final time (in front of the rep), I knew my friend wasn't going to make it in time.
I guess he was feeling awfully generous, but he allowed me to pick up a third copy (using another credit card).

Is it worth all the hype? I dunno yet... I haven't got my Wii back from repair!
But what I do know is that the gf is excited, and I'm all for any games that she wants to play as well.

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Current Fav Games: DDR, Halo 3, Soon to be Wii Fit

Nintendo Wii Pixelation Void

I wish video problems didn't bother me, but this one was too obvious to miss.

I've been playing Mario Kart (as usual), and I noticed some pixelation issues.
I was getting vertical pixels, on every screen, for any game. =/

*ring ring*

(me) Hi I'm getting vertical pixelation issues on every screen.
(me) I suspect that there's something wrong with the video card
(nintendo rep) Alright can I get your Wii serial number pls?

*gives number*

(nintendo rep) Well you no longer have the system on warranty.
(nintendo rep) You can send it in for repair, but it will cost you $75.
(nintendo rep) And it could take 11-15 business days to solve the problem

Doh $75!? 11-15 days?
I decided that the $75 was a better price then buying a new one.
But now that the Wii's gone, I'm finding myself wondering what I'm going to do.

Should I start playing poker again?
Should I start practicing the guitar again?
Should I play more DDR again?
Perhaps I should start looking for Wii Fit again?

Probably a little bit of all of that.

I did some googling and found that 2% of Wii's have this problem, and would eventually degrade over time.

Here's a Youtube link of the problem:


I also suspect that leaving the Wii on standby is a BAD idea.
My gf and I recall that the Wii can get very hot when left in standby.
The fan doesn't seem to turn on when its on standby...
And that's probably why the video card has problems.

WORDS OF WISDOM: Turn your Wii completely off (power light changes to Red) every time you stop playing.
It may prevent video card degradation...

We'll see how much I can accomplish in the next few weeks...
It'll probably be as productive as when I stopped playing Everquest and World of Warcraft.

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Current Fav Games: Temporarily NOT Mario Kart Wii

DDR: How to Demonstrate the Game to Noobs

DDR is old news to most of us...
But there are still people out there that haven't even heard of it.
I'm not surprised, since there's still plenty of people in the world that can't get on the internet if the E (Internet Explorer) icon isn't on the desktop.
But I don't judge... I only want to impart my enjoyment of games to others. =)

So if you have friends over and you want to introduce them to the game. What should you do?
Well its more complicated than it seems.
If you demonstrate the game in the wrong way, then they'll get turned off, frustrated, or think youre having a flailing seizure. Or worse:

So here's my patented way of weening people into the game.

Pre-Game
Make sure you're wearing outer and undergarments that will keep all your "goods" in place.
You wouldn't want your flabbage to be the cause of turning them off from the game.

Rule #1: Dont show them the most difficult level you can do...
Yes you've just passed Maxx Unlimited on heavy after a million tries.
But have you ever watched yourself look like a tard while doing it?
It should be obvious that when you're pushing yourself you usually have less body control.

I've made this mistake to a friend, who has said to this day that it was the most unattractive sight he's ever seen of me...
The first (and only) song I've shown him was Rhythm and Police (9 Foot Heavy).
I was ready... I stretched a little... I focused in...
The song starts, and I was going through the motions, kicking ass.
Finished with an A rank I believe.
Then I turn to him and he has a furrowed brow, and he's obviously thinking that I'm a freak.
That's when I realized that I single-handedly turned him off from the game in one fell swoop...

Rule #2: Pick a song that they're somewhat familiar with
I.E. don't pick RevenG Bag as the first song to show them...
Your goal is for their brain receptors to connect DDR with enjoyment.
So do yourself a favor and pick one of the popular songs that you have actually heard on the radio.
Some good suggestions are Sandstorm, Busy Child, I Like to Move it or Days Go By.

Rule #3: Try your best to make it look like youre dancing
The game IS called Dance Dance Revolution, so you may as well attempt to dance.
It's much easier if you pick the light or standard version of the song you've chosen.
Then embellish a little, bop your head, move your hands a little, don't be stiff.
If there isn't a step for a four count, you can move your foot back to the middle, cause it looks smoother

Rule #4: Have Fun
This time around, don't try to get a good cardio workout
Just enjoy the songs, and that should come across with the person you're demonstrating it to.

Good luck!
And in the words of Body Break with Hal Johnson and Joanne McCloud: Keep Fit and Have Fun!

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Current Fav Games: Mario Kart Wii, DDR, Halo 3

Addicted to Mario Kart Wii

I've been playing Mario Kart Wii constantly for the past few weeks.
It has totally cut into my other gaming time.

I stopped playing Super Smash Brothers immediately after getting the game.
I haven't played guitar since I got the game.
I haven't been playing online poker.
I haven't been playing DDR (and am feeling much fatter)

Am I addicted to Mario Kart? Definitely.

How do I know?
Other than actual playing time, I've won every cup in the game... TWICE!
Going through the game the first time makes sense... I wanted to unlock everything.
So I did... Including unlocking Rosalina without having a Mario Galaxy save on my system. (it's possible)

Then some people come over while I'm away, play using my save (cause it has everything), lose some points in my online score (sucks), and try using a remote and nunchuck to play. (suckier)

I've always taken pride in the fact that my wheel percentage was at 100%...
I love rocking people online even though they're using a controller. (a happy 7263 rating)
Why would I wanna "cheat" by using a controller when most of the appeal of the wii installment comes from the fact that you can "drive" your vehicles now?
At least that's my philosophy...

So when I checked my stats and saw wheel percentage down to 94%, I felt like my save was tainted. =P

So being the addicted gamer I am, I decided to leave that saved game for guests, and start over with my own save...

Hopefully I'll see you online (and beat you while youre using a controller)... >)

6849 VR rating and rising

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Current Fav Games: Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart Wii, and Halo 3 on weekends