Wii Fit Plus review
Wii Fit has been one of the few original and innovative games on the Wii, something new and refreshing in the hail of never ending Mario games. The Wii Fit training game, coupled with the Wii balance Board, has sold in excess of 20 million units worldwide, so it’s no surprise that Nintendo is looking to offer a bit more on that side. Enter Wii Fit Plus, which retails for only $20 if you already own Wii Fit with a Balance Board, but if you don’t, the whole package will cost you $100, which is $10 more than the original Wii Fit.
Wii Fit Plus isn’t really a sequel — it’s sold separately without the Balance Board for those that already own it — it’s actually an expansion pack which includes the original games and workouts, and even transfers your data from the old game. This is pretty slick, meaning that you won’t have to swap the new and old Wii Fit disc. Wii Fit Plus features 15 new work out mini games and six strength training and Yoga workouts, and this time, you can mix and match your workouts as you see fit.
If you’re familiar with Wii Fit, you’ll feel right at home, the same slick, colorful user interface is present in Plus, and the “gameplay” is virtually the same, meaning it also includes some of the few drawbacks that the original had, most noticeably, sluggish response from the Balance Board. But this doesn’t happen too often, it it won’t affect your game too much. Multiplayer wise, there’s the same offline, turn based multiplayer where you compete on who can do the exercise the fastest way or get the best score. However, there is no online multiplayer, which again, is disappointing from Nintendo. Someone needs to go to Kyoto and check if those guys know about this thing called “The Internet”. Wii Fit with online multiplayer and leaderboards would make the game so much better, but again, as noted, Nintendo disappoints on that level.
The 15 new balance games and six new exercises are very well put together and will make sure you end up using your entire body after going through them. From Kung-Fu, where you have to sync your movements to a group of fighters on the screen, to Skateboarding, where you turn the Balance Board sideways and steer a skateboarder through an arena. But the best mini game by far is Golf, which not only uses the Balance Board, but also the Wiimote, and gives some of the most accurate golfing experiences ever — you’ll definitely improve your swing here.
Wii Fit Plus will satisfy fans of Wii Fit, with the new mini games and exercises will bring enough to do for a while, and the expanded abilities to manage and plan your workouts are quite detailed and pretty deep for a “casual” game. However, there is still no online multiplayer, which is a shame.
The Good:
Plenty of new games
Cheap
More depth than before
Includes the original Wii Fit games
The Bad:
Balance Board can get sluggish
No online multiplayer or leaderboards
Overall score: 8/10