Walk It Out

Developer: Hudson Soft

Publisher: Konami

Release Date: Jan. 12, 2010

System: Wii

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Web site

In a nutshell: Walk it out of your list of desired games.

0:00 I will admit, there was a bit of morbid curiosity involved in requesting a review copy of this game from Konami. That and the title reminds me of Entourage. Walk it out, Bitch!

0:01 On the preview screen, a perky, heavily accented voice chirps: "Come on over. Welcome ot the de-mining." I'm pretty sure I'm mis-hearing this, but I've listened to it 6 times now and that's the best I've got. My wife is equally stumped. Who knew this game would be so confusing even before the title screen?

0:02 "Hey, I'm Liz and I'm a personal trainer," says an impossibly fit woman talking in front of quick cut scenes from the game. "It's time to walk it out and get fit to over 100 of your favorite songs. ... That's right, I'm talking to you, Dad." A bewildered looking father gets extremely excited about walking in place."Looking good. Come on kids. Great work, keep it up. ... So, if you aren't breaking a sweat just yet, you will be." Um, I already have the game... do I really need to watch an ad for it? Maybe this was designed to attract people watching an in-store kiosk, but I have to wonder... what store is lame enough to put Walk It Out! in a kiosk?

0:03 I choose the Single Player mode because I'm relatively sure I have no friends who would be willing to walk in place with me.

0:04 "Hi there, my name is Nancy," says a cartoon girl with a headset mic. "I'm here to help you with the game so you can get walking." What happened to Liz? "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you about boyfriends or girlfriends or anything like that, honest!" Um, I wasn't worried. Also, I will freely admit that I am married.

0:05 Now I get to customize my avatar. A Type is "more masculine" while B Type is "more feminine" Why not just let me choose a gender, like every other game? Maybe I only get to be a masculine guy or a feminine guy... is that it?

***-->CONTINUE READING AT<--***

***-->JOYSTICK DIVISION<--***

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Wii Fit

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: May 21, 2008
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: That game with the fancy scale.

0:00 I played an early build of the game at E3 '07, and have tried it a few times since, but this will be my first full hour with the game.

0:01 Prepared to start: all decked out in a t-shirt, gym shorts and the super-cute promotional Wii Fit socks sent by Nintendo. Got a cup of cold water handy, too.

0:02 This minute spent synching the Balance Board with the Wii, a relatively painless process.

0:03 An anthropomorphic Balance Board pops up on screen and tells me, "Hello, and welcome to Wii Fit." I pick out my Mii from the list and he drops in from the sky with white pants and a green shirt that says "Wii" on it. The balance board lectures me about how the world's posture is going to hell in a handbasket. He sounds like a cranky old man. My Mii listens and nods intently. I can't say I do the same.

0:04 I enter my height and date of birth. The Wii says "Great" in a cute robotic voice as I make my selections.

0:05 "Starting up ... step on" in the same robotic voice. "Ready!" The game asks how heavy my clothes are. That's a bit of a personal question for so early in our relationship, don't you think?

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer