We, Fit: Six Video Games for a Firmer You
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There are two ways video gaming could go in the coming millennium. One is a grim technological future where thrill seekers enter sensory deprivation cocoons and lie sedentary for days while games like Life Sentence, and Prolonged Coma play out in their minds.
The other is a bright, dynamic utopia where Mario and Luigi’s Super Ab-Shredding Workout and Wii Indoor Marathon are popular titles, and video games are part of our daily exercise regimens.
The healthy direction seems like the trend of the future, based on upcoming game releases from companies like Nintendo and Sony.
“But I already play a lot of Rock Band,†you think, “and I still run a 23-minute mile. Can games really make people healthier? Really?â€Â Well, look, hitting a virtual ping-pong ball is never going to turn you into an Olympic decathlete, but burning a few calories is better than burning no calories, right?
And games can help achieve specific exercise goals, from bulging biceps to all-around better muscle tone. Here are a few innovative selections that can do more than just strengthen your thumbs.
If you want: Better core fitness
Play: Nintendo Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver with Pokéwalker
This one’s at the top of the list because it’s one of the more inventive ways to promote exercise we’ve seen, especially among kids. In the newest iteration of the Pokeman franchise, players are encouraged to train and nurture their tiny, wide-eyed creature-characters by taking them for a walk—literally. Like, outdoors.
It works like this: the game comes with a special pedometer that allows you to upload your character to it, then tracks how far you walk it. The farther you go, the more credits you earn with the game when you download the character back in, which lets you unlock secrets you otherwise normally wouldn’t have access to. Creative, right?
If you want: Sweet lower-body muscle tone
Play: Dance Dance Revolution
Cankles got you down? Wish Sir-Mix-a-Lot wasn’t such a big fan? Get yourself some DDR and feel the burn as you step and step your way through songs like “Trip Machine†and “Dynamite Rave.†Widely known as a game that causes you to rain sweat like a tropical monsoon, by its very nature DDR works the legs, lungs and heart.
At their most frenzied, DDR fanatics look like Riverdancers on amphetamines, but the game has also been embraced (even by schools) as a good way to get kids off the couch. Small, compact, and frenetic, it’s a good choice for people with a lot of rhythm, but not a lot of space.
If you want: A better heart
Play: Wii Fit
The market leader in the business of fitness, Wii Fit doesn’t pretend to do much else other than help get you in shape. In Wii Fit, players guide bobble-headed avatars through a series of exercise games in four categories: aerobics, strength training, yoga and balance.
You can run, play soccer, adopt the downward dog pose for an hour … there’s a slew of options in the game. But Fit is also an extension of a long list of Wii games designed to make you healthy as a cheetah crossed with a thoroughbred. Skateboarding, cheerleading, pilates—really, Wii possibilities are so extensive that with enough time and money, you could become the next Richard Simmons. But with better hair.
If you want: Bonecrushing delts and bulging triceps
Play: Motion Fighter
We’re a bit ahead of the game here, because we’re talking about a title for the upcoming PlayStation Move, Sony’s answer to the Wii, which kicks off with a game where you beat the tar out of a bunch of thugs with your bare fists. Boxing, trainers will tell you, works both the shoulders and the triceps, and your goal in this game is to ram your knuckles as hard as you can into various fighters’ ribs and cheekbones. Just listen to the guy breathe in this demo video.
On the Move, you use a pair of controllers that look like stereo remotes with a scoop of radioactive ice cream on top to do the fighting, as well as the dragon-slaying, ping-pong playing and archery that you can also do on the Wii. It’s a lot of movement, movement, movement, and expect a number of titles to take advantage of that mobility—including the best-title-ever game, Gladiator Duel.
If you want: Armstrong-like quads
Play: Cycling Sports
Again, we’re a bit ahead here, but this one bears mention because of its obvious health potential—it’s literally a stationary bike that you have to pedal to progress through the game. It’s the Wii CyberBike, and it technically isn’t actually available yet.
Apparently slated for release … well, now, it’s unclear whether or where you’ll actually be able to buy one (although it does exist, at least: here’s proof). But now you’ve got it on your radar.
If you want: Squeaky clean arteries
Play: What’s Cooking with Jamie Oliver
All right, it’s not going to win any awards for exciting game play or versatility but … at least they tried? This is a game for the hand-held Nintendo DS. Even its sizzle trailer looks decidedly low-tech, but this offering from the British healthy-eating enthusiast at least has its heart in the right place.
On WCWJO, you can try Oliver’s recipes, have a cook off, and listen to a lot of canned phrases in an English accent (plus, why’s he coughing at 1:01 on this video?), but not much more. Tell yourself it’s the thought that counts.
If you want: A heart condition and 20 extra pounds
Play: The Elder Scrolls
Generally considered one of the longer games to beat, in terms of health, you’d be better off eating this game than playing it. A single-player role-playing title with long, ambiguous story lines, its Oblivion and Morrowind iterations can keep people playing for dozens, even hundreds of hours before it’s complete.
Granted, it doesn’t seem to have the ability to kill you, as the online massive multi-player games like Starcraft and World of Warcraft do, but still. Probably best to stick to one of the healthier options above.
Original article from TakePart
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