And so it seems the overwhelming urge to amplify my opinion has outweighed the turmoil of depressive realization that nothing I say ever really matters…

This blog has been, for the most part, inactive for a while. The initial cease of posts came about when humbled by the genius of a podcast called Radio Lab. A friend strongly recommended I check it out, and I urge all to do the same. This interrupt- the time I took listening to all the back-episodes of the show, impacted a number of my habits: gaming, podcasts, reading. I actually quit World of Warcraft and went without gaming for several weeks (I did manage to check out Assassin’s Creed on PC in DX 10 and SSB Brawl for Wii somewhere in there).

That all said, during my hiatus I DID manage to gain a good amount of weight, and start drinking some very nice beer (blog to come); then by chance today, I picked up a shiny new object called the Wii Fit.

I showed up to a Best Buy in northern New Jersey twenty minutes before the store opened, six people were ahead of me in line. By the time they opened the doors, there were probably an additional fifteen or twenty people lined up behind me all waiting for the Fit.

I suppose the hype in recent days was actually a worthy means to generate buzz- everyone in line stood amused by the stupid irony of our sheep-like behavior. There were only 30 or so units in stock, so it undoubtedly sold out within minutes. Funny how my casual decision to ‘pick up a Wii Fit’ suddenly became a badge of honor- I was proud as ever to get my hands on one of these bad boys.

I brought it home, opened it up and was happy to see there was no assembly required- just four AA batteries (included) to slap in the balance board. I skipped the instrux and popped in the disk. The in-game tutorial is kind of slow and boring, but does go through a few necessary instructions and a body test (BMI, weight, balance).

I was using the Wii Fit on a relatively thick carpet and found that my registered weight was about 10 lbs under my actual weight. Unfortunately I couldn’t change it without starting over completely, so I moved the balance board and tried the body test over again. This time I came within five pounds or so of my actual weight (better, not great). I think the two differing weigh-ins on the same day may impact my game-tracked progress, but I’ll get over it. Additionally I forgot to add the foot extensions to the bottom of the board, so I’m not entirely sure how that would have impacted the weigh-in.

The weigh-in went well. I learned I am not “obese” on Nintendo’s terms, but I am substantially overweight. Sweet. At some point the game tells me I am weak and my balance is horrible, suggesting I must trip over myself often. I glance over at the box: “Rated E,” in small print underneath that, “comic mischief.” Indeed.

How were the graphics, you ask? meh… Comparable to Wii Sports probably, certainly no better than (and not as good as) some Gamecube titles. But then again, based on the crowd gathered outside Best Buy this morning- young, old, fat, and weird - we’re not in it for the graphics. We’re in it to trick ourselves into exercising.

Well, “not so fast!” said my bulbous beer gut and easily exhausted respiratory system. Now, I obviously missed the memo, but more than half the Wii Fit experience is comprised of traditional calisthenics: yoga, push-ups, sit-ups, and jogging to name the fun parts. It’s like having your high school gym class with you in your living room (sans your peers pointing and laughing). And then it sets in… I paid $90 to do some push-ups. Shit.

You have the choice of two trainers - male or female. You can begin with any of the available exercises under four categories - Yoga, strength training, aerobics or balance. Yoga, aerobics and strength exercises make up the traditional work out routine, while the balance training is made up of the ‘games’ they show you on the commercials - heading soccer balls, downhill slalom, ski jump, hula hooping, etc. Wii Fit tracks weight loss, BMI, and time spent working out against a goal which you set for yourself - all on a convenient and humiliating, easy-to-read line graph. As you try different activities, you are given a “score” and a rating (1-4 stars); you also unlock additional exercises and games every so often.

Rarely is a man more humbled than when he is told by an animated 3D female avatar, “You are too weak to perform this activity.” No, this was not part of the ‘comic mischief.’ But hey, it has been a long time since my last work out - and I am confident I’ll be a long-haired, granola-eating, yoga hippie master in no time.

The exercises focus on slow movement and prolonged, concentrated activity to specific muscle groups. While some of the motions are relatively simple, holding some of the positions (even standing on one foot) for extended periods of time on the balance board can get tricky. My feet hang a bit off the edges of the board, making all of this all the more difficult and amusing.

First impression: a decent (albeit simple) workout, will get tougher and more intense over time. I will feel sore in the morning, but will most certainly continue with the program. The balance mini games are fun though not nearly as beneficial or substantial as the strength and yoga training. This is a title that needs to be evaluated over a longer period of time in order to explore all of the features. The program reminds you that you should do some activities every day- which is a tall order for any game, never mind one that makes you exercise. In fact, Wii Fit isn’t really a game at all, it’s a work out program. I’m interested to see if Nintendo is putting a good amount of faith in daily ‘replay’ value here, or if I’m going to count on my own motivation to fire it up every day. Truthfully I enjoyed today’s experience enough that I am looking forward to tomorrow’s. For me, right now - that’s all good.