A Review of Gold's Gym Cardio Workout for Nintendo Wii
Practice Makes Perfect
After releasing, My Fitness Coach earlier this year, Ubisoft has upped the ante with Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout. While both games aspire to get you moving, Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout is much more enjoyable for the reluctant exerciser. Instead of constantly being bombarded with fitness and healthy lifestyle tips, you’ll be busy throwing punches to some fairly catchy tunes. You may even forget you’re burning calories on this Wii fit plan for getting in shape.
In Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout, the shape boxing lessons are broken into basic, beginning, intermediate, and advanced sections which can be done either using two Wii remotes or one Wii remote and the nunchuck controller. If you have two Wii remotes, this will probably be the easiest method for playing. Either way, however, getting the hang of the timing and terminology used during the training sessions takes a bit of practice. Don’t get discouraged if you find yourself missing quite a few punches and taking some serious hits during your initial workouts.
After each workout, you’ll get to view your punch accuracy and your “physical age” score to get a sense of how well you’re doing. In addition to the prepared workouts, you can also challenge yourself by taking a boxing examination. If you’re just in the mood to have fun, check out the different exercise games that focus on concepts such as mitt work and dodging punches.
Customization Options
One of the advantages of working out with a video game as opposed to a traditional workout DVD is the opportunity for customization. When you begin the game, you’re asked to create a profile and choose whether you’d like to work with a male or a female trainer. You can design a character to represent you in the game, similar to a Mii. As you progress through the game, you can earn “gold” to buy additional clothing and accessories for your character. If you’re looking for Wii family games, keep in mind this title allows for eight different profiles to make it fun for exercisers of all ages and skill levels.
Balance Board Compatibility
Like many other fitness games on the market, Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout is advertised as having balance board compatibility. Don’t worry about needing to have purchased the Wii Fit to enjoy this game, however. Only a small portion of the activities you can unlock actually use the balance board and they aren’t among the game’s stronger points. In fact, if you’re on a tight budget, the average retail price of $30 or less makes Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout a much better bargain than the $80 Wii Fit.
