Move Fitness PS3 Review

Publisher – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe – Developer – ColdWood Interactive – Genre – Fitness – Players – 1-4 – Age Rating – 3+ – Other console/handheld formats – N/A

Thanks largely to Wii Fit, the fitness gaming genre is in full swing. We’ve had the Balance Board that came with Wii Fit to exercise with, and since then Kinect and Move have been released, which are both great peripherals to lose some weight with. Move Fitness makes use of the latter, in which you’ll be working up a sweat using two motion controllers.

Yes, that’s right you’ll need the PlayStation Eye and two Moves in order to interact with Move Fitness, so if you only have the one Move, it’s time to purchase an extra one to get both your arms swinging, rising, punching and whatnot. Obviously, the real benefits of exercise comes from moving your entire body, so the fact that the game can read both of your arms is a good sign of the sort of benefits that may come your way from such a workout

Firstly, you choose a virtual trainer who will guide you through each exercise and constantly remind you to remember to take a break, and then you can play single exercises or try out a workout program. The latter can be focussed on certain areas of your body, perhaps the section that you’ve been meaning to tone up for quite awhile, and you’ll also be able to set the time (everything from 7 to 25 minutes) that you wish to exercise for. For those that want to, it’s also possible to create your very own custom program.

Move Fitness does require quite a large and uninterrupted playing space to get the best out of the game and all of its exercises, but if you have it or can create the space, well the controls and tracking are very impressive. Yes, it’s possible to cheat and not really move much during some of the exercises, although don’t expect to lose much weight if you are regularly going to be doing this. Do it properly, and working out with a Move controller in each hand is definitely enough to work up a sweat, and the exercises are a lot of fun.

There are 28 exercises in all, which doesn’t really sound a lot, although effort has been made to make them feel varied. There’s heavy bag training, cross boxing, dodgeball, basketball, stretch exercises, and much more. Many of the exercises feel as if they’re actually doing their job and burning some calories, so in this way the game is a real success. An exercise tool that loses you some weight is always something to be pleased about when you step onto the bathroom scales.

True, Move Fitness does feel as if it is lacking in options, although the budget price (around £20, although shop around and you can get it for a lot cheaper) makes this all the more easy to stomach. The game does keep track of the amount of calories you have apparently managed to burn, there’s local multiplayer, and there are also previous scores to beat and goals to meet, which all should be enough to keep you playing. Look at it this way and you’ll realise that Move Fitness is a cheap and manner in which to lose some of your excess weight with.

8/10