After my experience with the Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum Wii game, I was a little afraid to try out Daisy Fuentes Pilates.
I'm not a pilates expert by any means, but I've done a bit over the last few months, and find it much more enjoyable than yoga (other than Weight Loss yoga, which I really did like).
And I found it sort of ironic that Sega is making Wii games. Weren't Sega and Nintendo competitors way back when?
Anyway, the game is set at a resort, where you're working out one on one with Daisy. Or what is a really bad graphic interpretation of Daisy.
If you can get past the cheesy backgrounds, bad graphics, and Daisy and her extremely perky, round boobs, it's actually not a completely terrible game. Or at least, it's better than the boot camp.
For my first workout, I set up my profile, which involved sharing my basic info (age and height) and then it took my weight with the Wii Fit Balance board. I mistakenly went to set up my own workout, which basically required me picking five different exercises, choosing the number of reps, and then following it without any instruction or explanation.
It's definitely a little confusing because the pre-made workouts aren't labeled well. I would never have clicked on "Wii Balance Board" as a workout.
You get two choices for a warm-up - stretching or running - both of which you have to do for five minutes.
I run almost 3/4 of a mile in five minutes. That is a loooooong time to run in place. And even longer to stretch. Five minutes of the same three stretches. Yikes.
Now I do like how the exercises incorporate the remote and the balance board, because they do ensure that you're doing the exercises correctly. Also, there's a timing bar that shows you if you're timing is correct - something that is pretty important for the pilates technique.
On the flip side, it was a little difficult to figure out how to coordinate the timing. You're supposed to follow Daisy to get the timing right, but on a few exercises, I followed her to a "t" and I still didn't get anything but a zero when it came to accuracy.
When I went back to flip through the menu, I realized that there were explanations for each exercise, as well as adaptations for difficulty. It's too bad that they didn't synch those up with the actual workouts, perhaps with the beginner's level, so that you wouldn't have to sit and watch all the explanations before doing the actual workout.
The exercises themselves seemed to be pretty basic pilates, most of which were very focused on the core. I did see a few legs and butt exercises, however, I'm wondering if there's any that are unlocked once you get to a certain level.
If I had actually gone through the explanations and done the pre-made workouts before I created my own, I think the game itself would have made more sense. And while I understand they have to make it a game (with the whole resort thing, help desk, guest sign in), I don't think it's completely necessary. I could care less if I'm on the veranda or by the pool. I just want flat abs!
I like how they use the board, remote, and timing bar as a way to keep you accountable as well as ensure that you've got decent technique. That's definitely something you don't get when you do a DVD or download at home.
But I'd just as soon spend money on another Jillian Michaels DVD than buy a Wii game.
