Active Life - Outdoor Challenge - REVIEW! (wipes sweat from forehead)
Last month I decided to use some DP store credit that was burning a hole in my pocket on a mint-condition NES Power Pad, and a near-complete set of US Power Pad releases (except for Dance Aerobics).
Even though I grew up with the NES (it was the first game system that I saved up enough money to buy shoveling driveways one winter) and went on years later to manage a Funcoland during the height of it's NES buying/selling ... I had never, ever played with, or owned a Power Pad.
Amdist the hype of Wii Fit, I was pleasantly surprised with the sweat-busting high cardio workout that the Power Pad turned out to be ... and in my internet travels researching the device and it's games post-purchase I came across the Bandai/Namco "Active Life" (Family Trainer in Japan) set for the Wii. Quite the serendipity of it's impending release just weeks after my introduction to the Power Pad.
Today I was poking around online to see WHEN this title was dropping ... and the answer I found was ... TODAY!
So, I popped on over to my local Best Buy (the only place that had it in their online inventory) and I had to force the store clerk to go "get one from the back". *sigh* yeah ... don't put the new stuff out where people can SEE IT, maybe even BUY IT?!
The pad is very very reminiscent of the Power Pad in it's shape and size, but the FABRIC that it's made out of is much different ... I would imagine it's similar to DDR pads - it's a synthetic fabric, sort of like a rayon/denim blend, and unlike the classic Power Pad, it won't "stick" to your feet if you want to run on it barefoot. It's also only one-sided ... so unlike the classic Power Pad, there's no numbered side that will never get used for any games
The Box claims that this will be the first in a series of games ... which I find very promising, because the first game is PRETTY DAMNED GOOD.
Active Life "Outdoor Challenge" is like a cross-breed of the classic Power-Pad games like Super Team Games and Stadium Events AND Wii Sports. It uses your Miis, AND it combines the standard Wiimote with several of the events.
The "events" (there are about 17 with varying difficulties which expand the depth of what goes on) can be played in succession in "adventure" mode ... or once they're unlocked, can be played by themselves.
I'd be tempted to call them "mini games" ... but the amount of physical activity you put into them leaves me feeling like that would be a disservice to the overall package.
The game itself consists of a few 1 and 2 player modes.
"Adventure mode" which has 1 or 2 players play (either competitively or co-operatively) in consecutive events back-to-back (3 in easy mode, 4 in medium, 5 in hard, etc.) and the designers did a good job of making sure that you're not hammered with intense cardio type "running" events over and over. One event will have you running and jumping, and the next will have you playing a whack-a-mole, where you're pretty stationary.
"Exercise mode" is like the exercise mode in Wii Sports. It uses the same games as the adventure mode and tracks your progress from day to day or week to week ... it doesn't do any calorie calculations, but it measures your activity in "AP" (Activity Points) and tracks your progress.
"Free play" you get to pick one event for one or two players (a majority need to be unlocked in adventure mode first) and go for a high score.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP9OoI6XLmk
Here's a video of some of the game in action ... the voice-over is a bit grating, but if you want to get an idea of what this plays like, that's it.
My favorite event is the "tube slider" ... think "Stun Runner" while sitting on your butt directing the action with your hands. Super fun.
It all looks and sounds pretty basic, and it is in a good way ... the pedigree of being designed by Bandai (the original designers of the NES Power Pad and most of it's good software) and Namco ... the high level of polish on the hardware and software, it's VERY functional and works exactly as you'd want it to (thanks I'd imagine to years of dance pad advances) the Wii "party game" appeal, and the MUCH higher impact workout than Wii Fit are all positives that just might make this a sleeper hit.
This is a great addition to the innovation that Wii is bringing to the table, and a perfect fit for fans of games like the original NES Power Pad, Track & Field, Eye Toy Play, or Wii Sports.
$60 MSRP, and it could be a collector's gem down the line if it doesn't sell well. Who knows.
I'm looking forward to see what Bandai/Namco has in store for the "Active Life" series in the future, but even if nothing else comes, I'm sure I'll enjoy this one for the years to come ... and I can guarantee playing this daily will make you lose more weight than doing yoga and hula-hooping on Wii Fit.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Cryomancer
