Wasn’t EA Sports ACTIVE just released this May?

If you’ve been following the recent fitness games releases for the Wii (Wii Fit, Jillian Andrews, Daisy Fuentes, etc…), chances are you’ve already heard of or own EA Sports ACTIVE. I’m not going to lie, when I saw Peter Moore at E3 saying that More Workouts would be arriving in store shelves by the end of the year, I was surprised. When a sequel is being released (especially so quickly), people are often given the wrong impression. They’re led to believe that the first game didn’t turn out the way the developer wanted and a quick sequel is just refining on their unpolished first attempt. In the case of More Workouts, while it may be seen as a whole new game to new players, it also expands upon the first game enough that it is a worthwhile purchase for those who already own the first ACTIVE game but are looking to push their training sessions on the Wii further.

I would encourage you to read our full review of EA Sports Active first, however, since both games are almost the same; expect that now the game is being presented in a tropical/Wii Sports Resort-like ambiance. However, More Workouts is more than just a re-skinned game. The game comes with 35 new routines (ex: squash, step aerobics), new customizable abdominal workouts, four warm-up/cool-down exercises, a whole new six week challenge program and a cookbook from Oprah’s guru Bob Greene.

While the new activities are certainly welcome, the warm-up/cool-down routines and the six-week challenge are the notable additions. I’d been fooling around a lot with the first ACTIVE game and as a basketball coach; I was amazed at how little emphasis there was on pre/post activity stretching. They might not be super exciting to do but most of us know how important it is to stretch after a training session, especially for the very young. As for the six-week challenge, it’s mainly an upgrade to the 30-day Challenge comprising 24 pre-set workouts, which feature some of the old ACTIVE exercises and the aforementioned 35 new ones. Finally, unless you already like Oprah and her friend Bob Greene, you won’t care much for the cookbook but its there in case you need tips for making the rest of your life healthier.

Although those additions are really interesting, More Workouts also has a few negatives. First, being the fact that it doesn’t come with the leg strap and the resistance band, which were bundled with the first EA Sports Active game. More Workouts costs $20 less than the first game but honestly, the resistance band was extremely cheap. Why not just give it away this time? Second, a small number of activities, especially those that require lower-body movements, such as waterskiing, don’t register properly. Thankfully, it’s an isolated issue as most of the exercises (both new and old) work like a charm.

On a more personal note, if EA has already plans to offer another ACTIVE game, I would love to see one with a bigger scope that would actually offer the possibility to set up year-long training programs. That would definitely be amazing.

Conclusion

Like its predecessor, More Workouts is an interesting addition to your Wii library if you are into the fitness game thing and a complement to the first EA Sports ACTIVE game. There is no doubt that early ACTIVE adopters will jump at the chance to get more ACTIVE but it also packs enough punch to get newcomers on board and at a fairly reasonable price…even though you’ll have to buy the leg strap and resistance band separately.