Of all of the games we own or have tested for our Nintendo Wii, the game that our family (mom, dad, the kids, and grandma and grandpa) kept coming back to again and again was Wii Fit. We all love something different about it, but we play it together just about every time we turn on our Wii. So, when we heard that Nintendo was releasing Wii Fit Plus, we were super excited. We went right out and bought a copy of the game and we’ve playing it constantly ever since. For our review of the Wii Fit Plus, we’re going to break it into two parts. Part I will be more about the family friendliness of the games and why it’s good for the kiddos, while Part II will be part of our January reviews of fitness titles for the Wii and will focus on the fitness/exercise/workout portions of Wii Fit Plus.

Wii Fit Plus greatly enhances everything that was in the original Wii Fit. It seems like just about all of the things we didn’t like about Wii Fit (and there weren’t many) were fixed and updated in Wii Fit Plus. Wii Fit Plus has all of the original Wii Fit games included with it and now there are 15 more new Training Plus games to liven up the action. The new games include:

• Perfect 10: A bumper game that makes you use your hips to hit bumpers and complete simple arithmetic problems.
• Obstacle Course: A challenging romp through an obstacle course…that’s floating in the sky!
• Bird’s Eye Bulls-Eye: A cute game where you flap your arms like bird wings to make a bird fly to various platforms in a timed event.
• Driving Range: A driving range and golf swing analyzer all in one. Swing the golf club and use the balance board to graphically see your balance shift as you hit the ball.
• Skateboard Arena: An exciting ride through a wide range of skateboard park ramps, half-pipes, sliders and jumps.
• Snowball Fight: Dodge fast flying snowballs and ping your opponents with as many snowballs as you can in a timed event.
• Rhythm Kung Fu: Think rhythmic Kung Fu, and then mirror the moves your Mii does on screen in perfect timing to score points.
• Island Cycling: Ride around the new, expanded Wii Fit Island on a mountain bike.
• Segway Circuit: In an interesting branding tie-in, ride a Segway around Wii Fit Island and pop beach balls with it to earn points in a “fast” paced timed event.
• Tilt City: A nerve wracking game in which you use both the balance board and your Wii remote to carefully balance, move, and drop balls into their matching colored barrels.
• Rhythm Parade: Be a majorette in a marching band and march to the beat on the balance board while matching the hand movements of your on-screen majorette Mii.
• Big Top Juggling: Ever dream of being a juggler? On a balance ball? Well then here’s your chance. Use the Wii remote and nunchuk along with the balance board to juggle multiple balls while keeping your balance on a big, striped circus ball!
• Table Tilt Plus: It’s the classic Table Tilt game from Wii Fit with a bunch of new, added twists like bumpers, spinning gates and more.
• Balance Bubble Plus: An update to the original Wii Fit Balance Bubble game, this one takes place in faster moving water with lots of new types of obstacles, and super tight turns and curves.
• Basic Run Plus: Run around the Wii Fit Island and pay close attention to everything you pass…there’s a quiz after the run.

Here a video trailer that show a bit of each new game:

What We Liked

Get up offa that thing! We love that every game in Wii Fit Plus gets you and your kiddos up off the couch and moving around. All of the old games and the new additions involve real physical activity that will get your heart pumping and your body moving.

Accept the challenge. While the old games in Wii Fit were fun, the new games are fun and even more challenging than the originals.  Some of the original games were kind of easy, but the new ones require you to challenge yourself to move to the next level.

It’s all good. Speaking of moving to the next level, unlike Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus comes with all of the games unlocked right from the start.  That means you don’t have to work to earn access to the games, which is a good thing.  What you do have to work to unlock are the advanced levels to the games.  We’re happy to see that because it really was disappointing to drop $100 on the original Wii Fit only to find a limited number of games available for play out of the box.

Everyone can play. Wii Fit Plus has much better multi-player support than its predecessor.  The simple act of switching a players’ profile to share the game was a tedious action in Wii Fit.  Not any more.  Just click the switch button and select the Mii you want to use next and voila, you’re ready to play in no time at all.  And, several of the games have an option for true multi-player mode where you select the Mii’s that are going to play the games and it automatically cycles through the players’ turns for you.

Something for everyone. Wii Fit Plus includes all of the new games we mentioned above as well as all of the original Wii Fit game including Soccer Heading, Ski Slalom, Ski Jump, Table Tilt, Tightrope Walk, Balance Bubble, Penguin Slide, Snowboard Slalom, Lotus Focus, Hula Hoop®, Basic Step, Basic Run, Super Hula Hoop, Advanced Step, 2-P Run, Rhythm Boxing, Free Step and Free Run.  With a roster of over 30 games (not to mention all of the yoga and strength exercises that we haven’t talked about), there is something for everyone in Wii Fit Plus.  And, you’d think with all of those choices, something would have to be bad.  Nope! There’s not a dud in the group.  Everyone in the family will find something they’ll enjoy.

The price is right! We love that Nintendo released Wii Fit Plus two ways: bundled with the Wii Balance Board or just the game.  The balance board bundle retails for $99 and the game alone retails for just $20.  If you already own a balance board, this game is a steal at $20.  It probably offers the most value of any $20 game out there and is definitely worth the upgrade.  If you don’t already own a balance board, $99 is still a great price considering all of the games you get in Wii Fit Plus, plus all of the access you’ll now have to other balance board capable games.

Rank out. Wii Fit Plus, just like Wii Fit, keeps track of high scores and best times for all of the games for the entire family and keeps a constant ranking.  This makes the games competitive and increases the lasting appeal of Wii Fit Plus.  I know in our family, we’re still competing almost daily for the title of ski jump champion!

Your personal best. Although the ranking keeps things competitive, some of the younger members of the family have a tough time reaching the top of the list.  Not to worry, Wii Fit Plus tracks everyone’s progress and congratulates you when you have achieved a personal best too.  That keeps things interesting for everyone because you’re not only competing against your family, you can compete against yourself.  It’s very encouraging for the little tikes who aren’t the fastest or the best…yet!

Fido? Well, this isn’t a blockbuster feature, but our kids love that in Wii Fit Plus you can add your pets to the show too.  Granted, all you can really do is track their weight, but the kids love seeing the “whole family” when their Mii’s appear on the screen.

What We Didn’t Like

No multi-player balance board support. We’re still disappointed that Nintendo hasn’t come up with a way to support multiple balance boards in a game yet.  Although there have been improvements in Wii Fit Plus for multi-player support, it would have been even more fun if we could race each other down the slopes together on multiple balance boards.  Please Nintendo, figure out how to make multi-balance board support possible!

Harder for little ones. Although we love the fact that all of the new games are more challenging that those in the original Wii Fit, some of the new games are harder for the smallest members of our family, especially those in the under 4-year-old crowd.

Good for the Kiddos?

Wii Fit Plus is rated E for Everyone with Mild Cartoon Violence.  The ESRB issued the mild cartoon violence rating because “…during the snowball fight, players use a crosshair target to hit opponents, causing them to fall to the ground and disappear“.  Snowball fighting aside, Wii Fit Plus contains no graphic violence, no foul language or suggestive themes.  It’s probably one of the most family friendly games out there today.

It’s also great for the kiddos because there is so much physical activity involved.  Your kids will be up off the couch and moving around for every game in Wii Fit Plus.  And they’ll be using their minds too.  Games like Perfect Ten require them to do mental math while they’re moving about and Basic Run Plus tests their memory skills as they need to pay attention to everything they run past for a quiz after the run.  The physical activity, mental challenges, and of course improved eye-hand-body coordination make this a winner for families with kids of all ages

Golden Egg Rating

We give Wii Fit Plus 5 out of 5 Golden Eggs.  The well rounded roster of games, the overall fun factor, better multi-player support and great lasting appeal all for a low price make Wii Fit Plus a must have for any Wii owner.  We wish Nintendo would figure out how to support multiple balance boards someday, but until then, Wii Fit Plus is certainly a winner in our book!

Screenshots

Check out the lightbox slideshow below for images of the new game Wii Fit Plus. Simply click on a thumbnail to start the slideshow. Details and information for each screenshot are located at the bottom of the image in the slideshow. Images courtesy of Nintendo.