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Review: Get Moving Family Fitness from Jumpstart for Wii
Get Moving Family Fitness is a new Wii game from Jumpstart. This series hosted by Brooke Burke starts off a little goofy with her introduction, but the games inside are all fun and games. They can be played by 2 players. They involve components of major sports like passing (basketball and football), setting the ball (volleyball), and running. Be ready for a workout. To compete against your kids, you’ll have to get out of your chair and really move. After 10 minutes, I needed a break and had a little residual soreness from muscles that don’t get used this way very much any more.
Get Moving is rated E for Everyone with Comic Mischief by the ESRB
Get Moving is $27.99 on Amazon.
Pros:
- Really does get dads and kids out of the chair. You have to get up to compete in these games.
- Uses more lifelike motions to create the action. You really have to pump your arms to make players run or shoot.
Cons:
- Goofy intro by Brooke Burke didn’t really add to the kids’ experience. Seems tacked on and just wastes time. Likewise, her avatar.
- Personalization features weak versus many other programs. Avatars lacked a “bald” option, so I did get to have a full head of hair again for the first time in ten years.
- Can only be played by two players at one time.
GreatDad.com Review Policy: Some of the featured products for this review were provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.
Popularity: 2%
5 Wii Games that get kids to exercise
I am a big fan of the Wii. Think of it less as a video game, and more as a family fun center that can replace static board games as an activity the whole family can do, when it’s raining or you just don’t have time for a longer outing.
Now there are more and more Wii games that are good for getting a bit of exercise. Notice, I say a bit of exercise. Like a lot of things, you get what you put in, so don’t expect the console to burn off 500 calories for you. But if you get up and get moving, you can easily burn off as many calories as in a walk at moderate pace. Put more into it, using some of the more programmed exercise routings (ie Wii Fit), and you can really see changes in tone and weight (I’ve lost 5 lbs and have more tone where it counts than I have had in a long time).
Here are five options that can get the kids up and moving their bodies while satisfying their craving for more video gaming:
Wii Fit Plus is an extension of the Wii Fit game introduced a few years ago, and has plenty of fun, creative games to play with your kids, including an obstacle course, tightrope walking and snowball fights. Only 2 can play at a time.
Wii Sports. This is the classic game that comes packaged with the Wii console in some cases. Here, tennis the big winner, but you’ll have to get out of your chair and swing like crazy to get exercise out of it. Many parents figure out right away that you can swing the controller like a fly swatter from a comfortable chair. Yes, that works. But don’t expect to work up a sweat, or rationalize a big appetite.
Raving Rabbids. Uses the Wii Fit balance board to work on coordination of both sides of the body.
We Ski. Again, uses the balance board to develop core strength and body coordination. The user can stand or sit.
Get Moving Family Fitness from Jumpstart. This series hosted by Brooke Burke starts off a little goofy with her introduction, but the games inside are all fun and can be played by 2 players. They involve components of major sports like passing (basketball and football), setting the ball (volleyball), and running. Be ready for a workout. To compete against your kids, you’ll have to get out of your chair and really move. After 10 minutes, I needed a break and had a little residual soreness from muscles that don’t get used this way very much any more.
GreatDad.com Review Policy: Some of the featured products for this review were provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own. In this case, we purchased all of the items listed above, except for Jumpstart’s Get Moving, which was sent to us for possible review.
Popularity: 6%
Family Wii games for families, parties, and multiple players
The only way I was able to sell the idea of a Wii to my wife, and even to myself, was the idea that we would only use it to play games together. There will be plenty of time later for the kids to hide themselves away to play video games. If we were to get a Wii, I wanted it only if it would be a better alternative to playing another game of Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders.
When we got the Wii, we got two games:
Wii Play, the free game that comes in the box, and Wii Sports, a game that really makes use of the Wii’s technology. Wii Play is somewhat pedestrian, with simple games that I find a bit boring. Billiards and golf move to slowly in video form for my tastes. The table tennis is hard to maneuver, but maybe I say that because my son consistently beats me at it. Wii Sports is a far better selection of fun games including the famous Wii Tennis. This game selection is a crowd-pleaser. Even my wife will play a few games because it gets everyone out of their seats to hit the ball. Even young kids can play, though it’s frustrating when players are too mismatched.
Video games teach short attention spans, and we quickly got bored with our two games. I was a bit sticker-shocked when I found out how much games cost. The only good choice is rental when you realize that it’s going to be hard to milk $20 or $30 worth of value from most new titles.
So I joined Gamefly with the idea that we could try lots of movies, à la Netflix. We then tried Mario Kart Wii. What a game. Lots of excitement and fun cars. Four players can play, though my wife only joined in one time before pronouncing it too stressful. However, for the rest of our merry band, we had a great time. My four year old was oblivious to the fact that he was always last. I cribbed by reading all the on-line cheater
notes I could find, and within a few games, my daughter was wiping the floor with us in every race.
This was so much fun, I increased our subscription to two games and ordered
Ratatouille, in Wii form. This was a mistake. Despite a description that it is good for four players, the game basically allows only one person at a time to solve the little rat’s puzzles. Small mini-games exist, but can only be accessed once you reach certain levels, which we appeared to be too incompetent to achieve, except by using cheater codes (thank God for the internet!). We never figured out how to remove ourselves from whirlpools, which rendered the game pretty much useless after a while. I finally sent it back.
We moved on to
Decca Sports. It looked fun, but again, we could find no way to play with mulitiple players at one time, so we sent it back.
Wacky Races was next. This is a fun game, especially for little kids, and even for dads for a while. Unfortunately, it requires that everyone has a nunchuck to play. We only invested in two nunchucks and I’m not about to buy a third, so Wacky Races was gone in two days.
We then tried Mario Party 8. Here’s a game that’s good for the whole family. Lots and lots of 4-player games are available right from the start. To access them, however, you have to play a simple roll-the-dice style game that gets a little tiring. It’s pure chance and low on skill, but the graphics are kind of fun and little kids will love it.
Another good game for multiple players is Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. The multi-player games are quickly accessible and easy to play for one to four players. Many require a nunchuck as well, but not so many that you’ll feel cheated. Most of the games are simple enough for even small kids while others require some real thinking of how best to use nunchucks and remotes in tandem and in different configurations. The main game, a race in little glass balls, propelled by monkeys, is for single players only, which gets boring pretty fast.
If you’ve ever been to a fair or carnival, you will recognize every game in Carnival Games. The rules are easy, the instructi
ons intuitive and the games are very realistic. It’s so simple, you may find yourself bored after a few plays since how many times can you pitch a ring at a bottle without the thrill of wasting a lot of cash to win a useless stuffed animal. While we were able to wile away two afternoons with this game, both of my kids were happy to send it back in favor of playing Wii Sports. As a dad though, I enjoyed the fact that this game was really easy to set up and use for 3-4 players and we all had fun discovering the different parts of it.
If you”re trying to find non-violent age-appropriate games for little kids (mine are 4 and 8), this list is a good start. You’ll have to try them out to see what works best for your family and strikes a balance between simple enough for the youngest child and hard enough to keep dad involved.
Here’s our summary of family-appropriate games:
Best for interaction in families and groups
1. Mario Kart – everyone, up to 4, plays at once with a lot of competition
2. Wii Sports – Tennis is the best 4 person game for real life action
3. Mario Party 8
4. Super Monkey Ball
Needs a nunchuck to play
Wacky Races
OK to try but not a keeper
Carnival Games
Fun, but not for group play
Ratatouille
Popularity: 2%
From the Wii chronicles
Don’t let this happen to you!
Wii Fit puts Dad in the Christmas dog house
By Patrick Matthews | January 07, 2009
Back in September of 2008, we joined the hordes of people who play the Nintendo Wii.I quickly learned three things after making this purchase. First, despite never having played them before, my children are distressingly good at video games. Secondly, my wife had not actually been interested in the Wii. She had wanted the Wii Fit. Finally, and I should have seen this coming, every store in the country was sold out of Wii Fits.
[From Seminole Chronicle - Wii Fit puts Dad in the Christmas dog house]
Buying a Wii for your sweetheart at Valentines Day is not a good idea even if it proves you were able to fight through virtual crowds to get one. The scariest thing in this review is that the first time your sweetie gets on the Wii Fit and chooses her character icon, it’s girth expands on screen to match the amount she weighs. This can not be a good start to any game.
Popularity: 1%
Looking for good family Wii games
Calling all Wii-sters! The only reason I bought the Wii last year was so that we could play games together as a family. Too tired at the end of the day to haul everyone in the car to the tennis court, I imagined playing tennis in the living room and getting in a four or five sets every evening during cocktails. I could skip the trip to the gym, play with the kids, and savor a beverage (and maybe even a bit of cheese and crackers). The reality was/is that the wife grew tired of tennis after about three matches and my four year old’s swing must more like a ballet pirouette. Tennis was less than exciting, and for my daughter, age eight, plaintively frustrating.
So I joined Gamefly with the idea that we could try lots of movies, à la Netflix. We then tried
Mario Kart Wii. What a game. Lots of excitement and fun cars. Four players can play, though my wife only joined in one time before pronouncing it too stressful. However, for the rest of our merry band, we had a great time. My four year old was oblivious to the fact that he was always last. I cribbed by reading all the on-line cheater notes I could find, and within a few games, my daughter was wiping the floor with us in every race.
This was so much fun, I increased our subscription to two games and ordered Ratatouille, in Wii form. This was a mistake. Despite a description that it is good for four players, the game basically allows only one person at a time to solve the little rat’s puzzles. Small mini-games exist, but can only be accessed once you reach certain levels, which we appeared to be too incompetent to achieve, except by using cheater codes (thank God for the internet!). We never figured out how to remove ourselves from whirlpools, which rendered the game pretty much useless after a while. I finally sent it back.
We moved on to Deca Sports. Looked fun, but again, we could find no way to play with mulitiple players at one time, so we sent it back.
Wacky Races was next. This is a fun game, especially for little kids, and even for dads for a while. Unfortunately, it requires that everyone has a nunchuck to play. We only invested in two nunchucks and I’m not about to buy a third, so Wacky Races was gone in two days.
And that’s it. Now, only Mario Kart Wii remains and I’ve kept it so long I might as well have bought it, which I’m sure is part of the Gamefly business model. Does anyone out there have any good suggestions? My kids know that the Wii is only for weekends, and only if everyone is playing, which seems like a fair rationale to buy the thing in the first place. There’s no reason TV or video games have to be bad per se, but I do think parents should find ways to use them to stimulate involvement with kids rather than as a babysitting device, as tempting as that may be for both parents and kids.
Popularity: 1%
