This very affordable Wii workout game gives you a personal trainer right in your own home. You get a calendar to follow and can choose from a set workout or choose your own lesson, exam or exercise. The instructions include clear visuals and text, so your pace doesn’t get interrupted.
Settings include the standard gym and exterior places like the beach or forest and you choose from six possible instructors, beginning with Alex or Nina, (others with outfit changes are unlockable). You’re under the honor system to put in your current weight to begin your workout journey.
The simple controls offer options like two Wii remotes or remote and Nunchuk while incorporating the Wii balance board. Besides making responsive movements, knowing your right hand from your left hand become the biggest challenges here. Exercise difficulty can be set initially and increases as you progress. Boxing movements like dodging while punching can be especially challenging.
Exercises actions involve back strengthening, dodges, ducks, leg raises, push-ups, reverse sit-ups, squats and upper cuts. The unlockable exercise modes add more variety (log chopping) and comedy (check out “Roadwork”). Overall, the exercises focus more on the upper body especially on the arms and shoulders. Some exercises encourage lower body motion, but don’t require it.
Statistical information includes your physical age, BMI (body mass index), calories burned and body weight progression. This performance-based information can discourage in the short term, but fun compilers like the punch count and the calendar can be very rewarding over time. You can even set a goal for a specific weight you want to achieve.
As you progress, your accrued “gold” becomes your currency for shopping for clothes and other accessories. Music motivation comes from a huge tune cache to preview and play. Other instrumental song versions like “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor (yes, for the boxing - big surprise) are included during exercise sessions.
The graphics are minimal and could use improvement. Incentives are there as long as you’re accountable to yourself because a virtual trainer is pretty easy to avoid. This game includes a coupon for a 7-day VIP membership to Gold's Gym if you feel like trying out the real thing. A solid gaming experience you can do conveniently at home.
Gold's Gym Cardio Workout is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Comic Mischief.
Article comments
1 - Mark
I am playing this and so far its OK. The music is in a horrible 8 bit format with no option to turn it off! There is in truth no warmup exercises... this is not a good thing. Once you add the WII Balance Board you cannot chose to do exercises without it (though the button for NO is there, you cannot select it). There are no option to really customize your exercises (say you want 1 minute for pushups as three minutes is unrealistic to start off with), nope no options unless the game set up a routine for you, so its in the game but you cannot change it. The cardio/boxing is great. For todays expectations in programs I would only give this a 5 out of 10 as this program appears to have been rushed out without proper customizations.
2 - Dan
There is a way to minimize the sound, you can make the trainer louder or the music louder, there is a sound slider at the beginning of the workout just push the + or - keys during any portion of the workout to access it.
I for one hate going to the gym because I am over my target weight and I don't like being watched when I work out. Yes we are all there for the same reason, but the skinnier of my community tend to look at me with shame. This game allows me to get going right in my own living room and I can break a heck of a sweat doing 30 minutes on this machine and turn it off and get back to my family without having to leave my house!
I give it an 8/10, -2 due to not much of a warm up unless you do the tutorial's as warmups.