Fit in Six (PS3) Review
Up until Ubisoft’s Fit in Six fitness game arrived on the scene, EA Sports Active 2 was the only half-decent fitness game available on the PS3. EA Sports Active 2 is an enjoyable game but at the end of the day it did not sell as well as EA Sports would have hoped. Was it the hefty price tag which included a heart monitor and arm and leg bands that did in the game? Who knows? Well for those of you who stayed away from EA Sports fitness game due to its price point, Ubisoft’s “Fit in Six” is a bit more modestly priced and no arm or leg bands are required. Yet, for those of you who own the PlayStation Move, the game incorporates Move functionality. But will it make you sweat? Or more importantly, will “Fit in Six” deliver a solid fitness experience that will have you coming back again and again as you try to shed a few pounds? Read on to find out.
One of the reasons why the EA Sports Active franchise has stood as a better product than some of its competitors is primarily due to the job it does at replicating a true-to life experience with a personal trainer. Well, Fit is Six also does a formidable job at creating that experience with a trainer and is certainly on par with EA Sports fitness game in many respects. Fit in Six has been conceptualized to meet your personal needs and goals. You will lose weight if you stick it out with the game, but yet I cannot help but think Fit in Six could have been so much better.
Getting a workout going is very simple. Once you fire up the game, you enter in your height, weight, age and gender. This creates your profile and is where you set your goal. At the end of the profile creation, you are asked to pick a goal that you would like to achieve. For example, “lose weight” is one of the selections. Now it does not specifically ask you how much weight you would like to lose but it does allow you to focus on the types of exercises available. Each goal focuses on two out of six Fitness Categories including Flexibility, Balance, Cardio, Upper Body Strength, Core Body Strength and Lower Body Strength.
Achieving your goal in the game is accomplished by collecting a certain amount of Fitness Points for the two categories your goal focuses on. Once you achieve a goal you are re-directed to the Profile editing section to select a new goal. You always have a goal in the game, but only one at a time. That said, you can always change your goal in the profile edit screen. The game also keeps track of your progress in the statistics and calendar screen. It is not as sophisticated as EA Sports Active 2 game, which will tell you how many calories burnt and how hard your heart worked, but rather these sections keep track of your goal progress, how many fitness points you gathered, and the daily workout/challenges you did. As I suggested, it is very basic but suits the game and works within the limitations of the hardware.
One of the unfortunate parts of Fit in Six is that you cannot start an exercise without creating a profile. So for those who want to quickly jump into a routine and get sweating, you have to create the profile. Fortunately, it is a quick and easy set up; nevertheless, it is kind of pain. The same goes for downloading online exercises. Again, the game forces you to sign into the Ubisoft’s servers with a username and password. All I wanted to do was check out the online portion of the game and quickly try an exercise. Unfortunately it is a bit of process and having to sign in really just bothered me. Also, the exclusion of a co-op exercise mode seemed like a bit of a lost opportunity.
The game’s workouts themselves consist of three sub-areas: Classes, My Goal and Lists. Classes shows the workouts listed in their respective class; My Goal shows the workouts that help you reach your goal, and Lists is merely different lists that sort the workouts accordingly. They are nicely organized and it is easy to pick which workout you want to begin.
Fit in Six offers up a glut of fitness routines. They range from short 4-minute sweat sessions to 35-minute full body workouts. Exercises range from dance routines, cardio, Pilates, to kickboxing. There is truly something here for everyone and the variety is impressive. I was also surprised with how difficult the exercises were. It is not so much that the moves themselves are complex, but rather you are sucking wind in no time and the intensity of the workouts was something that caught me by surprise. Your first go around with each routine can be tricky as there is a learning curve. The game does not feature a tutorial so getting acquainted with some of the routines can be tasking. A nice little tutorial mode would have been sweet.
The use of the PlayStation Move is nice element, but more often than not I found it merely got in the way. I preferred to go without the Move as all the exercises can be accomplished without it. There is plenty of replay value if you stick with the workouts, but as with any good workout routine it is only as good as your motivation and willingness to continue working out day to day.
I recognize that in a fitness game people are not all that interested in stellar looking graphics, yet one quick glance at Fit in Six’s visuals and it is clear the game could have been much better looking. I was just not all that impressed with this aspect of the game. Dated, cheap and lackluster are just a few words that come to mind when I think the game’s visuals. At first glance, the opening menus are very slick looking in a “Singstar” kind of way. They have a modern look, are easy to read, easy to navigate, and sharp looking. Unfortunately, once you jump into a workout routine, the visuals appear more last gen than current. Throughout the game you follow a fitness instructor who just does not look as polished as he could be. Also some of his movements appear a tad jittery and unnatural and he simply does not move as smooth or as fluidly as I would have liked. Nevertheless, the surrounding environments look good and the game is a colourful one. These positive aspects don’t add a ton to how the game plays, but they are vibrant and are easy to look at over the long haul. In any event, Fit in Six is an average looking game that is on par with any other fitness games on the PS3 in the visuals department.
Similar to the game’s visuals, I was left a little underwhelmed by the games audio package. The music features no recognizable artists and the repetitive work-out tunes merely fill a void. I found the music really did not add that much to the gameplay and it did not get me going like I would have envisioned. It is high tempo, and can be catchy at times, but after a few workouts I quickly turned to the custom soundtracks option in the game. Fit in Six features the ability to work out to your own music by creating a playlist in the XMB of your PS3. It can be tricky to set up; however, the instructions manual lays it out clearly and the results are satisfying as nothing beats working out to your own tunes. So for this I give the developers plenty of kudos.
Other sounds in the game, such as the fitness instructors voice work, are quite good. The dialogue is bang-on and the trainer delivers clear verbal prompts during all exercises and workouts. The commands are informative and motivational at times. All in all, Fit in Six is decent sounding game just nothing spectacular and nothing incredibly innovative.
Considering the budget price for Ubisoft’s PS3 fitness game, “Fit in Six” is not a bad purchase for those looking for a good workout program in the comfort of your own home. While there are better options available, you will get results with “Fit in Six” if you stick with the program. Just don’t expect anything incredibly deep, innovative and graphically stunning.
