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I've seen a couple reviews already that say this game isn't for people who aren't already in shape, or who are uncoordinated, etc., etc. I have to disagree. I'm a fat girl who can't dance, and I'm loving it!
To give you my perspective, I've taken some dance classes in my life, though not Latin-style dances. And I'm a good 100 pounds overweight, so to say that I'm out of shape is an understatement. I use the Wii Fit every so often, and while I love it for the yoga stretches, I really wanted to incorporate more cardio than the Wii Fit offers. I saw this game advertised back in June and have been looking forward to it ever since. I bought it yesterday and have played it twice. And I REALLY like it a lot.
Yes, the tutorials are quick, and I almost fell over doing the grapevine. But the second time I tried it I got a little better, and I suspect that the third, fourth and fifth times I try it I'll get better too. It really feels like an exercise class, where you may not get the steps right away, but if you keep showing up you will. But instead of embarrassing myself in public, I get to flail around in my living room instead and startle the dog (he didn't like me doing the samba and started barking at me).
I like the Personal Trainer option, where I can tell it just how out of shape I am, and then it starts me off on a three-day program of short workouts that still get me sweating. It's a start, I figure, and I bet as I get better, the game will make the workouts longer and more challenging.
I really get the feeling that this game is meant to be fun more than anything else, and so far I'm really enjoying it. Give it a try!
****Edited 10/29/10****
I thought that, now that I've had the game for a little while, I would update this review with further observations.
The mini-games are not that great. I like the swordfight and the karate ones a lot, but it took a lot of trial and error to get the jumprope to work (I sort of rock forward from heel to toe and swing my arms up in a scooping kind of motion), and no matter what I do, I keep getting eaten by lions during the marathon. The bull-dodging one is fine, I think of it as a chance to catch my breath between the more challenging dances.
If you keep showing up to this workout, you definitely get better at the dances. I'm still at the beginner level (did I mention I'm out of shape?) and they get repeated enough that you can start to remember the routines fairly easily.
Another thing I like is not getting picked on for being fat. There's no Mii that suddenly plumps up while a voice chirps "That's obese!" when you do a weigh in. You don't even have to weigh in, if you don't care to track your progress that way. Just start dancing!
The game is not without its flaws, which a lot of people have mentioned. The mini-games I already mentioned. The slightly dodgy sensors, which don't seem to pick up my moves 100% of the time.
But the bottom line is, I've had this game for a couple of months. And I use it in the mornings fairly regularly, and when I do I feel energized throughout the day. For probably the first time, this is a workout I look forward to. A private gym class just for me.
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I purchased this game because I'm a big fan of both Just Dance and Gold's Gym Cardio Workout!! Boy am I pleased!! I wear a BodyBugg so my calorie burn is pretty accurate. Interestingly, my calorie burn from this game surpassed my average calorie burn from Just Dance. According to my Bodybugg, I was burning anywhere from 9 to 10 calories per minuteand that's on the beginning level!! With Just Dance, I usually burn between 7 to 9 calories per minute. It's a lot of fun, though somewhat different from Just Dance in that you use two remotes and the sensors seem to be much more accurate. All of the songs have a Latin flair to them and all of the dance routines are Latin (i.e. salsa, meringue, etc...). The tutorials are wonderfulunless you're familiar with Zumba or Latin dance, you'll definitely need them!! Btw, don't let the song list fool you. I'm unfamiliar with approximately 50% of them but they're still a lot of fun. Here's a fun notemy little cousin who can usually beat me at Just Dance by merely moving her arms was unable to do so in Gold's Cardio Dance. For once, I've finally found a dancing game where hard work pays off, lol. My only gripe is with the coach. She speaks over the music (right, left, back, front, etc..) which is something I enjoyed not having when playing Just Dance.I also played around with a few of the other activities including the cardio boxing which I love and the jump roping which I'm not a big fan of because of coordination issues (I'm assuming). Anyway, it was a great investment and I can't wait to work out with it tomorrow!! Btw, according to my Bodybugg, this game and Just Dance have given me a higher calorie burn than any other Wii exercise game, and I own them all (Gold's Gym Cardio, EA Active, EA Active More Workouts, Wii Fit Plus, etc..) Buy it, you won't be disappointed!!
The song list is as follows:
Beginners:
Just Dance by Lady Gaga
Stronger by Britney Spears
Smooth by Carlos Santana
Gonna Make You Sweat(Everybody Dance Now) by CC Music Factory
Waiting for Tonight by Jennifer Lopez
Teknocha (I think it's a mixed song)
Intermediate:
Heart of Glass by Blondie
I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred
Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai
Empujalo by Emiliano Almeida
Oye Como Va by Kinky
Merengue Fugitivo (Zemi-tone)
Advanced:
Samba Zamba (Zemi-tone with Joao Pires)
El Salsero (Zemi-tone with Patricio Castillo)
Sacudete (Zemi-tone with Gio)
Salome by Chayanne
Rejeton (Zemi-tone with MC Pa Tras
Cardio Boxing:
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Good Vibrations by Marky Mark
Forever by Chris Brown
For The Love of Girls by Wolfgang Gartner
Beatz Be Rockin (extreme music?)
Material Girl by Madonna
Heavy Sweatin (extreme music?)
Jai Ho
Everything You Got (Zemi-tone)
Best Deals for Gold's Gym Dance Workout - Nintendo Wii
When Gold's Gym Cardio Workout first came out a year and a half ago, it pushed the bar forward and helped prove that there was a market for Wii Fitness Games. So the question is, does its sequel do the same? I'm happy to report the answer is yes.Gold Gym Dance Workout consists of three main types of exercises: a pure "dance workout", a "boxing workout", and "mini-games".
In the "dance workout", you perform fast-moving choreographed dance steps using your arms and feet. It's not exactly like "Just Dance" in that the choreography doesn't really contain any "signature moves" for the song. Rather, the dance is made up of a series of basic latin dance steps (i.e., merengue, samba, salsa, reggaeton, and cumbia). You first go through a series of tutorials to learn the steps, and then you put them together through beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages of increasing difficulty and speed. Just as you'd do in a dance class at the gym, you follow the lead of an on-screen workout instructor shouting out steps to you to the beat.
In the "boxing workout", the game has come a long way since its predecessor. Again following an on-screen instructor, you upper-cut, jab, punch, and hook to the beat of music. And thankfully, Ubisoft decided to license a whole slew of popular songs, so you're not stuck to boxing to "Eye of the Tiger" over and over and over. The motion controls are remarkably accurate in detecting specific boxing moves, and the workouts were fast-moving and fun.
I admit that I loved the "mini games". Unlike other fitness games where minigames are an afterthought, Ubisoft seems to have put a lot of thought into these, and I love the touches of humor in the games. There are a variety of new and original mini-games, you can dodge charging bulls (ducking from side to side while holding your Wii remotes), try to balance yourself on a bucking bull (on the balance board), canoeing (using a combination of your Wii motes as a double-plated paddle while sitting on the balance board) and running (basically making rapid punching movements, made more interesting when you get chased by the occasional lion!). There are also a few games clearly borrowed from Wii Fit and Wii Sports resort (chopping things with a samauri sword, boxing a kangaroo, and karate-chopping certain items).
You can either jump into the various workouts immediately, or have your virtual trainer prepare a weekly workout routine for you. You can also choose two-player mode, which lets you exercise along with a friend (there will be two trainers on the screen, and when each person follows their trainer, not only can they compete to see who scores the highest, but to the casual bystander it looks like they're doing a cool latin dance together).
One thing I was impressed with was the accuracy of its controls, which is head and shoulders above previous Wii exercise games. It allows for the use of two Wii remotes. That Ubisoft eschews the use of the nunchuk is a good sign that they've taken accuracy in motion controls more seriously than they have in the past.
The one big thing I wasn't crazy about at first was how very difficult it was to follow and learn the dance steps. The first few times you play the dance workout games, even at the tutorial level it's very easy to get very overwhelmed. You have to basically follow the on-screen trainer and mirror the moves she's making, but she's moving so fast that it's incredibly difficult to follow, especially trying to do it in a mirror image. They provide a series of video and audio cues to help you, but it's still terribly difficult to follow her feet and to match them to yours.
The good news is, for each dance they offer a "practice" mode which breaks down the dance into different sections, lets you review each section, with three different camera angles to view the instruction, and lets you view the whole thing in slow motion. I would definitely suggest playing the entirely in "practice mode" until you get the arm and leg movements down and memorized, and then proceed to the workout. This may take days or even weeks for each song, so if you don't have the time or inclination to do this, you might be disappointed. On the other hand, once you commit the moves to memory, they're yours to do over and over again. And it probably goes without saying that you need a LOT of room.
And so while the game isn't for everyone, I think it's a great new Wii fitness title after a very long string of disappointing ones. Once again, Ubisoft has set the bar, let's hope upcoming fitness titles like EA Sports Active 2, Zumba Fitness, and the Dance Dance Revolution reboot continue to move the bar forward.
Honest reviews on Gold's Gym Dance Workout - Nintendo Wii
I have noticed that a lot of reviews are from people who have used this product only once or only after a few days. I have had this game for about a month and have used it regularly. I hopped on the Wii fitness craze about nine months ago and went out and bought all the usual stuff that was out there. I got the Wii fit, and did not understand how on earth that was supposed to make anyone lose weight. (ie: I just have to stare at a candle?" I got Just Dance and LOVED that, until I only really liked a few songs on there and it didn't hold my interest very well. THIS game is something I can get into. I set it up with the personal trainer and have been following the "My Workouts" about five times a week. I really feel like I am losing weight. The "My Workouts" start off very, very light. I can see how some people don't feel like they are getting a workout if they have only used it a few times. You have to answer questions that are used to design the My Workouts. I answered honestly and just plain told it that I wanted to work out hard. After that, I'm pretty sure it heard "kick her a**". I also appreciated the My Workouts as it kept me from just staying in one dance style or trying to advance too quickly (and thus get frustrated). The dances are fun and interesting, and very good cardio. I like how it tells you your previous record for calories burned for every workout so you feel like you have a goal in mind.All that said, I do have a few cons:
The mini games are very annoying. I see them as more of a break to catch my breath in the middle. They do not read your movements well at all, which make them near impossible. Also, the controls on the workouts aren't exactly perfect, but if you're like me, you really don't care that much. It's not about points, it's about getting moving. My only other gripe is that it almost feels like the same routine is put to several songs. As in, I feel like I'm doing the same routine I did five minutes ago, but to a different song.
Other than that, I am all for this game. The calendar lets me see my progress and I almost feel like I'm letting down my "personal trainer" if I don't visit her. (Okay, that was weird.) But it really is an awesome game if you are like me: I wanna lose weight, I hate working out, and dancing seems like a great way to burn some calories without realizing it.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Gold's Gym Dance Workout - Nintendo Wii
I usually don't write reviews, but in this instance I felt I should. I'm not someone in terrible shape, and my lackluster review isn't due to being out of shape. I've completed a program with the Biggest Loser Wii game and still do those exercises regularly as well as play volleyball weekly. I really looked forward to this game as being something different from Biggest Loser while still being a workout game. And I think it would be a decent workout game: for someone with some coordination or some background in Latin dance. I have neither, and boy have I struggled with this. I don't feel the game truly goes through the steps in a clear way for a total dance novice. I know there's a way to go back and practice each individual move in a routine, but unless there's a way to slow it down that I haven't discovered, that still wasn't too helpful once the routine brings the dance up to speed. I did some of the tutorials repeatedly and still never got much the hang of things once it sped up. Not saying it can't be fun to just dance around and that burns calories on its own, but I don't feel the game teaches the moves thoroughly enough to master any kind of basic skill to follow along. So it definitely has workout components to it, just not the kind I was looking for. I'll stick to the Biggest Loser game for my primary exercise routines, and I'll supplement this game on my "off" days where I want to take it a bit easier and not pay as much attention to form. I did the cardio setting as well and I still preferred the Biggest Loser routines to this. I feel the Biggest Loser explains the moves better and at least gives you time to switch positions. This game gives very little warning that you'll be switching sides or starting a new move, which a different commenter pointed out. So, to each their own, I can see some people loving this game, especially if they already have some basic knowledge of Latin dance and/or are coordinated aural learners (the game leaves very little to visual learners just in my opinion). For others, I really can't recommend the Biggest Loser game enough as a workout game.
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