Kinetics for the Playstation 2

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

27 Jan 2006 08:42 AM

Kinetics is the latest in a string of fitness games made popular by Yourself! Fitness. I have already reviewed Yourself Fitness in an earlier blog. When I first read about Kinetics, I thought it had a lot of potential.

Being able to use a game system to get in shape and have fun at the same time can be a powerful motivator. The target market for this type of program is Moms and young adults alike. The youth-oriented marketing lets kids and teenagers enjoy their workout and get physical, while playing a game. Kinetics makes use of the "Eye Toy" an add-on that is hooked up to the Playstation 2 and works like a video camera.

There are 4 major elements within the game:

· Cardio · Toning · Mind and Body · Combat Training.

The different elements appeal to different demographics, but the combat and cardio sections absolutely rock. There is a lot of fun to be had in the mini-games that last about ten minutes apiece. I started it out on the easiest player level and I found myself sweating hard and panting as I tested my reflexes. I've never felt as slow and out of it as this game made me feel; yet I loved the challenge of it.

You are required to set your own workout profile and like Yourself! Fitness, it provides a personal trainer that gives you encouragement as well as a program to keep you working out with achievable goals. The eye toy is a great deal of fun, but there are some drawbacks to this and Sony has more than a few kinks to get out of the system.

Primarily the largest kinks are with the eye toy itself. The Eye Toy demands a certain amount of room to work as described. A small apartment or general apartment sized living room is likely too small for the Eye Toy's standards. Our living room is 16 by 21 and it still acted like it didn't have enough room. The 'items' hitting the 'sofa' and more threw off the scoring system.

Light is another issue. Be sure to use the dim setting on the controller otherwise you can't seem to balance the light in the room to the even settings the Eye Toy requires. Still, despite some bugs and tweaks that you need to do (and I can understand if you get frustrated with it, it's only long experience with games that kept me working with it patiently) it's a tremendous amount of fun with some challenging workouts that can definitely give your fitness routine a sound shake.

Is it worth the $50 retail price? Eh, you might want to let the price come down some or try to catch it on sale. If you have a small living room or area, you might want to wait until they fine-tune the Eye Toy. Otherwise, give it a shot and see what your teens, your friends or your spouse think. You might discover the latest party toy that lets you get a good workout too.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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