Wii Fit Plus

Gym bunnies may have scoffed and couch potatoes carried on scoffing, but in sales terms at least Wii Fit has been a huge success. The fitness game and balance board have been integral to Nintendo's strategy to widen the gaming market and narrow our waists. That doesn't mean it didn't end in a dusty cupboard though. Like all fitness products long-term usage is an issue and Wii Fit was no different. So the release of Wii Fit Plus is good news for those owners who have long since given up tree poses and push-ups.

Plus includes everything in the original Wii Fit but adds some handy new features. The calorie counter is the most obvious. After every event you get to see how many – or how few – calories you have burned off. Because the counter takes your weight into account it feels like a fairly accurate representation of how strenuous your exercise was and may make you think twice about that next choccy bar.

The other key addition is the ability to create your own routines.

Again, like the calorie counter you wonder why this wasn't in the original game, but now you can focus on aerobics or toning or whatever.

Plus carries over all your workout info from the original game so there is no need to start from scratch. Another nice touch is that all exercises are now open from the start. The "unlocking" principle is fine for videogaming but never felt right for Wii Fit and its casual audience.

Wii Fit worked best when it came to balancing and yoga moves. The instructions were encouraging and accurate enough to at least give you a sense of what was needed. Feedback wasn't always clear enough but for most of the balance events you actually felt like you were getting somewhere. The more active events were less successful though. Running, in particular, was horribly ineffective and likely to encourage you to go for a jog outside (maybe that was the point?). This trend continues in Plus, with the strength and yoga exercise still more rewarding than the more active ones.

There is now stronger emphasis on "games". Skateboarding and golf are fun. The latter – lean left or right and straighten knees – offers a good break from the yoga. An obstacle course event is amusing in short doses too. But if you want to shift some weight or tone up then the exercises are the only way. Fitter, and more flexible, users will get more of a challenge from some of the new challenges – yoga fans in particular will enjoy them.

Newcomers will have to splash out for the balance board as well and cost does then become an issue. But if you already own Wii Fit and actually use it more than once a month then Plus is a must buy. The additions are worth the relatively cheap price of the disc.