Active Life for Wii: Getting Gamers Off the Couch

Active Life (known as Wii Family Trainer in Japan), a game from Namco Bandai due out September 2008, is bringing the Power Pad back. The revival floormat has 6 sensor arrows on it, and is multiplayer-ready right out of the box. But will it be competition for WiiFit? With a slogan like “Get off your couch, get into the game,” and a very specific target demographic, it might further open up the Wii as a family-oriented, fitness-friendly console.

Contrary to popular belief, DDR was not the first to utilize the floormat as a gaming accessory. The floormat concept is old-school, its first use going all the way back to the NES, released by Bandai with the game Family Trainer. While it pales in comparison to today’s multi-arrowed incarnations like DDR, it broke ground for the innovations we see today.

The Nintendo Wii developers are apparently determined to single-handedly take on the fat epidemic and get the typical gamer off the couch, progressively getting more and more interactive with their input devices. The design of the Wiimote itself was the first gaming controller that expected more of me than simply sitting and pushing buttons (to the point of causing wrist aches!). Wii Sports demanded quite a bit of sweatiness, and then, appallingly, the Wii Fit was the first to throw out the guise and promote itself solely as an exercise game. Wii is increasingly calling out the fatties (literally, in the case of Wii Fit) to get moving.

How does Active Life measure up? Like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, there’s not much focus on making the game pretty. It’s bright and colorful enough, but it’s not aimed at the gamer who’s looking for a long, graphically-intense, story-driven game. The offerings seem sparse—with only about a dozen minigames, it might not have enough content to keep the attention of some gamers. But the good news is that these minigames get continuously harder as you excel at them, extending the game’s playability. For example, in “Timber Trail,” obstacles and chasms are introduced in the harder levels. Just a single mat can be used for cooperative play, which is always a plus considering owning a Wii usually becomes quite costly when you add peripherals, additional Wiimotes, etc.

Other minigame offerings include Waterfall Climber, Mine Cart Riders, Seesawing, Snowboarding, Hurdles, Jump-Rope, Log-Rolling, and a game resembling Whack-a-Mole. Perhaps most attractive for families is that it’s a complete multiplayer game in a box. Good for the whole family to enjoy, it just might replace board game night. But if that’s not a draw, odds are someone hot will play Active Life in their panties and start a viral sensation. Talk about family-friendly.