After a workout with the game, I always walk away feeling like I just went through the same intensive, full-body workout that I'd only get from hitting the gym five days a week. It's this feeling that sets EA Sports Active 2 apart from the rest of the exercise games on the market, and it's why, if you're serious about getting into shape (and you can deal with the hefty price tag), you should definitely try EA Sports Active 2.
While nowhere near a perfect program for a workout, I have found myself using this program more that Fitness Evolved. I like the variety in the workouts and switching to different 'locales' for different exercises. I do wish we could pick and choose some workouts instead of being stuck on this 2 path choice. There are times the tracking seems off - but not enough to frustrate me.
I didn't play the first game but when I got a Kinect for my Xbox 360 I ancticipated the release of this game so I could work out in my home. Overall I'm pleased with this game and I find myself anxious to exercise to see what new exercise and workouts this game will throw at me. There are some glitches and annoyances with the Kinect Tuner that really need to be glossed over before the Active 3 or any add-ons are created for this game. If you can get passed the sensitive in-game menus and sometimes not being recognized by the Kinect then you will enjoy this game. As far as the gameplay this game is awesome, it's interactive and keeps you motivated. There are lots of different fun activies like dodgeball and a punching bag. It's a very cool game that really gets your heart rate up and you feel pretty accomplished afterwards. I give it an 8 because even though I love this game those glitches that come along with the Kinect tuner are sometimes very annoying.
There are a decent number of workouts to choose from, and the workout programs are a nice touch, but you'll burn more calories struggling with the controls than you will actually playing the game.
I had really high hopes for this game. While it does take some patience and a few tweaks, the hopes were fairly close to fulfilled. Like you have probably read, this game does have issues but the issues can be overcome by following a few steps:
1. Turn off the voice control (this will keep the annoying tutorials from popping up mid-workout)
2. Wait until the game instructs you to lay down on any floor moves (the camera always "sets" itself based on your standing position).
Once I did these things, the game became much more playable and less frustrating. I have read EA is working on a patch but again, these things can be worked around.
As for the workouts, you will get out of them what you put into them. If you really try and push yourself through the running segments, your heart rate will really get up there. If you really try and squat using good form during the squat segments, you will get great burn in your legs. I also used my own free weights to supplement the weight based segments.
Is the game as terrible as some of these reviews would have you believe? No. Is it a great game that will sell systems? No. Will you end up with a decent workout? Yes.
I bought this for myself thinking that it would help me work out. I don't know if it is me or the game but I'm not inspired. I now play my wife's Zumba Kinect game more than this. I was hoping for a bit more out of EA, I have always loved their sports games.
I've been a loyal user of the EA Sports Active series. I've bought each of the previous games and would recommend them to others. Buying Active 2.0 for the Kinect without checking feedbacks was a mistake. The game is a disasterous collection of bugs that render it frequently unusable. Many exercise movements are undetected/undetectable by the game, especially floor exercises, even though Kinect can recognize the player's frame. The advertised speech recognition is a huge hindrance for many users, causing the game to perceive noise as a request to bring up the various functions, thus stopping users dead in their exercises. It can take minutes of attempts, sometimes restarts, just to arrive at the menu. Worst yet, some players can not start any exercise because the game awaits the EA server's response in vain. There are too many bugs to list, so please just google 'EA Sports Active Feedback and Support' for their forums and you will understand the situation. It was clearly distributed to market with little or no concern for quality assurance. This is not an acceptable consumer product. I am very dissapointed.
A game like EA active 2.0 is a show case for how Kinect can fail, make people frustrated and put the Kinect system of game play out of business for good. To think that a company as big and profitable as EA can allow a system of gaming that uses the newest technology with every concievable flaw, fault, and gltich possible is beyond me.
Do not bother with this title, as it does nothing to show you what can be done or what may be possible with the Kinect. It cannot use any function with any stability or consistancy and if I had tried this first or oberved this being played with the Kinect I would have laughed at it worthless potential.
However given that other games can make similar function work, Im sure EA just gave this to the local pre-school to do as a project. If done by 3-4 year olds then maybe it a fair attempt, anything other than that its a reason to always ensure you keep your reciept for you money back.
And to think with all the people out of work, someone actually got paid to make this. What a shame, as Im sure they will be looking for work themselves
SummaryEA SPORTS Active 2.0 provides total body conditioning using progressive exercise in new prescribed programs. A three-phase, nine-week program provides a fitness roadmap to help keep users motivated and on track of their fitness goals. Additional mini-programs will also be available to add on, keeping workouts fresh and inspiring. The EA ...