Despite some smaller glitches Nike+ Kinect Training is one of the best latest Kinect titles. And even if a solid basic stamina is needed the extensive amount of exercises and the decent presentation.
With a wide range of exercises, leaderboard challenges, and something for every fitness goal, I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a challenging and rewarding workout in the comfort of their own home.
First off, you need a LOT of room for this - as you'll need to jump around a lot and do press-ups and all of that to get "Athlete Fit" (the game says this quite a bit.) The impressive thing is how responsive it is - I did the Fitness Challenge and so did my wife, but we both got different things to do, and the trainer said he'd seen enough of one drill for me, but not for her - so it really is watching and deciding what you need - and what it needs to work out how good you are, what your balance is like etc. The assessment at the start is a bit of an intense introduction to the program, it came very close to utterly destroying me, but it gives me confidence that it really knows what's going on. It really was hardcore, and for a non-exerciser like me, a bit off-putting - but it makes total sense. If it doesn't push me to my limits then how will it know what I can do? Off the back of that we got a personalised program - my wife and I chose the same goal, but we both got different drills - so this thing is really adaptive - and for something that almost killed me, surprisingly fun. The menus are clean and simple, the feedback is generally good and the corrections when I get things a bit wrong are usually spot on - like telling me I'm leading with the wrong leg. Of course this is Kinect, so not everything is 100% rock solid - but that's what you expect in a Kinect game. As with most games you spend a lot of time with, the VO can get a little repetitive, but not so it's annoying.
The first session is packed with tutorials for each drill, but if you've done it once you don't get it again, so the sessions start to flow better with time. You do get new drills each session (well, I have so far) so every so often you'll get taught the new moves and it feels varied and it's a nice change of pace when the tuts kick in. One last point - this is about as far from a game as you can get. It's not fluff like Wii Fit, or Your Shape. From what I've seen so far, it's a serious exercise program and I've got no doubt that if I can take it seriously and stick with it (fingers crossed, I'm such a slacker) then I'll see some decent results.
This is so much more than I was expecting. It starts you off with a completely exhausting, but wonderful fitness test that yields a surprisingly detailed evaluation of what you're good at and what needs the most work. From there it's nothing but encouragement, with a recommended workout schedule and exercises. Those workouts definitely wear you out, but there's an excellent mix of fun activities that keep it from being a slog. As someone who grew up going hiking and playing baseball but now mostly sits around programming and playing games, this is the first thing I've found in a long time that makes me feel like I'm really going to get back into shape.
Nike+ Kinect Training is not a fun game, but then again, it was never meant to be about entertainment. It's a game that will push you to your limit and make you break down if you don't know what you're getting yourself into. It feels more realistic in routines and schedules than something like Your Shape, but lacks in presentation with an unresponsive user interface and poor objective and calorie counters.
Well I have lost 10 kilos in 3 months now. I have used nothing other then Nike+ Kinect Training. So nobody can say that this game does not work as intended.
The kinect sometimes does not register my "moves" as it should. I am standing there jumping ****, but I get no fuel on my fuelbar. This does not happen often, but when it does it is very annoying. This keeps it from getting a 10 from me.
Nice addition to anybody's fitness tools, or as a way to get going on a fitness routine from your living room, love the personal touch with the test at the start, and a total workout, not so much ****, I was never this wasted on wii for sure. Could be too intense for some but I really enjoyed the on screen trainer personality correcting me on some moves and pushing me along.
There are some neat exercises too, like avoiding walls of ice or glass. You can't cheat it much, seems to see everything, which could be a turnoff for some but I felt the Kinect was really watching my moves. Haven't tried the online features yet, not really my thing but overall really liking this so far.
I've been exercising solely using Wii Fit, followed by EA Sports Active on the Wii, followed by EA Sports Active on Xbox 360, and have been loving it. Each new product came with new improvements, and each of them had some annoying characteristics as well.
I'm super excited about Nike+ Kinect Training, it's really well done, and it is a huge improvement over EA Sports Active.
The assessment of how fit I am seems very accurate, as the first full (2nd day) training was very well designed for me.
I spent less time exercising than with EA Sports Active (in part because here I don't have to wait for the trainer to finally get ready), started sweating way earlier, felt hot after the exercise longer, and was much more tired (in a good way) for the rest of the day.
There were a few times where I got stuck a bit, due to user error, when I was sideways when I was supposed to be facing the screen, and vice versa.
Where the program usually is really good at correcting me, it failed to call this out, and it took a while before I realized that the trainer was facing a different way.
And there was one exercise on the floor (straight leg hip lifts), that worked fine the first time, but the sensor just didn't count my reps the 2nd time and I had to skip the exercise. My room is barely big enough for Kinect, so if you have a bit more space, you probably won't run into this.
Other than those issues, I am deeply impressed with this program.
Very good detection, very good exercises, the comments from the trainer seem right on, and what I really loved is when I thought weight training was over, it asked me if I want to go for another round, and I did!
Nice and flexible!
It also looks to be flexible in terms of how often and on what days you want to exercise.
Very happy with this investment.
I always liked fitness video games. I used to play both Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, but since I got my Xbox360, Nice+ Kinect Training became my new way to work out. Of course you should look for professional trainers if you need to, but I am proud to say I have lost 4kg (going on 5kg) just by playing this game and, of course, eating properly. The Wii Fit game is for people that what to have more fun than really work out. And I have to say that Nike+ Kinect Training offers a very hard training. Is not just about playing. The sad thing is that you'll need a lot of room for this game (I, for example, have to move my furniture everyday). And also, kinect sometimes fails at searching for my body while I exercise.
But the game have so many great points that is hard not to like it and not to be motivated by it. There game gives you a special training based on your skills and limits. And each week the game will demand more and more from you until you become healthy and in shape. And you can compare your results with people of the same gender and age as you and compete with users all over the world. So, if you want to get yourself some serious workout, Nike+ Kinect Training is the best way to go
SummaryWhatever your goal, Nike+ Kinect Training promises to help you reach it with a workout program that evolves as you do. What will your moment be?