Your Shape is not only the best fitness series for the Kinect... It's the best fitness game I have played!
My review will be cut into three parts: Motivation, Diversity, and Entertainment value
Motivation
This game exemplifies the motivation needed to keep working out. Many games will have the trainers who give you feedback and such, but none have quite the motivation system this game has. First, there is a very diverse range of activities to do which will keep you entertained for a long time. If you get bored, there are more downloadable workouts available. Second, like most Xbox360 games, there are achievements to unlock that will take a lot of playing in order to reach them all. There are also small achievement through Ubisoft that unlock exclusive content as you progress. Third, the trainer switches depending on the workout you are doing, so you rarely get bored of having just one trainer the whole time. Fourth, the feedback on this game is very accurate because the Kinect sensor tracks point over your entire body, so they can show you what you are doing wrong. During Yoga and Zen, they draw lines between points to show when you are not in quite the right position. Fifth, and my final reason although there are many more, is the online capabilities. They have their own progress website called
YourShapeCenter where you can track your progress in real time and compare with people around the world. Also, there are community events that you earn trophies for. My personal favorite thing about the online capabilities is you can create a challenge and whichever one of your friends gets there first receives a trophy for it. This is a huge factor of motivation.
Diversity
Like I said earlier, there are tons of different workout you can do. There are activities, such as wall breaking, warmups, extreme jump rope (to good music), running through various cities (that include sightseeing and challenges to push yourself), stomp (kind of like DDR), and stacking (which is a balance game). There are also many workouts where you can focus on certain muscle groups that you want to. Within each category, say glutes for example, there are focus on just the muscles, a mix of cardio and strength training for weight loss, and then an extreme version which is like both mixed very intensely. There are even sports preparation exercises for preparing for soccer or american football. There are workouts for children to get them active, and even a workout for people who want to age gracefully. Now the final category (and probably my favorite) are classes, which include dance classes (African movement, Latin, bally wood, hip-hop), boot camp (which you do in a simulated battlefield), yoga, zen (mix of yoga and Thai chi), cardio boxing, etc. With all the choices plus a lot of downloadable classes, the time you could spend on this game is endless.
Entertainment Value
Entertainment value, I already pretty much talked about. With all the fun activities and classes, there are many ways that even people who dislike working out would enjoy it. The kids and adults alike can all find something to do. This game is definately worth the money and if you look around some places have it on sale in order to help people keep up with their resolutions.
Also, the fact that it is for the Kinect makes it a great choice for people such as poor college students who have an xbox. No gym membership, and there are so many workouts that you can do to your own intensity. Older people and younger people alike would love this. It is also useful if you are always on the go and just need a quick workout. Every workout tells you how long they will take before you select it. I have been using it ever since I got it and I'm not bored at all.
Song stuck in my head: Ma Ya Hi by: O-zone
