Before you even launch into Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, you are going to want to move the furniture. As with most Kinect titles, Your Shape requires at least 9 feet for me to properly event set the game up. As you launch into the game, it will run an initial setup that ‘scans’ your body into the game. The image shows up as a weird, matrix-like photo of the player that moves really well with how the player is actually moving in the real world. You also have the option to show your real likeness – however, both were quite off-putting, especially for those who have self esteem issues. The setup and initial scan were flawless as it measured my bone structure, arm length, and waist line. I had to manually input my weight and off I went into the fitness tests.
The fitness tests are an important part to any workout game. Your Shape wants to accurately gauge the player’s physical ability in both cardio and toning movements to make sure routines are of the appropriate level. I started the fitness tests by doing some simple cardio routines. This included back leg bends, side lunges, and punch dodge routines. As the player you need to remain in sync with the instruction’s beat and stay inside the green box. The cardio routines went smoothly, however the toning tests were a bit off. The toning routine consisted of some front lunges and by the gods I could not get my on screen self to stay in the green box (meaning that you are in sync with the virtual trainer). This could be due to the size of my play space but it just did not seem well synced-up. Once I finished all the tests, I was rated as a middle level individual for cardio routines and a beginner for toning workouts.
Your Shape then sent me into the activity selection screen. Your Shape uses a neat trick to select which activity you want to do. Instead of just hovering your hand the game measures where your hands are at and puts the buttons right near your hand on screen. I had several options of what I was able to do including personal trainer sessions, yoga, kickboxing, or fun mini games. I choose to start out the session with my personal trainer and it gave me a wide variety of activities to choose from. I am not sure why, but it offered me some after pregnancy workouts which made me feel like throwing myself out a window. I decided to go with a cardio routine and off I went for a 45 minute routine.
The routine was very similar to the fitness tests and the mechanics were the same – stay inside the green square or risk going out of sync with the trainer. I admit that I am not in the best shape and, due to an office job, don’t get as much exercise as I should but the cardio routine really worked my legs. I did not really find myself out of breath during the 45 minute routine, but afterward, it felt like I went snowboarding as my quads were really sore. Your Shape is not designed for those that hit the gym every single day. It seems to be designed for those that want to workout at home without the social anxiety fear of getting into a gym. The personal training section keeps great track of what you are doing and gives you positive motivation a long the way. The bar up by your nameplate keeps track of calorie burning goals and grants you achievements when you hit certain marks. Throw in the optional Ubisoft U-Play system and it really adds that ‘video game element’ to the fitness routine.
After stopping for some water, I opted to try out one of the mini games. The fitness game section consisted of boxing, light cycle racing, and several others. I chose to try out the boxing and it gave me several options of the game to choose from. I went with the beginner level and off I went to box punching land. The game throws up a wall of boxes in front of you that highlight which one you need to hit at any certain time. the game teaches you how to punch across your body correctly in order to hit the boxes and is a fun way to challenge some friends. While pretty much all the games were the same, it was a fun break from the personal training experience.
Your Shape has an interesting multiplayer component to it that allows you to challenge friends to beat your scores and fitness levels. Tie that in with the Your Shape website where you can keep track of all your calorie burning stats and you end up with a positive experience for ‘noob’ to mid level physical-types. The game suffers from space and sensor pick up concerns but really lays the groundwork for fitness games on the Kinect. With a contender in EA Active 2 already coming to store shelves, Ubisoft has a solid title that any Shogunite looking to get fit should try out.
