The main reason I ever agreed to purchase a Wii console is the possibility of keeping my family active even during the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. The
JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness game for the Wii is the first game that I have tried that really allows this to happen for the whole family, including out 3yr old twins.
Your trainer for this game is Brooke Burke, co-host of ABC's
Dancing With the Stars. She has just the right personality to engage both children and adults. One of her most important roles is to teach the player the movements required to play each game. I love that these brief tutorials repeat themselves until you tell it to move on. This was very helpful for the children, who liked to practice the motions before they started each game, especially one they have not played before.
This game is mainly set up into two sections designed around seven sport categories. The two sections are Drills and Routines. Drills are for practicing certain skills for each sport and the Routines are for actual play. For my children, they prefer doing the Drills. If they had to create a customized routine for themselves, however, I would guess it might consist of Boxing, Dodge Ball, and Running. Those are their three favorite Drills because the motions are simple and our 3yr old twins can play right along with their 6yr old big brother with no problems.
Here are our two boys boxing . . .
The boxing is really sparring. Their targets are pads and their goal is to make the green boxing mitts hit the pads. As you can see, sometimes our younger son forgets to make jabbing movements, but he still moves enough so that he does hit the targets often enough to enjoy himself.
Here are our boys running a race . . .
Even though foot movement is not required for running a race, I think it is easier for them to pump their arms in a quick rhythm when they do move their legs. Plus I think it is much more fun when they try to run in place, not to mention that it is great exercise.
And here they are playing Dodge Ball . . .
Dodge Ball comes under the category "Balancing". The movements are really simple and this game is much more fun than having real balls (and other objects) thrown at you.
So far we have mentioned Boxing, Race, and Balancing. The other four sports are Volleyball, Baseball, Basketball, and Football. These skills were much harder to master for our children. Some of the movements were complicated. For example, the 3-pointer Drill for basketball required two consecutive movements. The player needs to jump and shoot. Even our 6yr old had trouble getting the hang of releasing the ball after he jumped. Still, despite the difficulty of some of the activities, my children thoroughly enjoyed themselves trying. There were no negative consequences for not performing well, unlike some other video games.
Watch out boys! Girls can box too!! . . .
I highly recommend this game for the entire family. It is a great value at $29.99 because every member of the family age 3 up to adult will enjoy it and get the benefit of the physical activity. You can find this
JumpStart Wii game at
GameStop,
Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and other major retailers of Wii games.
Thank you to JumpStart for sending us a sample Wii game free of charge to base this review upon and for providing a second game for our contest prize.
What you can win:One lucky reader will receive
JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness (for the Wii).
Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.
How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me which of the 7 sports available on this JumpStart Wii game do you think you (or your child) would enjoy playing the most. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest. Extra Entries:
1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.
2)For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.
3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND JumpStart.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.
7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.
8)
Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
9)
10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.
(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)
Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.
Good luck in the drawing!
The main reason I ever agreed to purchase a Wii console is the possibility of keeping my family active even during the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter. The JumpStart Get Moving Family Fitness game for the Wii is the first game that I have tried that really allows this to happen for the whole family, including out 3yr old twins.
Your trainer for this game is Brooke Burke, co-host of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. She has just the right personality to engage both children and adults. One of her most important roles is to teach the player the movements required to play each game. I love that these brief tutorials repeat themselves until you tell it to move on. This was very helpful for the children, who liked to practice the motions before they started each game, especially one they have not played before.
