EA Sports Active 2 Review
- Posted November 22nd, 2010 at 05:05 EDT by Adam Dolge
- 25 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 8.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 8.0
Summary
EA Sports Active 2 is a complete workout package filled with 68 different and diverse exercises, all designed to get you off the couch and moving. If you want your PS3 to aid in your fitness regime, this is easily the best solution.
We like
- The diversity of exercises, especially mountain biking
- The depth of personal health tracking
- Customizable and tailored routines
We dislike
- The leg band has a tendency to slip
- Tracking is not always perfect, especially when running
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
If you live in the U.S., chances are you are acutely aware of the obesity problems plaguing our schools. Anything affecting children gets the most attention, but the problem stretches well beyond the schools and into our office buildings. While the rest of the world has pockets of problems, America is home to some of the fattest people in the world—that’s not an insult, that’s a research-based fact. European countries are not immune to the overweight movement (or, should we say, lack of movement), as the United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Greece, and Hungary all carry some extra weight. Perhaps it’s the long hours of our desk jobs, our sedentary lifestyle, our Super Sized-meals, or videogames. It's almost inevitable that you’ll hear the latter as one of the top reasons why kids are overweight, but EA Sports is hoping to change the talk about how videogames keep kids and adults on the couch and instead make people move around and get an actual workout.
The fitness subject comes up a lot here at PSU. We all work hard to make extra time for exercise in-between playing games, writing about games, and juggling home life responsibilities—college for some, careers for others. But for all of us, we try to take some time off at the end of the day to play an hour or so of a game that we want to play, not that we have to play. So when EA Sports Active 2 showed up at our door, we had to see if it was good enough to get us off the couch and moving around. Even more important, we had to see if we'd actually use it for fitness when we were no longer required to play it for review. Long story short: it got and kept us off the couch. The real test now is to see if we can commit to its full three or nine week program.
Developer EA Canada touts Active 2’s total body tracking system as the game's key feature, supplemented by an enhanced personal trainer, a heart rate monitor, and a complete wellness system that recommends nutrition and fitness tips. While you are led throughout the experience by one of two virtual personal trainers, Nikki and Devon, the structure of the workouts are extremely customizable to your abilities and fitness level.
This is what you might look like using EA Sports Active 2
Before you actually get to the sweating and moaning, the game provides you with a tutorial on how to strap the sensors to your extremities. There are three wireless sensors, including two armbands motion sensors, one with a heart rate monitor, and one sensor for your leg. Other than the leg band, the sensors are not all that uncomfortable to wear. The leg band tends to slip, especially during the running-in-place exercises. We either had to make it extra tight, typically cutting off circulation halfway through our workout, or readjust the strap during cool-downs. Either way, the leg band is the only nuisance in terms of equipment. Workout attire is extremely important, especially in regards to your leg band; you really need to wear shorts instead of pants for functionality and comfort.
Once you are all strapped into the equipment and you’ve created an avatar, it’s time to get started with the actual workouts. If you choose to follow a long-range program, you can pick either a three-week or a nine-week plan. The game’s narrator, or “person who makes us feel guilty for not exercising more,” as we like to call her, will help you set up your routine, and aid you in creating a plan tailored directly for you. These interactions are a bit funny, especially if you are used to a more aggressive gym or personal trainer. Then again, if you have never met an actual personal trainer or stepped foot in a gym, you’ll probably think these people are fitness freaks, and need to relax with a nice ... (continued on next page)
- Page 1
- Page 2
Email
Related Content
Comments
-
supamariobrotha
- 1:27am EST - November 22nd, 2010
- 1
maybe i should get this i am getting a little seth rogenish lol
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
ppttoo
- 8:59am EST - December 30th, 2010
- 8
Only issue I have is that you need to set up a whole new PS3 account for each person that wants to use this. I had the 1st one for the wii and didn\\\'t take nearly as long to set everything up and there was no need for a seprate account (including seperate email) to make it work. After you use it you need to make sure that when this program is loaded that youoor account is the one that is looged in. If not you have to exit the program go to the user setting page and switch users. Kind of off putting. Would rather have had the ability to select user from main title page and go from there.
-
lavivis1
- 2:20pm EST - January 12th, 2011
- 9
I like it very much, but I'm having problems with some exercises like the split squats when I switch legs the tracking doesn't work and I have to finish by myself and then skip it. But when I finish my routine it seems that i didn't do that exercise at all. Any suggestions?
-
-
Hampton
- 8:28pm EST - January 17th, 2011
- 11
Though I like this program, every time I do a workout there is at least 1 or 2 exercises that the transmitter doesn't pick up my movements or the trainer doesn't do the exercise at all. Then it tells me to follow him even though he isn't moving. This is frustrating in the middle of a workout to have to skip exercises.
-
MarinePaladin
- 5:58pm EST - January 18th, 2011
- 12
I sure like to know why I can\\\'t get the retarded squats to work, I am more then capable of doing them, I work out religiously and military on top of that, WTF EA Sports??? I did about 40 squats, it didn\\\'t track 1 of them, how annoying
-
fittobetied
- 11:41am EST - January 21st, 2011
- 13
I'd like to know where to find out about the answer or fix to comments from #'s 9-12. I am having the same problem and it makes the game completely useless. I was thinking it might be the batteries in the sensor but now I wonder if there's a real problem with this game.
-
XtremeGimp
- 11:58am EST - January 21st, 2011
- 14
The game isgood for getting you fit but when the sensors arent working properly it can be very frustrating (neighbours have heard be shouting naughty words at the tv as well as the occassional
-
qsoundrich
- 12:55pm EST - January 21st, 2011
- 15
Just got this game last night and I\\\'m pretty sore today. I think it\\\'s a great mid and lower body workout. It seems lacking a bit on the upper body/shoulders if you don\\\'t have dumbells to use with it. But the sensors work great in making you really do the reps properly. I\\\'d recommend the game for anyone who finds themselves spending too much time on the couch or in front of a computer screen, especially in the winter.
-
mzholland
- 11:58pm EST - January 29th, 2011
- 16
I am pleasantly impressed with how streneous some of these workouts can be. I have been using the Wii for recovery and rehab from a back and neck injury and added the EA Active 2. I like the variety, it prevents me from getting bored. I have been a hard core exerciser until I a car accident injured me. I really need to pace my recovery and I find that I am getting the right intensity as I can feel it the next day but not so much that it discourages me from working out again. Yes I have experienced a few technical difficulties too, but overall this is great. Would have liked an option to eliminate certain exercises that are not recommended for back injuries and that would replace those exercises with something more gentle. I look forward to my next workout.
-
racerosx
- 11:41pm EST - February 5th, 2011
- 17
Summary: If it's cold outside &/or you need something to nag you into exercising, get this. B- (It feels like it's still in beta, a fairly polished beta, but still beta. Pro: It works. I've lost almost 10 lbs in 2.5 weeks, and I feel great! Con: There is at least one exercise out of the 20+ exercise set that won't register. :( I'm a 45 year old ~280 lbs 6'4
-
bhenchot
- 4:03pm EST - February 6th, 2011
- 18
This is way too charitable of a review. I bought the Active 2 yesterday and used it yesterday and today. SEVERAL of the exercises don't recognize your leg squats. It is frustrating. This is a product that hasn't made it through the testing cycle. At first I thought it was just me. Then I saw that ALL of my family had trouble with it. There are several small bits that are BROKEN like the fact that when you edit your profile to enter your weight you have to go through the ENTIRE cycle of picking an avatar all over again. It doesn't remember what you picked earlier. Like I said this SUCKS and hasn't made it through the testing cycle after development. I don't want to go out and buy a PS3 or an XBox just for exercising. This product was built to work. I just wish it would.
-
TheSmpsns
- 2:18pm EST - February 8th, 2011
- 19
I do have some trouble with the leg strap slipping, but it is more because of my larger legs than the actual strap. Overall it is a great game and I love that you can create your own workouts. I sweat harder with the sports active than I do during my personal training sessions that I pay way too much for. I do wish that I could tell it not to generate workouts with certain exercises, such as the bent arm sideplank, I am not at a fitness level right now where I can perform that, I wish I could
-
kurlyfriez
- 6:06pm EST - February 13th, 2011
- 20
If you put the senor on your right leg above your knee facing the TV it works much better, this is not how the game tells you to wear it.
This will permanently ban this user and delete all associated comments. This action is irreversible, are you SURE you want to do this?!
