moment comes in everyone’s exercise routine when it’s literally and figuratively gut check time. Are you in it to win it or are you really just jogging around the lakes to give your eyes a workout at all the knockout babes or beefcakes? If you’re more likely to stick to the donut diet than Buns of Steel, you might want to save yourself the $90 that Wii Fit costs. With that said, the game is neither a gimmick nor a lifesaver. However, it’s a big enough collection of honestly useful and sometimes fun games that should point you down the right path to fitness.

The cool thing about Wii Fit is that it definitely does a good job of getting you to sweat and work your video game body. Sure, you can cheat the system into thinking you did a pushup on the board, but I’m going to assume you’re not that lazy. The board’s finely tuned balance sensors also make it a great controller for the balanced-based games like the ski jump or table tilt (where you shift platforms with your feet to pocket balls). It’s also the basis of the yoga and strength modes. The simple act of keeping your balance within a set gyro perimeter reinforces the physical nature of the exercises.

With the aid of voice instructions from a trainer (before and during the exercises) and some low-key visual and audio cues, Wii Fit can even teach its more demanding moves to fitness novices. The more lighthearted games like heading soccer balls also use the board well, although they are included more for fun than honest exercise. Even Wii Fit’s jogging – which doesn’t use the board – keeps track of your stationary running if you stick the Wii remote in your pocket.

It’s easy to set up the game and start training, with a daily tracking of your BMI acting as the focus of your endeavors. Whether you’re doing the yoga, strength, aerobic, or balance exercises (which is the category where games like Tightrope Walk come in), the game keeps track of how much time you’ve spent. The more you exercise, the more modes you’ll unlock. In this sense, however, I feel the game is too free form. Apart from suggesting a couple simple exercise combinations, Wii Fit falls short of either putting together a complete regimen for you to follow based around your goals or letting you design your own. This may not sound important, but it is. Proper sequencing is important for any exercise program, whether it’s muscle building, yoga, or improving your heart rate.

As such, Wii Fit falls short of being the all-in-one exercise program it could be. Be that as it may, perhaps the more important question is: Will you make the most of what it has to offer?