With the dawn of Xbox Kinect we are starting to see many new fitness based games or programs as well. Ubisoft has tried to put their best foot forward with your Shape: Fitness Evolved. While Your Shape is sold in the video game section of most retail stores, it is much more like a fitness program in the privacy of your own home. The game comes with a variety of modes and exercises which, with the full body tracking of abilities of Kinect, will help users work out and get in shape as long as they are willing to stick with it.
One of the first things that happens, when players turn on Your Shape, is the initial setup as it is the case with most Kinect based titles. The game scans the body and has you run through a series of tests in order to calibrate, those were all quick and painlessly implemented. The game’s presentation is very nice and clean as it keeps players focused on the actual experience. The user interface can be a bit clumsy at times but it gets the job done. I recommend that, before getting into Your Shape, you make sure to have a good amount of space as there are wide ranging movements involved. Moving furniture continues to be a requirement for many Kinect owners, it is not much different with Your Shape which doesn’t retract from the title, but needs to be considered.
When I first booted up Your Shape I was quite a bit skeptical of the experience I was going to have because of the intricacies of properly tracking body movements and rating them, while providing feedback just like a real trainer would. For the most part, Your Shape was doing a good job of recognizing my movements, which are displayed in form of a customizable silhouette and skeleton on screen alongside the trainer. This allowed me to stay in sync with him or her in order to get the best score and workout. Being accurate and precise with your body movement and rhythm is critical to performing the exercises properly but even out of sync, Ubisoft’s workout title provides an excellent way to get in shape. Breaking a sweat and getting sore will not be a problem. I have found that the different fitness categories, from gym exercises to Zen classes and even fully customizable personal training classes all do a good job of getting players what they came to do – work out. The audio and visual feedback keeps players focused but does not overwhelm.
Your Shape also has a decent set community features which allows users and friends to set challenges for each other and track goals online which adds to – or replaces some of the fitness experience one might get in the gym. The game allows for a good variety of different exercises and modes but lacks a bit in the environments and for someone who will spend a lot of time with Your Shape this might become somewhat bland.
Fitness games have been plagued by gimmicky, one-trick ponies for a while, especially on the Wii but Your Shape: Fitness Evolved is truly different. Ubisoft has successfully created a fitness program that treats the users professionally and keeps the experience focused, fun and challenging. Exercising with Your Shape works rather well overall, the body tracking, along with being provided with positive feedback, functions as it should with the occasional hiccups. As an athlete I can say that Your Shape is an excellent alternative to going to the gym or paying a personal trainer. I can see myself continuing to use this program because it truly works. The inevitable sequel to Your Shape: Fitness Evolved has the potential to create an even more immersive and accurate experience but this is a great start.
Score: 8 / 10
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the Xbox 360 on November 4th. A copy of the game was provided to us by Ubisoft for reviewing purposes.
