GENRE
	Fitness
	DEVELOPER
	Namco Bandai
	PUBLISHER
	Namco Bandai
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
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Wii is perhaps the greatest fitness console in history. The system is chock full of titles to get players off the couch, ranging from the casual (Wii Sports) to the serious (My Fitness Coach). Many of the latest games incorporate the Wii Balance Board in some way, giving players a true cardio workout.

Taking a somewhat different fitness direction is Namco Bandai’s Active Life series, which eschews the the Balance Board for a more traditional floor mat pad. The first installment, last year’s Active Life: Outdoor Challenge was met with solid sales figures and moderate critical reception. Now the series is back with a sophomore effort, giving gamers a different style but much of the same substance.

As the title suggests, Active Life: Extreme Challenge is a quick-hitting fitness title that revolves around such “extreme” sports as street luge, freestyle skateboarding, and BASE jumping. The game uses a multi-button floor pad mat that looks something like a cross between the NES Power Pad and a DDR pad, with two directional arrows atop the pad, two below, one on the left and right, and two square buttons in the middle. The pad looks durable and feels responsive, although it has limited range as it must be plugged into one of Wii’s GameCube controller ports.

The game consists of some fifteen minigames, most of which last less than a minute or two. Some minigames, such as freestyle BMX or freestyle skateboarding, require memorizing and then producing specific sequences of pad inputs. Other minigames, such as the inline skating or BMX race, require running in place. Still other minigames require more unorthodox postures, such as sitting on the pad (street luge) or jumping up and down (double Dutch jump rope).

Some games also employ the Wii Remote in a complementary fashion. A couple of the activities, such as BMX racing and waveboarding, require holding the Wii remote sideways and using tilt motion to move back and forth. Other games, such as an interesting kiteboarding game, use both the Wii Remote and nunchuck together. More generally, the Wii Remote’s IR is used to navigate menus, although some menus are also accessible through tapping the pad.

The overall game is organized around a few core approaches to gameplay. The single player tournament mode serves players up with a specific cluster of minigames (players can even create a custom cluster) and the total score between them is amassed and placed on a top score ranking list. The free play mode, by contrast, allows players to choose among the available minigames and tackle them one at a time, with scores also recorded. A third mode, the multiplayer mode, offers a limited repertoire of games for two players, some of which are alternating and some of which take place simultaneously.

The most important gameplay elements work pretty well. The controls, both on the pad and on the Wii Remote, generally work well and can be very immersive. The games are pretty diverse and offer a fresh diversity of different gameplay experiences. Some of the games are a real workout, too, especially where jumping or running in place is involved, although the game is more anaerobic rather than an aerobic cardio experience. Rounding it all out are simple but clean graphics and a suitable score of hard-driving music.

At the same time, Extreme Challenge has some noticeable shortcomings. For one, the tournament mode doesn’t feel very compelling and doesn’t seem to confer much advantage over the free play, a state of affairs which limits the game’s lasting appeal. (There is a also a challenge mode that offers some rule changes, but those small rule changes do little to change the overall game experience.) Two, some of the games are a little underwhelming; inline skating, for example, is a slow bore and is also designed in such a way that the game sometimes mistakes acceleration for jumping. Three, there is no online functionality, either in terms of gameplay or for scoring. Four, the game uses its own generic avatars rather than the Miis at the outset, and only by completing part of the game are Miis available.

When taken as a whole, Active Life: Extreme Challenge is a decent enough game, especially for young fans of extreme sports. Notwithstanding a few rough spots, the floor pad and Wii Remote create a pretty immersive setup for some interesting game experiences. This isn’t really a true fitness title, though, and those gamers looking for a more cohesive exercise experience should look to the stable of Balance Board-enabled games out there.

7.0/10