Hey there and welcome to Daddy’s Corner!  For any of you new readers, that means that this post is by daddy- me!  But Mom says to mention that this is a GREAT idea for Father’s Day- and I concur! 

EA is one of the biggest most well known video game publishers out right now.  They make some great titles, including: Mass Effect, John Madden Football, and SSX ( I personally can’t wait for the newest installment of SSX, I love this game, go Kaori!!)  One of their newest franchise is EA Active.  Active is EA’s jump into the exercise/ self help genre.  It acts as both and exercise program as well as a life-style tool.  The exercises are varied and go from simple warm ups and stretches to running/biking/squats.  Also the graphics are very good, you can very clearly see exactly what should be done next, and your personal trainer (I picked Devon, seems like a cool cat) is quite good at showing you how to do each workout properly.  The backgrounds are also varied and gorgeous, from sprawling deserts to flowing waterfalls.  What I enjoyed about the workouts is they are varied.  Warm ups are just that, to stretch you out before burning those calories.  They also vary in intensity and length, from a quick 10 minutes cardio burn to longer 45 minute sessions.  You can pick a mountain to conquer on bike, pumping your feet and doing squats to do jumps and tricks or maybe off road skateboarding, with balancing and speed controlled by how deeply you squat and jump.

A great tool included in Active 2 is the calender, not only does this game help you workout but also helps you figure out when you should be working out and helps you fit exercise in your schedule.   

 

There are also tips on eating and life style changes.  An exercise routine isn’t the only portion of a healthy life as you all know.  Burgers for three meals a day and EA Active will still lead to problems down the line.  As you work out and progress through your routine, number one you feel better, and number two it actually rewards you with medals and trophies, Even PlayStation trophies so all your on-line buddies can see how well you are doing. 

There are lots of features included in Active 2.  One of the most prominent ones is the new body tracking feature and heart monitor.  (Both of which are included.)  These looks like arm bands with small mp3 player on them.  Very easy to put on and hardly noticeable once in place.  The sensors are very responsive and pick up your motion easily.  Even in the most cardio intensive workouts, where you are running in place, pumping your arms and hoping up and down doing squats. 

I know this is a minor feature but still one I really like, custom playlists.  You can rip your mp3s off your cd’s or copy them off your mp3 player, you can import a playlist into the game.  Don’t like the hip hop or electronic music included?  Change it up.  Get pumped with some classic Queen, or maybe some rocking Live, according to the wife.  The choice is yours.  I found myself building my next playslist as a cool down after my workout more often then not.  

 

We have the PlayStation 3 version of EA Active 2 and I can definitely see myself using it regularly.  It looks like it could be a nice change of pace from blowing up alien space ships and saving the world.  Saving myself from an early demise sounds like a good idea as well.

Until next time- Daddy