10 Minute Solution

I really like some of the fitness options that utilize the wii, however, this is not one. To begin, you can choose a quick start option, custom workouts, or set up your own fitness plan. I went to custom workouts which require you to go through a training session before you ''play''. Quite honestly, this is not a fun game--it is slow, my movements do not read well, and I never raised my heart rate, much less broke a sweat.

You do have some choice of aerobic games (which have nothing to do with cardio boxing) as well as some core work.

I am not impressed with this ''game''. I would rather work out with a fitness DVD; at least it would be more effective.

I was disappointed with this game. I thought it would be a better workout like EA sports active. The music is poor, the moves are slow and too much stopping between sessions. Gold''s Gym is a better cardio boxing and GG records your movements better than this does. Maybe after I use it more and get through all the workouts I will like it better, but right now it is a disappointment

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The game doesn''t track well with your movements, making it frustrating to use. Spend a little more and get the EA Sports Active-More Workouts--which is well worth the cost.

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As most people know, 10 Minute Solution is a highly popular set of DVDs where you can start and finish a complete exercise routine in 10 minutes. The DVDs each feature an attractive fitness expert on a mat demonstrating different aerobic workouts to you, shouting out instructions and encouragement each step of the way.

I''ll start off by saying that fans of the DVD series expecting a similar experience may be a little disappointed. 10 Minute Solution for Wii seemed to eschew the formula that made the DVDs so popular. Instead of an intimate one-on-one training session with an instructor, it feels like the standard kind of Wii fitness game we''ve seen before, where you just perform a series of repetitious actions with your balance board or Wii remotes to on-screen cues.

As with many games, there is an on-screen "instructor" who''s mainly a shadowy figure in the background, not an active instructor as in the videos. You can choose from "male or female" voices and even "helpful or bossy", but at the end there''s not much personality, just the standard repetitious "way to go!" type encouragement endemic to these kinds of games.

So I suspect that most of the negative reviews here are from fans of the 10 Minute Workout series who were expecting more of the "personality" of the DVD series comes to through in the game.

But having said that, I''ll be focusing my review of the game strictly on its merits as a fitness and exercise game. And in this area, it is a very solid title.

Much like My Fitness Coach, you can select a male or female trainer, music from a set list of generic tunes, and the environment you''ll be working out in (you can choose from a Chinese courtyard, Venice, a Japanese tea garden, a beach, a middle eastern palance, and a gym). The graphics are very well done, and I appreciate the subtle details that help keep the exercise interesting (such as a plane flying outside the window of your gym).

There are basically two different varieties of exercises you can do with your virtual trainer: cardio boxing or step aerobics. For each, you can choose from six different workouts ranging from simple (one star) to advanced (three stars). You''ll find the one-star exercises are far too easy; you hardly break a sweat. On the other hand, when I did the three-star exercises, I got a great aerobic workout, complete with sweating, increased heartrate, and a great feeling afterwards.

There is also a category called "mixed games" which allows you to control your on-screen character in one of four sports simulations: volleyball, badminton, catching a frisbee, or fighting with pugil sticks. As with games like EA Sports Active and The Biggest Loser, you''re not really playing the sport itself--you''re performing a series of cardio boxing or step aerobic moves, and if you hit the moves precisely your on-screen character performs the sports task.

Each exercise is precisely 5 minutes each, so you basically put together your own 10 minute workout each day by choosing two exercises from the sixteen choices.

Until now, Wii Fit has been the one step aerobics title that uses the balance board. This is one area where this game shines. The three-star step aerobics has you doing lunges, squats, and fast-moving splits that are far more complex and a faster pace than in Wii Fit, and all clearly demonstrated with animated footprints on a small image of the balance board.

As far as the boxing, the game has you doing crosses, hooks, jabs, and uppercuts at a really quick pace. As with Gold''s Gym Cardio, a series of icons will scroll upwards, and you need to perform the boxing move when the icon hits a little square. But it surpasses it in a couple ways: the three-star routines can be much more intensive than anything Gold''s Gym has, and unlike Gold''s Gym the beat of the music actually matches your punching (what a concept!). I also like the fact that you can use two Wii remotes instead of a nunchuk--this makes your movements much, much more accurately. I''ve read that a lot of people are having trouble registering the moves, but as long as I''ve used two Wii remotes and made broad, exagerrated movements, I haven''t had a problem.

One of the things I like most about this game is its simplicity. A lot of other games try to stuff in a bunch of fillers and nonsense, such as recipes and dressing up the on-screen characters, all to justify a higher price tag. With 10 Minute Solution for Wii you have three choices from the startup screen: an instant workout (which picks a 5-minute workout for you randomly), a custom workout (where you can pick and choose two 5-minute workouts to make one 10-minute workout), and a fitness plan (where you can mix and match activities for each day of the week for anywhere from a 5-minute to a 30-minute workout each day). I applaud Activision for not being tempted to stuff gimmicks in, and for making the list price a very affordable $19.99.

Again, be sure to go in with the right expectations: it''s not like the DVD series, and it''s not a $59.99 game. As long as you don''t compare it to either of those, you have a pretty solid and very affordable Wii fitness game to add some variety to your workout routines.

NEW INFORMATION: I just learned that Activision has set up a YouTube channel at which features cover model and fitness guru Jessica Smith demonstrating the proper form for the types of exercises in the game. To me, this is what the game was missing. If you do get the game, watching these videos is highly recommended.

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I was very excited when I saw the preview for this game... The price was right too. I popped it in and noticed the graphics are a bit well, cheap. I started my first work out of step aerobics and really enjoyed it. Then it moved on to cardio boxing. What a clunky, poorly made game. It barely recognized moves, and if you don''t do a move correctly during the demonstration it makes you do it over and over and over and over and over againuntil the game feels you''ve done it properly...which would be fine if I was actually doing the move incorrectlybut againthe game doesn''t recognize movement the way it should. I figured I would just do the step which is what I got it for anyway...yeah..how I wish.. It has a "squat" move in it which for whatever reason it doesn''t think I do it right, it''s a squat.. I''ve done it on the wii board, off the wii board..it doesn''t care..refuses to recognize that I''ve done it. I''m done with this game, It''s going on Ebay tomorrow. I''d rather do the boring step aerobic "class" & cardio boxing on EA Sports and Wii Fit Plus for 20 minutes.. the graphics, music and recognition is far better.

This game does have a lot of potential..they need to do a lot more work on it..

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