Review: Wii Jumpstart Get Moving

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have gotten a clue that our family is making some bold steps toward a healthier lifestyle. One of the newest tools for our kids is the new Jumpstart Wii game, Get Moving – Family Fitness.

I was thrilled when asked by Jumpstart to review this item. We like the Jumpstart Wii games and online world. Our Wii titles generally consist of Mario titles, which, let’s be honest, despite the Wii platform are still rather sedentary.

The game arrived at our house on a day my kids had a planned sleepover. I let them pack up the game to share with their friends. To my disappointment, their first reactions were less than ideal. The said repeatedly “It’s too hard!” It took weeks of badgering and finally a bribe to get them to play the game again, with me.

As with all Jumpstart titles, all the kids love creating their own “Jumpeez”, the Jumpstart version of the Mii or avatar on Wii. My children always choose the exotic options like blue or purple skin and pink hair. We started off easy the second time around with running games.

As we took turns through the games (Get Moving is a 2 player game), we did find a few with challenging movements in some of the activities. Basketball was one in particular that was tricky for my younger children. As I do, I used this as a teaching moment for my children. They have seen me doing my DVD workouts, and I pointed out that exercise isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. This encouraged them and they tried until they were successful on most of the games.

The kids loved choosing the arena they play in. There are 11 different arenas to choose from and a random setting as well. At the beginning of each of the 15 sports challenges, Brooke Burke demonstrates how to use the Wii-mote and nunchuck to complete the task. As with most Wii games, this is a good instruction; but height, placement of Wii receiver, lighting and other factors can affect response times. This is why I believe, my children had much difficulty the first time around. We’ve figured out the quirks to playing Wii in our house and how to get optimum response.

Our kids now love to play Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness, and love to tote it along to friends’ houses as one of their favorite games to share. Our favorite mode of play is using the routines, both the preset and by creating our own with our favorite challenges.

Here’s the list:

Pros:
* Variety of sports: 15 challenges, ranging from easy (running) to challenging (volleyball, basketball, etc.)
* Demonstration of movements before each challenge
* 11 arenas to play in to keep interest
* Countless customization options for your Jumpeez.
* Well timed games, long enough for some good cardio exercise, not too long for kids to give up.
* Children truly get exercise, mine worked up a sweat in just one running game.
* Easy menu navigation for early readers.
* Realistic sports moves for challenges.
* Difficulty settings: Easy, Medium and Hard
* MSRP $29.99 is a great price for a just released Wii game
* Compatible with Wii Fit Board, but not required (we don’t have one)

Cons:
* 2 player game at best (we have a family of 4, we take turns)
* Some moves can be challenging, require parents help and encouragement
* Graphics aren’t quite as smooth as other games.

Our family was very pleased with Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness and are glad to have it as a piece of our family’s new journey to a healthier lifestyle. It’s great for our kids, and will continue to grow with them for quite some time.

I received a complimentary copy of this video game to play and review courtesy of JumpStart. These are my personal opinions, no other compensation was received for this post.