Wii FitPublisher:Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
UK Price (as reviewed):£69.99 (inc. Delivery)
US Price (as reviewed):$89.00 (excl. Tax)

The Wii is everywhere – everyone and their mother have got one and there are dozens of complete and utter gaming n00bs out there, cashing in their paycheques for the hundreds of frankly mostly mediocre at best games.

The Wii may be the cheapest and most accessible of all the consoles on the market, but it’s no secret that the trade off for it is that most of the games are absolute crap.

There is only one hope on the horizon; first-party titles.

Nintendo has proven time and time again that it is the only company that truly understands how to use its own hardware – look at The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass and compare it to all the other action-adventure titles on the Nintendo DS and you’ll see what we mean. Nobody knows Nintendo like Nintendo does.

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Now, the company that first launched the Wii to lofty success with Wii Sports is hoping to do it again with another game in the same vein. This time though, it isn’t the Wii itself that is getting the launch, but a brand new peripheral called the Wii Balance board that looks to add a whole new dimension to gaming. What the Wiimote does for your hands, the balance board should do for your feet.

Does the balance board really work all that well though, or has Nintendo let itself down by making a game based on a gimmick that far too many gamers are wise to now? There’s only one way to find out, so before the UK launch, we’ll take a look at the Wii’s next revolution.

Rowdy Board!So, the first question is obviously going to be "What is the balance board?" – to which we have the answer!

Put simply, the balance board is like several sets of electronic scales all set together. The board, which is in Wii-white, has in-built sensors that detect how your weight shifts when you stand on it. It is a board that you balance on, get it? The Wii balance board isn’t just a peripheral set up for Wii Fit alone though and we already know of several games that will use the board as well – such as Don King Presents Prizefighter, which lets boxers dodge blows by standing on the board.

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So, the balance board is going to be an important peripheral going forward—hopefully more important than the incredibly awkward Wii Zapper—but right now the only thing on offer that takes advantage of the balance board is Wii Fit itself.

Nintendo, recognising how hugely successful Wii Sports was with the casual demographic, has tried to replicate it because it seems as Wii Fit is essentially a very similar game. Just like Wii Sports is has an emphasis on computerised versions of real-life activities, using and developing skills that people already have, and introducing players to an entirely new way of playing.

Whereas Wii Sports was pretty much just a tech demo though with few levels and little longevity, Wii Fit tries to provide more replayability through unlockable exercises and a gaming routine you’ll set yourself to help you lose weight and get fit.

And supposedly, that’s what Wii Fit is all about – getting fit through playing games and progressing through the four areas of fitness that Wii Fit offers, though whether these exercises actually do help physical fitness at all or are just more of a lame hook to catch players with remains to be seen.