Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 Review

Gyms can be undoubtedly scary places. No matter which one you’re signed in at or what time you go, there’s always going to be human Hulk’s groaning and grunting and roaring like they’re some unstoppable man-machine as they pull down impossible weights and flex their muscles in front of the mirror. Then there’s the “Mum’s” who stand around talking about who’s dating who, how little Timmy’s getting on at school and how much food they ate at Christmas (or are going to) whilst cycling along on the exercise bikes  “pretending” to do what the superhuman gym-regulars are doing. But everyone knows they’re not. And alongside the people, there’s the smell of t-shirts sticking to skin with sweat, the noise of chatting and the constant “Boom-Boom-Boom” of the music that’s way too loud and way, way, way too techno for most people. All of these add together to create an unsettling experience that culminate in a sense of regret as you leave the room and guilt as you ram multiple chocolate bars down your mouth and anticipate how many episodes of Loose Women you can watch on catch-up to assist you in forgetting your terrifying ordeal.

However, thanks to the arrival of the Wii U and Ubisoft’s help, this gut-wrenching, confidence-shattering time can be avoided with the substitute of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 where anyone can get the benefits of the gym without venturing out of the house and facing the fears of the workout zone. But this does not mean you can slack off, oh no! If you want to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger then you’re going to need dedication, belief and lots of free time…and a copy of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 but, thankfully, that last one might not be a mistake as Ubisoft’s workout program gives more than enough options to ensure that your biceps and triceps are worked to their full potential.

Your Shape is less of a game and more of a personal trainer, just without the verbal abuse. With the well-designed menus and plenty of options at your disposal, the title can easily be tailored to fit the player’s personal goals. Upon set-up, users must insert their age, gender, height and weight, immediately allowing the game to get a feel of whether the user is Jason Statham or not before embarking them on their personal weight-loss journey. It’s this that is Your Shape’s greatest strength: with so many personalisations, it would have been very easy for users to feel overwhelmed with the options and make the workout sessions a daunting task rather than an effective and enjoyable one, which they should be.

The fact that the game is so personal boils down to the title’s multiple options and sections. From the get-go, players can participate in individual activities such as dances to songs from artists like Lady Gaga, LMFAO and more and meditative movements like Lotus Seat Session and Tadasana Session, each intended to empty the mind and calm down the user.  The dancing sessions work in a very similar fashion to that of Just Dance with players moving their arms about, to copy the actions on screen. On paper this does work but the classes are never as fun as they should be, meaning they can feel like a waste of time. This is the same for the yoga practises: the gameplay itself is short and simple but the game never explains what to do whilst moving the Wii U GamePad around, regarding breathing and speeds. For someone who is far from educated in the mysticisms of meditation, I just felt as if I was moving my GamePad around very slowly to draw shapes in the air.

Alongside these are the Workout sessions where players work their way through movement after movement with the Wii controller, copying the characters on screen. While the movements themselves are simple enough, the game fails to explain not what to do but what these actions are doing to your body. It said at the start that these will tone me up, but I’d like to know what muscles I’m toning and other similar information. Because of the lack of information, I didn’t feel compelled to do more as I didn’t fully understand what one extra session would do for me. The same goes with the Classes option: what I was doing was easy enough but I wasn’t really sure what it was I was doing, apart from moving from side to side or up and down with the Wii controller in hand.

Every activity you compete in the game gives you points that can then be spent in the shop where players can purchase new items such as other avatars to show you what to do on screen and more activities to participate in in the Classes and Workout sections. The fact that these activities are harder than the ones immediately available from the start suggests that the game doesn’t want you to jump in straight at the deep end, so makes players work for the harder sessions, ensuring that they’ll only be ready for them once they reach them. It’s a great idea that shows that Your Shape will be in player’s consoles for a long time.

Out of all of the reviews I have written, this was easily the hardest of the lot. Not because I am undecided as to whether the game is bad or not, but because it’s unlike any other title I have had to write about. My overall opinion is this: Your Shape is a game that people will buy regardless of whether it’s good or not because its success and effectiveness depends on those using it. Have a quick go here or there and it’ll be a waste of money; spend time on it daily or weekly and whilst it may not be as effective as the gym, it’ll certainly ensure that you don’t become the human version of Jabba the Hutt. It’s a game where substance takes over from style, meaning that whilst the title certainly isn’t lacking in content, it’s certainly lacking in context, therefore requiring players to work out what to do for themselves. However, this allows users to alter routines for themselves, never feeling constricted by the game’s instructions, crafting a unique and effective experience. With slick menus, a lot to do and a considerable amount of soothing music, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 is a great workout title (as good as one of them could be anyway) and is the perfect title to pick up if Wii Fit has abandoned you or you want something new.