Zumba Fitness
- Platform: Xbox 360 with Kinect (Version Tested)
- Genre: Fitness
- Developer/Publisher: Pipeworks Software/Majesco
- Release: 26/11/2010
Videogames are generally seen as a form of escape. Like film or literature, they are a portal to another world, usually one filled with adventure and fantast. But the emergence of motion control has expanded the market to games with a broader appeal - non-traditional titles that have more in common with software. Zumba is such a title.
There have been quite a few fitness titles over the past few years, and some used the medium to great effect. The best of them, such as EA Sports Active, have guided users into a structured, recorded regime - a decent facsimile of a personal assistant.
But unfortunately the only thing Zumba gives the user is a basic guide, and not a very good one. It’s little more than a fitness DVD, which for some players may be no bad thing, but for many it it’s simply a paper-thin layer of interactivity over an ugly, poorly-constructed mess of an experience.
The underlying Zumba dancing concept is a sound one. Though in my opinion a little gimmicky, there’s no denying that a Zumba dance class will give you a decent work out. The same is true here, if you roughly follow the on-screen prompts.
The problem is that there’s nothing to differentiate the experience, and the extra cost and hassle, from a class or DVD.
The game doesn’t track your movements well enough to give you any feedback of note and any sort of persistent exercise regime tracking is weak and seriously inhibited by a horrible interface.
The basic mechanics of control and interaction, from selecting a dance or option from the menu to actually dancing by mimicking a horribly rotoscoped instructor, are frustrating and badly designed - sometimes they’re just broken.
I personally had a few decent cardio workouts from this game, but got nothing from the experience that I wouldn’t have had from a much cheaper DVD.
The level of interactivity on-show didn’t aid my Zumba experience. In some of the classes the rotoscoped avatar briefly shone red or yellow instead of green, which would mean I’m doing the dance incorrectly.
But it barely tells you what you’re doing wrong or how to collect it - and what it judges as right and wrong actions is inconsistent at the best of times.
I once deliberately moved incorrectly and was praised by the game; yet trying my best to follow the routine resulted in a red glow around the instructor!
There are no software trappings of note, either. You can track which days you completed dances on to try and form some semblance of a workout regime, but there’s hardly any detail about your sessions on offer, or a real customisable schedule.
It’s a shame because the intense, complicated work-outs are perfect for Kinect. If mixed with the conceptually similar but functionally competent interface of a game like Dance Central, a Zumba Kinect game could be great.
But playing it now, it’s hard to see the point. From a sheer exercise perspective it works well – but that’s entirely down to the underlying concept, not the software on offer.
If anything the whole Zumba experience is made worse by frustrations with sheer shoddiness.
The work-outs are fine. The game is not. Get the DVD instead.
Verdict: 4/10
FemaleFirst Michael Moran