I was recently lucky enough to borrow the Wii Game Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games. I wanted to try it out to review its gaming capabilities and to see if there if there were any health benefits to be had.
The reality is that there really is. Many of the games give you a good cardiovascular workout if you play them in the right way. The most active games such as Aquatics and Track require you to ‘run’ or ‘swim’ by shaking the Wii remote and Nun-chuck up and down alternately. This can have you shaking about like a crazy person. I was out of breath in no time!
When you try the Fencing games, make sure that you are standing so that you can actively take part in the game as you lunge to strike your opponent. Standing whilst playing the different Olympic events really does optimize the workout that you can get, and you will perform better in the games as your mind will be more alert and focused. I know that I am more likely to gain the gold medal if I stand up to play because I am actively participating rather than passively pressing buttons!
Use the more stationary games such as Skeet and Trampoline to give yourself a ‘breather’ between the more hectic games.
Here’s a line up of all of the 21 events that you can play in Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games:
1. 100m Track
2. 400m Track
3. 4 x100 Relay
4. 110m Hurdles
5. 400m Hurdles
6. Long Jump
7. Triple Jump
8. High Jump
9. Pole Vault
10. Hammer Throw
11. Javelin Throw
12. 100m Freestyle Aquatics
13. 4x100m Freestyle Aquatics
14. Trampoline
15. Vault
16. Skeet (Shooting)
17. Archery
18. Fencing
19. Table Tennis
20. Rowing
21. Dream Events
You are spoilt for choice when it comes to all of the gaming action. Don’t forget that you can play with up to 4 players for those daredevil contests!