Sure, Wii Fit is about health and lifestyle, but I'm looking forward to the games; I sampled some of the lesser-known modes at the recent Nintendo Media Summit. We've already played with the hula-hoop, soccer, ski-jump, and other basics, so I jumped straight to tightrope walking, floating in a bubble, and other later unlockables. But first, I warmed up with jogging.
- Jogging: One or two players can jog together by stepping off the balance board and sticking a Wiimote in a pocket. I trotted in place while my Mii avatar ran through a sparkling park. Easter eggs and strange events amused me, such as a pack of dogs running straight at -- and past -- me and a hidden, 8-bit Mario graffiti tag. But I decided to phone it in later, shaking the Remote like I was playing Samba. The Nintendo representative and a few onlookers scolded me, but I raced on.
- Tightrope walking: On the balance board, I lifted alternate feet, like I was walking ahead. But I had to keep my weight centered the whole time, otherwise the Mii would tip off the high wire. I was supposed to jump over a chomping bear-trap near the end of the path by crouching and extending my legs. (The motion is similar to the ski jumping game.) But I was off-center before I tried the hop, and just launched myself sideways off the narrow path.
- Bubble in a river: My Mii was trapped in a bubble, and I steered down a narrow, winding river with my leaning. If I grazed the edge of the riverbank, the bubble popped, and I lost. This mode works like a Super Monkey Ball variant. Speaking of which, hey, Sega, how about a Balance Board-tuned version of that game?
- Penguin-eats-fish: With my Mii donning a penguin suit, I stood on a teetering iceberg. From a side view, the platform tilted only left and right with my movements, sending my Mii to those edges. Fish flopped up onto the floe, and I slid in their direction, catching them for points. If I fell off, I automatically hopped back on. And I tried to fling myself up in the air, like tossing ingredients in a skillet, to grab giant fish.
- Snowboarding: I tried slalom skiing first and later rotated the balance board 90° for the snowboard simulation. I shifted my weight downhill to speed up, back to slow down. I bobbed up and down like a drinking bird to steer, and the process was challenging but worked well.
