Yet Another Software Review

[Editor’s Note: I was gonna post this last week but I ran out of time before we went out of town.  Here it is.]

For the past couple of months I have been using Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 for the XBox to augment my gym routines.  After five months of Nike+ Kinect Training I figured it was time for a switch to keep it fresh.

So far I have burned a little more than 6500 calories (actually probably 15-20% more than that, but I will come back to that later) and used the software on 37 of the past 69 days.  Over that time I have done 1265 pushups, 1443 crunches, and 2708... um... jump-ropes.  I think I have enough information now to give this software package a decent review.

Out of the gate I just want to be clear that I like this software as much as or more than I liked the Nike+ title, which is to say that I think both are good enough for what they try to accomplish - getting you moving - and I think they both beat walking/running on a treadmill.  Like the other software, though, this title isn't without its faults.  

So, in the spirit of all things Internet, let's complain because it is easy and fun to do so.

Although you are not required to, the docs that come with the disc encourage you to set an "Objective" for yourself.  An Objective is a number of minutes per week for a certain number of weeks that you must hit to meet your goal.  Depending on your self-proclaimed level of activity and the type of goal you are setting (increase endurance, lose weight, etc) the software marks certain exercises with flags.  Performing the flagged exercises tacks minutes toward your Objective.  

First, the plus side to that: There are 80 exercise routines in 23 (free) categories to choose from and it can be a little (read: a lot) tempting to just do the simplest ones over and over to meet your goal without breaking much of a sweat. Therefore the flags force you to push yourself a little, since the simplest exercises typically are not flagged and are not counted toward your objective.  The calories are tallied normally, however, regardless of what you chose.

Next, the bad side to that: 

1. Although it makes sense that less challenging exercises are not counted toward your objective total, it makes no sense whatsoever that more difficult or lengthier routines are not.  For example, I completed the highest difficulty Boot Camp class (18 minutes) and got no time credit for it because it was not flagged like the 11 and 16 minute classes were.  Weak.
2. Some of the flagged classes cannot be performed without a) buying something or b) creating some meaningless Uplay account.
3. You can't see which exercises you are committing to before selecting an objective.  How "challenging" is "Challenge Me"?  Is the easiest set of exercises way too easy? You can't tell without signing up first.  If you decide to change it based on what you see you have failed the objective.

So, due to these three things I have completed 2 of 5 Objectives.  I officially signed up for three and simply scoped out the other two.  The third signed-up-for one was the "Challenge Me" objective that I think I explained they should just rename "Challenge Me... Just Not Too Much, Though" or "The Pointless Online Account Creation Arm-Twister 3000".  Although I have plenty of minutes with the tougher exercises to pass the Objective, I only have 70% of the "official" minutes, so I have decided to just give Objectives a pass and concentrate on calories per day and getting the medals and achievements I can without setting up the Uplay account or buying DLC.  

It's the principle of the thing, ya understand...  Not everyone wants to share every darn thing they do with every other darn person on the globe, you know... Umm... he declares...  on his blog...

Shut up.

Let's get back to whining, shall we?

The trainers are mercifully silent (well, except for the "drill sergeant") and the voice-over personality has a supportive and friendly tone even when she is berating you for not having the correct form.  This is a most welcome change from the non-stop "great-job-Slugger/oh-you-embarassing-clod" bipolar chatter that spews incessantly from the trainers in the Nike+ package.

The drill sergeant trainer in charge of the Boot Camp classes is just about the most laughably over-the-top character I have ever run into, and I have read my share of Clive Cussler books.  How to describe him... Hmmm... Well, picture that, instead of R. Lee Ermey, they cast the Star Wars Kid as the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, gave him a few shots of vodka, and told him to "just improvise something totally... idunno... badass, I guess" and you will come close to the awesomeness that this trainer encompasses.

The exercises are way more varied and way more complex than those of the Nike+ title, so it doesn't get as predictable as quickly.  On the flip side of that coin some of the routines this thing makes you do are so fast and complex it must assume you are Baryshnikov on crystal meth or something.   I ain't got rhythm, see.  This is not the fault of the software... or so my lawyer tells me... Pfft. I am so sick and tired of his "that's a pretty frivolous and indefensible claim, Mr. SnowUrchin" attitude. 

Let's wrap this up with some bugs and features I thought were noteworthy:

1. The calories are not counted correctly.  That is, sometimes the on-screen number just freezes.  I initially did not catch this (too busy wheezing, you understand) but I was suspicious that something was up when an 8-minute yoga routine performed at 70% accuracy earned me far more burned calories than the 8-minute Boot Camp routine performed at 83% accuracy.  It appears that occasionally the counter gets stuck and does not resume counting for long stretches.  I am not quite sure what causes this, but it might be tied to performing the previous routine flawlessly or ending a routine with a perfect chain of any length.  Likewise, I am not sure what causes the counter to get unstuck.  Once it was stuck for three straight three-part routines when I did the 38 minute Sports Prep, causing me to "lose" 20% of the recorded burned calories I would have earned.
2. The pause you get between aerobic sets is about 15 seconds.  Compare this to the 30-second breaks you get with the Nike+ software.  During the Boot Camp drills, however, the breaks are more like five seconds.  That said, the 38-minute Football Sports Preparation set is way more intense than the most difficult (18-minute) Boot Camp set.
3. Sometimes tracking fails completely.  This is especially true if there are light level changes in the room while you are working out (the sun has risen, say).  The exercises that are especially susceptible to this effect are the Mountain Climbers and the Plank-to-Push-Ups.  "This exercise is always done on the floor.  That's it, the same way as your coach... Face to the side when doing this exercise" is pretty much all you will hear once it gets into that mode.   Well, all you will hear apart from your wheezy cursing, that is.
4. The dance classes are a great way to do pre-workout stretches (or post workout cool downs) while earning time toward your Objective.  Of course, you can do them anyway if you simply feel like looking like an uncoordinated buffoon.  If you do decide to do the classes, though, do yourself a favor and shut the curtains unless you want to arrive at work to discover you had inadvertently turned yourself into a meme that morning.
5. One thing this package excels at are abdominal workouts - something that is not done too well in the Nike+ package.  I really can't praise this part of the software enough.  On the other hand, the Nike+ software has better pre- and post workout stretching routines.
6. Get yourself some light weights to do the toning exercises.  I use 10 and 15 pound dumbbells since I do my heavier stuff at the gym, and even those weights are too much for me depending on the exercise and how much time I have already done that morning.
7. It is easy to game the system when doing the Run the World routines if you just remember to (or just happen to) slow down a little right before the Challenges start.  If you are jogging at 8 km/hr when you hit one, you might be asked to run at 12 km/hr for 30 seconds for a certain number of points (about 200 or so).  If you arrive at the same Challenge marker while jogging at 12 km/hr, the goal is 15 or 16 km/hr, which is a lot tougher to maintain (or even obtain if the tracking has decided to go all wonky). 

So, over all, a thumbs-up for this title.  The main thing that would make this better is if Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 came in an XBox flavor, but it looks like it does not.  Since I will not be getting a Wii U anytime soon, I think I will stick with this software for a while.