Get Kinected: Your Shape Fitness Evolved

Living in the city and being a blogger are the coolest some days!  When I woke up this morning, did I know I was going to see NFL super cutie Mark Sanchez?  Well, I did at a Ubisoft press event for the new XBox 360 game Your Shape Fitness Evolved. 

"Whoa.  This game is only for 'real athletes', right?" you may be asking yourself.  Certainly, Mark Sanchez is a top athlete, but Your Shape Fitness Evolved is for everybody at ANY level.  If you are a fan of Men's Health or Women's Health magazines, you can do these exercises.


Will this game make me look like these folks? Fingers crossed!

I was walked through the game features by lovely spokeswoman Laurel House (check out her website chicknotesguide.com) who explained all the many features of the game.

Unlike the Wii (which I love too), there is no remote to hold.  The Kinect (which is $150 and hooked up to your XBox 360) scans your body with 1 million dots that track your every move.  You actually are YOU and not a Mii and it looks like you!  The controls are on the screen and you press the buttons using the projected you.  It is SO freakin' Mission Impossible I was geeking out. 

The Kinect!  So shiny. . .

Laurel demonstrated a hula hoop game and a boxing work out for me, but the game also features Men's Health and Women's Health work outs, yoga, and mini games that you can play with your friends in person or online!

That's Kinect Laurel with her hula hoop. . .

as she hoops she gets more balls. . .

until it's a crazy ball tornado!

This is real life Laurel with her invisible hula hoop.

The boxing portion features Michael George. . .

Celebrity trainer to the stars!

Laurel also told me that the game works like a personal trainer, saving your progress and making the exercises progressively more challenging.  She also said there are some big time celebrity trainers that will be featured in future installments that can be downloaded right onto the XBox 360 so you will always have plenty of options to challenge yourself.  Then she ran off to get her picture taken with Mark Sanchez.  I don't blame her.

What I liked about it:  You can use your real hand weights and there are no worries about hitting your TV with a wild Wii remote!  Also the game corrects your form as you play so you know you are doing the workouts correctly. 

I was given a complimentary copy of the game to try, so now I'll HAVE to get a Kinect to go with my XBox so I can have a well rounded workout game platform.  Although I don't want this to replace gyms and trainers (I would be out of a job!) I think this game is a great option for adults and kids that gets you off the couch and up and sweating.  Bring it, Santa!