PS3 Review - Get Fit With Mel B

Get Fit With Mel B is a fitness game that is exclusive to the PS3. Considering the popularity of Wii Fit, it was a good bet that Sony would come out with their own fitness game. I’ve never played a fitness game. In fact, the closest I have ever come to a fitness game was when I had to shake the Sixaxis controller in Metal Gear Solid 4. So I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I first booted up the game. The experience I had with Get Fit With Mel B was definitely a unique one.

Working out using Get fit With Mel B is an extremely streamlined process. When you first turn on the game, it will ask you some basic questions about your height, weight, gender, etc. The game will also ask you if you have any workout equipment like an aerobics step, ankle weights, or a balance ball and if you do, it will incorporate them into your workouts. If you don’t have any workout equipment, like me, then you move on to selecting your workout goals. These range from “de-stress” to “tennis fit” to “keep up with kids.” At first, it may seem like there are not many goals to choose from, but they are enough to accommodate anyone who picks up this game. Next, you select how long you want your workouts to last. Once this is done, it’s time for your first workout. When you are done, you are free to turn off the PS3 and go about your day. When you start the game the next day, all you have to do is select “today’s workout” from the menu and the game will have a new set of routines for you to do. At anytime, you can change how long your workout is, what your goals are, or the difficulty of the routines you want to do.

The game does exactly what you would expect it to do. It’s a tool to help you exercise and it is a good motivator. You can set the workout time lengths from 15 min up to 90 min. As I stated earlier, it’s very easy to turn on my PS3, do a 15 min workout, and then turn off my PS3 and move on to something else. Using Get Fit With Mel B isn’t as daunting as having to set aside 15 min a day to do push-ups and sit-ups. It is very good at regulating my workout routine and giving it some structure. If I needed to lose weight, I would definitely use this game instead of trying to work out by myself. For people that can be easily distracted or don’t want to go to a gym everyday to work out, Get Fit With Mel B would be a great tool to use to get in shape.

Get Fit with Mel B has over 200 exercises. This variety makes it so that you don’t get tired of doing the same routines. The workout routines are similar to jazzercise or tae-bo. You will be doing jabs, squats, jumping from side to side, and other high-energy activities. A giant gauge pops up on the screen to let you know how you are doing. If you are going too slow, or aren’t putting enough effort into the exercises, the meter will go down. If the meter falls all the way to the bottom, nothing will happen except for a few patronizing comments from Mel B. After each routine, the game will let you know how many calories you burned. These are determined by which routine you are doing. The game doesn’t actually figure out how many calories that you personally burned. So, if you’re not putting all the effort into the routines, you won’t be burning as many calories. After the routine, a graph will pop up showing you how well you did on each exercise and then the game will ask you if the routine was too hard, too easy, or just right.

Get Fit with Mel B makes use of augmented reality. When doing the exercises, you will show up on the screen so you can see how you are doing. You can go into the options to turn this off, but I found it helpful. Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are doing the more intricate routines right, so displaying your moves on screen is a great feature. Every once in a while the camera would freak out and only show a small portion of my body, but I think that has more to do with my tiny apartment room than the game. You are supposed to stand at least 6 feet away from the camera, but I was only standing about 3 feet away from the camera, so don’t worry about getting it to work if you have a small apartment.

There are some drawbacks to Get Fit With Mel B. Losing weight isn’t just about exercise, it is also about having a healthy diet. Although the game does feature a menu where you can look up nutritional meals, it would have been better if the game took a more active role in your diet. Also, although for the most part the virtual Mel B on screen does a good job of guiding you through the exercises, sometimes she can sound a little cold and lifeless. The camera also has this bad habit of zooming in close to Mel B’s face sometimes after a routine and having her just stare silently at you. The music can get annoying, but you can always turn the music off or listen to your own music through custom soundtracks.

Get Fit With Mel B can be a great tool to help you lose weight. Some people might prefer to work with an actual, living trainer, but this game will appeal to many people. The exercises are fun to do and you can always find time throughout the day to do a workout session. This game won’t get you to the summer olympics, but it’s a good first start toward a healthier lifestyle.