Wii's Walk it Out - Trick Yourself into Exercising

Walk It Out is a fitness game available on the Nintendo Wii platform. The premise is simple enough. You walk around a virtual island to earn chips which you use to purchase capsules that unlock the game. The walking part of the game is not virtual. Well, sort of. You have to walk for real in order to make your avatar (yes, a virtual you) walk in the game. The Wii will register your steps via the balance board, a DDR pad, or the Wii remote and nunchuk. I know, it doesn't sound like anything fancy. And the game isn't. But that doesn't seem to stop the fact that it can become very hard to stop playing once you get started.

Just One More Capsule
I started playing the game with the intention to walk around Rhythm island and unlock a few songs. There are over 120 titles. That didn't seem like it would be that challenging. But here's the thing. You have to collect four music capsules to unlock one song. Only a couple of handfuls of songs are unlocked when you first get the game. So we're talking about over 100 titles times four capsules each. That equals up to quite a bit of walking. And once I started collecting songs I kept walking to collect just one more. And then, just one more after that. Before I knew it, I had been walking for over an hour. And this happens pretty much every time I play.

More Motivation to Walk
There are also capsules to unlock buildings, street signs, constellations, bales of hay (seriously), and the list goes on and on. So it appears that there are hundreds of hours of walking needed to beat the game. You could get yourself quite fit playing this game on a consistent basis.

More Like Run it Out
And don't let the title fool you. Those who purchased the game thinking they were going to leisurely stroll in place may be in for a bit of a shock.There are many songs on the game that will have you jogging in place to stay in step with the beat. That may not be a bad thing if you can handle running. However, some people on the Walk It Out Facebook fan page reported that they've needed to purchase a rebounder (a small trampoline you walk on) to take the stress off of their joints while using the game.

Despite that, Walk It Out can be an easy way to get a good workout from walking or jogging without having to leave the comforts of your own home.

Don't Let the Packaging Fool You
The cover of the game shows two children walking with their parents following behind. This kind of makes the game seem like it's primarily for young people. However, Walk It Out is fun for all ages who enjoy using video games for exercise purposes.

You can find out more about the game on Konami's official Walk It Out page.