Kid Fit Island Resort
SCORE: 77
Kid Fit Island Resort is an exercise game for the Nintendo Wii designed to get kids up and moving in a fun way. This game from the relatively small publisher Red Wagon Games certainly has its heart in the right place; unfortunately there are some other things that are out of place.
Players will immediately notice that the graphics in this game are below par even for a Wii game. The graphics are rough around the edges and the environments lack much detail. As you may have deduced, Kid Fit Island Resort takes place on an island. This is a very brightly colored and fun environment and is certainly a great choice for this type of game. There are kids to be seen running around everywhere engaging in various activities on the island giving it a “day at the beach” feel. Players will create their own character to be used in the game and will be able to choose from a good selection of clothing and accessories. I was impressed with the variety available in this area of the game. Though the visual quality is below average, at least kids will have an array of clothing options to dress up their characters with.
Initially the music in Kid Fit Island Resort is fun and is very appropriate to the setting that the game takes place in. Sadly there isn’t a lot of variety in the music throughout the game. Even the music used in the musical exercise games just seems to blend in and goes almost unnoticed. Sound effects are few and far between as well. Overall the audio feels lackluster and does very little to add to the gaming experience.
Being that this is first and foremost and exercise game, I wasn’t anticipating that there would be a lot of extra features to unlock. Players can unlock additional clothing items or outfits as they play (presumably by scoring well), but this appears to be the extent of the bonus features and unlockables. The game does feature a high-score leaderboard so players can compete to be on top which adds a bit of replay value. This game is definitely suited for multiple players and can actually be played with up to 16 players in party mode (players share one set of controllers and take turns). I’ll also note that the user manual is very well done and contains a lot of useful information on how to play each of the 10 included fitness games. Retailing at around $20 Kid Fit Island Resort is certainly on the less expensive end of the gaming spectrum.
To be blunt, the gameplay in Kid Fit Island Resort is mediocre. I certainly applaud Red Wagon Games for creating a fitness game geared toward children, but this one just misses the mark. Most of the game’s activities are not very enjoyable to play and won’t hold the player’s interest for very long. Many of the activities require very little actual exercise and are more of a workout for your coordination than for your body. The Treasure Race game is likely the most physically demanding event in the game and I also found it to be the most enjoyable. Others such as the Vine Swing, Sand Castle, and Jump on a Raft are quite dull and seemingly pointless in the way of exercise. Sand Castle does require a lot of movement, but this is little more than flailing around aimlessly. The “Tribal Dance” and “Play on the Bongos” games are similar to the popular “Dance Dance” games on the market where players must time their movements to the arrows on the screen, but again this is more coordination practice than exercise. The scoring system also leaves a bit to be desired. Players are awarded stars based on how well they do. This star system is somewhat unclear and this makes it difficult to truly gauge how well you’re doing. Kid Fit Island Resort supports the use of the Wii remote with the Nunchuck or a Wii Balance Board which at least gives players multiple ways to engage in the included activities.
One thing that Kid Fit Island Resort has going for it is the family
friendly factor. This game was definitely designed with kids in mind and
I love the idea of encouraging exercise through the use of video games.
This type of game is a great tool to help motivate children to be more
active. The game is certainly safe for all ages and offers two
difficulty settings making it accessible to even young children. My
concern with Kid Fit Island Resort is that it doesn’t pull all of the
necessary components together well enough to impress modern players and
this is going to make it tough to entice children into using it. If you
want to try an inexpensive exercise game for children Kid Fit Island
Resort is an affordable option, but it may not be your best option.
-Roger
Graphics: 74%
Sound: 78%
Replay/Extras: 80%
Gameplay: 72%
Family Friendly Factor: 83%
System: Wii
Publisher: Red Wagon Games
Rating: 'E' for Everyone
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