Looking for video games that include physical activity

May 13, 2016 6:49 AM

The spouse and I are looking for ways to get more exercise, and we would like to find some video games that will serve this purpose.

We have an old WiiFit and Xbox 360, and we used to enjoy some of the sports games they had, but we got bored with them pretty quickly. We're willing to buy a new system if needed and we'd like to get some recommendations for games we can play together that include physical activity. Difficulty level: spouse does not want anything dance-related, or "follow along doing these exercises," but more of a game or a sport.

posted by blurker to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

The one game I keep going back to is Sports Champions table tennis with the move controller on ps3. It's a lot to invest in one game, but it's really challenging and fun and you get a great workout. At first the controls seem way too forgiving, but by the later levels they're much more realistic... if you miss the ball, you miss the ball.

The frisbee golf and bocce games are pretty great, too, but more relaxed. Sports champions 2 is ok, but really the bowling is the only one I still play.

On Amazon it looks like ~$300 for everything... a move bundle with Sports Champions, another move controller, and a refurbished ps3. You don't need two move controllers per person, or the joystick part of the move controller.

I have Xbone with Kinect, and a sports game with that, but I always go back to the move. There's just something to the 1:1 movement with a controller you're actually holding that is really appealing. And the move is much, much more accurate than the wii controller, like not even in the same realm.
posted by Huck500 at 7:15 AM on May 13, 2016

Don't know if going outside is a possibility -- but if it is, something like Zombies, Run! could work. Here's how you could multiplayer.
posted by gnomeloaf at 7:29 AM on May 13, 2016

Drumming for Rock Band can for sure be a cardio activity once you work your way up to expert.
posted by Jairus at 7:40 AM on May 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Its an older game, but Dance Dance Revolution is fantastic! You would want some decent pads that have foam inside, like these, the ones that just sit on the floor slide around a bit too much.
posted by procrastination at 9:16 AM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

Wario Ware Smooth Moves is pretty active, as well as very weird and funny.
posted by milk white peacock at 9:52 AM on May 13, 2016

I know you said you didn't want a dance game, but Crypt of the Necrodancer played on a cheap dance pad is loads of fun and not particularly dancey.
posted by hollyholly at 10:45 AM on May 13, 2016

Get your smartphones, go outside, and play some Ingress.
posted by Rob Rockets at 11:03 AM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

Dance Dance Revolution is fantastic!
Seconded. I also want to stress that, despite the word dance in its name, DDR is not a dancing game like Just Dance. It is a stepping game, where you are stepping/running/intensely shuffling in a small area depending on the difficulty of the chart and your proficiency at the game. The definitive DDR game for Wii is Dance Dance Revolution II (2011), which I had played a huge amount of, but which might be difficult to find nowadays. There is also a PC simulator StepMania, which I continue to play regularly as cardio exercise. If you choose the StepMania route, you will need a pad or two, and you will also need to also download some simfiles (songs+charts).

Bonus: Two people playing a moderately difficult chart, as an example of something in between people playing Butterfly for the first time (not very good exercise) and doing some sort of frenetic body convulsing challenge charts (out of reach for most people).
posted by The arrows are too fast at 11:24 AM on May 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

The Vive (Virtual Reality). Spendy though. Most of the games you are doing a lot of physical action. Some of them even feel like a real workout.
posted by canda at 12:21 PM on May 13, 2016

Ingress could work if you walk between points.
posted by isauteikisa at 6:05 PM on May 13, 2016

Just go geocaching! Download the official app, boot it up, and look for caches in your area. Stick to medium-sized caches and above for your first several finds, and also try to only search for those which other folks have recently found. If you need a little more stimulation than the basic pleasure of a treasure hunt, look for mystery caches -- they often require you to solve riddles.
posted by zeee at 9:46 PM on May 13, 2016