EA Sports Active 2 [PS3/360/Wii]

[JP]

I'm a little limited when doing this also for pretty much the same reasons that you mention.

I wouldn't use the word cheat but what I've learnt to do is improvise when I need to by doing things a little differently, as long as I feel at the end of each session that I've done what I should do then I'm happy even though it may not be exactly what it's telling me to do.

The same happens now as I feel that over time I've learnt my limits with each exercise, I know which ones that I'm able to push myself harder and which I need to ease off on.

When I first started I was overdoing all of them and I was doing that every single day instead of just the four days a week that it recommends and I ended up hurting one of my legs due to this. I then had a couple of scheduled rest days and decided to take them for the first time, the next scheduled session I was pretty much able to cruise through because of those days off.

I still like to push myself but I've got more of an understanding of the difference between it being a good and bad thing.

I've had it not register moves that I've done occasionally but as you say it's infrequent and I don't really think it makes the slightest bit of difference in the long run. I'm sure it's also registered moves that I haven't done, I've just earned the 1000 squats trophy but it doesn't really matter if I've had to do 1010 or 990 to earn it.

I first tried it on the Medium setting and although it wasn't a problem and having looked at the later programmes and taking my back problems into consideration I chose to do the Easy level instead. I'm glad that I did as it gave me the option to do extras on top of the scheduled work outs if I chose to rather than perhaps not being able to do what was scheduled later on.

It was certainly right for me but it is of course different from person to person and I'd been out of action for a long time when I started this.

Although it's not the sort of thing I'd normally do I've decided that I'm going to get the platinum trophy for this. Many of the trophies will are going to be easy enough and will just happen on their own but then I see the run 1000km/621.4mi trophy and see that today I've only reached 33km (2km today) and realise that some are going to take some time to earn.

I've started to think far more about setting up my own sessions and once I've completed the The 9 Week Programme, The Nike Low Impact Programme and The Cardio Kick Start Programme I'll then create my own with far more personalised goals.

I'm still disappointed that it doesn't have what I thought would be a simple option of setting up things such as a 5k run or something I'm looking into other software to find something that will allow me to do things like that as there are a few available now.

I've really enjoyed this and I hope you get as much out of it as I have as I've found it really worthwhile and I know it's a cliche but you will only get as much out of it as put into it.

Good luck with it anyway.

[hudson]

Had a quick go on this last night, just to test it out. I've got two sets, so me and my girl friend can play together.

We tried a quick workout called 'limber up' and we found that the game was just counting up completed attempts even if we were not doing anything. I have the first game on Wii and if you're not moving or doing the exercise correctly, the game lets you know. Should the PS3 version let me know to?

Also, anyone know if workout data for a second player is recorded to their profile or is it just a case of being a guest on another player's profile and nothing is recorded?

[JP]

None of the warm up or cool down exercises follow the standard pattern of your movement being monitored while doing them. You could just stand there and complete both without moving.

Both types are far more leisurely than the main exercises which actually have a goal.

I'd imagine it's easy enough to do pretty much any of the full workouts with fairly minimal movement, you do have to move but it's clearly not able to track every part of your body because of the limited technology being used.

Not sure about the profiles as I only have one on there but if you check somewhere in the settings it does give you the option to choose what I think it calls the lead profile which suggests that you should be able to have more than one active profile on there.

I'm not sure if people are aware of it but EA have an online profile site for keeping track of your progress. There's help topics and forum which may be worth checking but I've not looked at them myself.

www.easportsactive.com/uk Warning: contains pictures of David Beckham and worryingly healthy looking people!

[hudson]

Yeah I looked into the Profile Settings, and even with two of us standing there all sensor'd up, the game only listed one account. The lead profile.

Strange that the "leisurely" workouts do not follow your movements. The Wii version was quite strict. "Again!".

[JP]

Completed the Nine Week Programme earlier and managed to do it without missing any of the scheduled sessions. It certainly got tougher at the end and I'm sort of glad that I didn't attempt it at a higher difficulty this time.

Just done my first session of the two week Nike Low Impact Starter Pack (2 weeks) which seems a lot easier than the one I've just completed. Having looked at what I'll have to do later in the programme I went for the most challenging setting.

The first session was still easy really even though I'd only just completed the other which was quite challenging so I was still aching a bit from that.

I am going to do the Cardio Kick Start Programme (3 weeks) after I've completed this as I want to learn about each of them so I can set up custom programmes effectively which is what I really want to do. I going to do some custom sessions along side this one as even on the hardest level it starts off too relaxed.

EDIT:
Being a bit cheeky but would anybody who has the PS3 version mind borrowing me their three monitors and USB dongle for a day?

I was looking earlier at the goals and one of them is to complete a co-op session and I know if I've got that left on its own after completing everything else that it will annoy the hell out of me.

I'll of course pay for postage and packing both ways and I'll need it for one day. I don't anybody else who owns it so the only other way to complete everything will be to be a second copy which I'd rather avoid if possible.

Thanks.

[JSR]

Was at a friends place the other day. Ended up staying there until past midnight, which I often do. Got home and was about to do my exercise for the day, but my PS3 told my I had missed it, as it was past midnight. Annoying. I see that there is a section called missed exercises, where I can do the ones I missed. Anyone know if taking these will still let me get the trophy for not missing anyone, or is it lost forever?

Furthermore I have discovered some problems with the heart monitor. When running or skipping, it tends to stop registering my increase in heart rate, and ends up hovering around the current number. No matter how fast or hard I run or jump, it sometimes refuses to rise. And I know that my heart rate is increasing, because when the next exercise start (and I am standing still) it has jumped around 30 beats.