I consider Wii games where you have to be active to be my favourites games. The first time I saw this game it looked promising and just had to get it. The idea sounded good that you could practice with the help of a camera so that the program can register your movements and even correct you. It's like having a personal trainer!

Your shape is a game that focuses on active game and getting a full work out. You can focus on certain muscle groups such as abs and biceps. The workout is done with the help of a camera that records your movements and helps you perform the exercises correctly.

The camera of Your Shape has a USB connection and can be placed in the USB port of your Wii Console and then you put the camera on the TV. All this is very easy. More complex is to ensure that the camera meets the requirements for it to function properly. In the book there are clear instructions like make sure that there are no light sources in the vicinity (like big windows). Also make sure there's no furniture in front the camera or any moving objects. Your clothes should also be bright because otherwise the camera will not register you and you also have to make sure that you fit fully in the screen. That means you must have a large room and stand quite far from the TV, otherwise your legs and head are cut off. You can imagine its quiet difficult to meet the requirements and will only work if you got a big living room with no windows.

When you first start playing you need to scan your body. After an x-number of workouts this happens again. When creating a profile you must also enter things like height and weight and you have to do a special test that measures how fit you are.

Once you've set your camera you can choose a workout. You have several areas where you can focus on like your belly, your arms, your chest or your legs. You can also work on your fitness level. There are also special workouts aimed at targets for example to lose the additional holiday pounds. When you have chosen a workout you can set the time and choose any attributes that you have in your house like weights or a step.

After choosing a workout you can perform the workout. You see yourself on the right half of the television screen and on the left half is an animated person doing what you do. At the bottom you see the name of the exercise you do and you get on the percentage about the exercises you've done well (every time you fail, that figure falls), the time and the number calories you've burned. In itself it looks all quite clear enough. The only thing that is disturbing is that you can not see what the next exercise is, or how long it lasts. This is quite frustrating because you have no idea what to expect. The exercises in the workout seem somewhat random.

There are several workouts that focus on a target rather than a specific body part. For a period of time you will have to do the exercise every day. There is also a protected area where you enter a code. It seems to me totally unclear how you get this code. Maybe at some point you get this code after reaching some kind of level but the game doesn't say anything about it. I eventually found him on the internet. It appears to be an extra tough workout or so is claimed.

The controller works as mentioned in the enclosed camera. The camera records your movements. At least, that's the intention. It often happens that the exercises that you doing are not properly recorded. The exercises which I have to run from left to right always go wrong. While I really do exactly what is expected of me. The exercises you do on the ground (such as abdominal or leg muscle exercises) are not registered. And there is as mentioned earlier not said what you need to do when it's going wrong. It's only said on what part of the body you need to focus but why I doing something wrong I have no idea. This wouldn't have to be a problem only the way you perform during a exercise influence the level of your next exercise. So if the program says you are not performing the exercise correctly then the next one gets easier, while again it's not clear what I'm doing wrong.

The sounds of Your Shape are solid. The voice of the trainer is well understood. The things they are saying is standard and you can hear it every workout again. In the background you can hear music that has some rhythm, but it's nothing special.

Your shape is in itself a great game where you get a good workout. Especially if you choose a workout that last 45, 60 or 75 minutes, you'll notice it. For me it is absolutely not what I expected. The camera itself is a nice idea but it doesn't really work for me. It's a lot of hassle to make it work properly because you have to move all the furniture and make sure it's not to bright in your room by like sunlight. Also my room isn't that big so it was really difficult to get it working. The result is that many exercises don't go well because the camera doesn't read my movements proper.

Unfortunately this game does not meet my expectations. I am annoyed with spending my money as many sports games for Wii are a lot better and a lot more fun. I can't imagine that there are people who appreciate this game. The game is definitely not motivating me and I have therefore only played it a couple of times. A shame because the game looked very promising!