I wanted to get fit for summer so bought Zumba on the Wii after so many people raving about it, however didn't want to go to a class on my own and feel all embarrassed!

I got mine for about £23 from Amazon, and it came relatively quickly too, which was great. After setting up a player 'account' I went on exploring the options. You can either do the tutorials of all the dance moves (there around around 12 - 15 and each have about 8 steps within them - it takes some time!), going straight into a Zumba class or doing a Zumba party (with friends). It comes with a belt which you put around your hips (I recommend putting the Wiimote in then tightening the belt for a snug fit, as sometimes it can move about if it isn't tight enough!).

It's very easy to rush into doing a Zumba class out of excitement if you just want to try it out, but I highly recommend at least taking a look at a few of the tutorials - more if you have the patience! This makes it a little easier to follow the steps and pace of the Zumba class mode, as if you already know a few of the moves, you wont feel as lost.

The tutorial consists of one girl with a background who is red if you are inactive, orange if you show a little movement and green if you're very active - it's important to note that the Zumba colour scale doesn't go on ACCURACY but on ACTIVITY - this encourages you more to have fun and relax, making you more likely to get it accurate, rather than worrying about point scoring. You copy the steps which get increasingly harder and faster until the end (about 3 - 5 minutes long, maybe longer depending on the step). You can also pick your mode - beginner, intermediate etc. at the start of the tutorial.

The Zumba class is different, you pick your mode (e.g. beginner) then pick which class you'd like to do (there's a choice of 2 in the 'beginner' section). This lasts for 20 minutes, which doesn't sound like a lot, but you get very active believe me! You start with a warm up, then go on to a few different short routines (about 3 - 6 minutes each) and end with a cool down, with a 10 second pause to drink some water between each routine. There's also a party 'meter' at the bottom of the screen that builds up the longer you stay in the green. When the bar is full, more characters join in dancing - just a fun little quirk. I can tell you that, after 20 minutes, I was very hot and sweaty but felt much better for it!

The best things about this game is that, unlike other fitness games on the Wii e.g. the Wii fit, it really gets you moving! You feel great afterwards, if a little worn out, and really feel like you've done some exercise. It also saves money, and perhaps embarrassment, of going to an actual Zumba class - however doesn't provide the support of an actual coach, so you really need to motivate yourself to keep moving.

The downsides are you need more than one belt for the multiplayer, which you have to buy separately, and the graphics really aren't great. Although you can still copy the moves fairly easily, it'd be better if the characters were more well defined!