Yoga

Nintendo promised a revolution with the Wii and there's no doubt that it's opened many doors for videogames. Firstly in terms of the new types of play possible and also, thanks to the massive and varied audience the Wii now commands, in the types of product which can be seen as commercially viable in the new, broader, games market. Yoga is one such product. It isn't a game as such, there are no challenges, no rewards and no scores; it is designed as a virtual yoga retreat giving you full access to all the disk's content from the start.

Story mode is a virtual tour of the yoga retreat. A guide wanders around the building looking at a variety of artwork and offering seemingly random titbits of insight into the history and philosophy of yoga. Mixed in are opportunities to try each of the poses which are the core of yoga. This is somewhat crippled by the fact that there's no option to wander freely, you have to follow the pre-set route of the guide, Story mode offers neither depth nor useful structure to the yoga experience.

Fortunately Yoga's Training section and the About Yoga appendix more than make up for what is lacking in Story mode. The appendix details the basics of yoga whilst in Training each of the thirty poses are available to learn. A demonstration is available for each one, slowly talking the user through the required movements of the pose. The presentation of these demonstrations couldn't be any clearer with each one viewable from the front, the back or sides and the pose only progresses at a pace that the student feels comfortable with.

The last mode is Routine which contains ten 5-10 minute sets of poses intended to help with particular ailments such as arthritis or heart disease. Proof, if any were needed, that Yoga is not targeted at the traditional gamer stereotype.

The obvious comparison here is the yoga mode in the Wii Fit titles, but they provide a very different experience. During each pose in Wii Fit you're shown a graphical representation of your balance and at the end of the pose you are given a score and a star rating for your ability. Whilst Yoga does give you the option of using either the remote or the balance board so you can see how stable you are during the pose, there is no scoring and no record of the time spent or of the poses performed. Indeed by rating your abilities in Yoga it could contradict the game's stated goals of lifestyle balance and relaxation.

With the Story Mode being largely irrelevant Yoga may seem to be lacking a core to hold the parts together. Training will teach you yoga but from there on the game offers you no structure for using it, but then this isn't a game, it aims only to teach Yoga and from there you are free to use it as you like. The training mode is available to help you through the poses if you want it, if not you can take what you have learned and continue to practice yoga without the distraction of having a TV on.

Now for my admission; I am no yoga expert. Prior to this my only experience with yoga was in Wii Fit but I feel confident saying that this game is far closer to the true intent of yoga than those clinical minigames. If that section of Wii Fit piqued your interest though then this is the logical next step. It is also a good introduction to the yoga lifestyle on your own schedule.

Looks like the Wii can add virtual yoga training to its list of revolutions.