We Cheer - Nintendo Wii

This is a great game, but it does have a learning curve. I was almost ready to give up after several failures, but after lots of practice combined with tips gleaned off the internet, I caught on and started passing. I've now passed all the stages and I'm hooked on this game! This plus Active Life Outdoor Challenge and Helix have really brought my Wii back to life.The game's biggest problem IMO is that the directions and tutorial don't do it justice. First, READ the manual. Unlike most video game manuals that are mainly ad copy plus warnings not to play Wii in the bathtub, the We Cheer manual explains how the "championship" mode works (passing the stages and unlocking songs). Two other points that will help you succeed:-- Mirror the cheerleader! Don't just focus on the lines, like in Elite Beat Agents. Try to copy her arm movements as if you're doing an exercise video. Even following her body will help, like kneeling on the ground, twirling and jumping. Get ready to sweat!-- This game is 3-dimensional. In other words, you're not just tracing lines on an imaginary wall in front of you; you also need to move your arms forward and back and around your body. Watch for when the cheerleader turns to one side, makes swimming motions, hand rolls, hands on hips or puts her hands behind her head; follow along exactly and you'll score! This game really picks up on exactly where your hands are and what direction and speed they're moving. Make big, hard, sharp motions just like a real cheerleader. Keep your wrists straight and lock out your joints. (I picked up those last 2 tips from a cheerleading site, and they do help with We Cheer!)The workout mode, like another reviewer noted, is a good way to practice and is a real hoot. A fat boy asks you to make him over, and at the end of the workout (2 minutes or 4 minutes long) he becomes a thin "after" picture and presents you with a uniform. The moves are very simple, like squats and step-touches. I just wish you could select a song from the songlist rather than listening to generic music. Speaking of the songlist, it is awesome! It's so great to hear original hits by original artists instead of cover versions.We Cheer has only a few minor technical flaws. Once a song starts, it has to play all the way through; you can't pause or fail out or abort or even go back to the Wii menu. (That doesn't really bother me, but I know others will complain.) Loading times are a bit long, and I wish there was some way to get rid of the "how to hold your remotes" screen (which comes up even if you repeat a song!) and the instructor afterwards telling you how you did.I really hope enough people have enough patience with We Cheer to make it a hit and a series like DDR or Guitar Hero. For the sequel, it would be fantastic to have multi-song courses or some way to program your own courses. The E-10 rating seems appropriate; younger kids may be frustrated with the skill level of this game. But if you're a grownup, We Cheer may turn you into a kid again. Whooo!11/8/08 - Since everyone else is updating :) - I agree with the others that We Cheer is a magnificent, addictive, unique game that is easily worth ten stars or more. I'm in my 40s and my joints have never felt this loose and flexible, and that's after years of doing workout videos. (I don't like yoga or pilates, and most dance videos emphasize legs rather than arms.) This game has real potential in phys ed classes or community centers that use Wii, especially since it doesn't require a floor pad or balance board that can get beat up from heavy use.

This is a game for kids who dream of being a cheerleader or for "old kids" who didn't make the final cut for cheerleader and never got over it. It's one to add to the "Get up off the couch and move" list of Wii games and it's a way to get some very good exercise while having some fun.I just got this today and have been playing with it for the last couple of hours. That's as long as I could play because by arms and shoulders are ready to fall off! This game really gives your arms a great workout and once I get better at it and can follow along with the foot movements it should be an all around great exercise game. (Walking and chewing gum at the same time can be challenging) There is also a "Work out" section that's has a choice of quick or extended exercise routines which involves a lot of footwork as well as the arms. That, BTW is a good way to practice getting the cheer moves down.There's a Campaign Mode where you can compete with another person for team captain or Party Mode where you can play with up to 4 people and have your own squad. I probably won't be playing in those modes since most of my friends would think this 50-something woman had totally lost it if I asked them to come join my Wii cheerleading squad. (Why didn't they name the game "Wii Cheer"?I like the music and the cheerleader characters are all bubbly and enthusiastic (perky?) which is good motivation to get moving. They're also chatty with recommendations and small talk, which you can hit the A&B buttons to skip if it gets old after a while.I barely made it past failing after a couple of hours and that was on the easy songs. It's fun even when you don't hit every beat. I did improve by doing the routines over and over. I've found that watching the cheerleaders is the best way to stay on the beat. A good sense of rhythm helps. It seems to have enough different songs to keep it interesting and challenging.I'm glad I bought it. It's big, big fun and anything that keeps me exercising for over 2 hours is a good thing.Update 10/18/08 - Well it's almost 1:00 in the morning and I've been playing with this game for almost 3 hours after the rest of the household has gone to bed. I've been trying to clear more stages in order to unlock that song in the trailer, "Walking on Sunshine". I finally did it! This game has become a major addiction.Also, the points scored in this game are based completely on arm movements (although it makes it easier to stick with the rhythm if you move around a little) so if you're hesitating about this game thinking it involves a lot of jumping around, doing back flips or the splits, not to worry. You could pretty much stand in one place and play this game. It's all in the wild flailing (and precision movements) of the arms. That said, you might want to keep your drapes closed when playing so as not to confirm the suspicions of the neighbors that you are totally out of control.Update 11/5/08 - If you're having trouble hitting some of the movements when it seems like you're doing everything right, and you're using an HD LCD TV, try going into the options menu and adjusting the timing. I ended up setting it a couple points down and this seemed to make all the difference. I think there might be a slight delay between the music and the display with some TV's and this seems to solve the problem, although I'm not really sure how this works. (Still loving this game!)Update 11/4/09 - I just got the new  We Cheer 2  and it's just as much fun as this one with some nice additional features.

I honestly waited for other reviews to come out before getting this game and I was impressed with the amount of high ratings for this game so I decided it was worth a go.I found the menus very simple to navigate with good tutorials to show you how to move. I found that you can't just half-a** it as that (1) takes the fun out of it, and (2) makes it harder to be accurate to the movements. It's visually appealing with the cutsie graphics, bright colors, and happy cheery cheerleaders. It really pumps your energy up. There is a good variety of outfits from fully covered up to not as much and I had fun customizing the outfits.After all of that I got to playing the game and really enjoyed it. It wasn't as easy as it seemed even on the single star level because of my lack of preciseness with the movements. However, the more you play and the more you get used to the movements, the easier it becomes. One thing that helped me was to adjust the timing in the options as I have and HDTV and noticed i was doing better when I adjusted for the HDTV delay. Whether it really did anything to improve my scores, I don't really know, but I seemed to be doing better than on the default setting.One thing I don't like about this game is that once you start a tutorial or song, you cannot pause and exit it. I might be missing something, but I looked through the entire manual and I couldn't find anything about pausing or stopping mid-song. There were a lot of times I ended up redoing songs b/c my aim with the remote was off.Overall, I enjoyed the game very much and only had to stop because my arms wouldn't allow me to continue. I went full-on with all the movements so my arms are paying for it today, but the muscle ache means I'm working something out and it is a fun way to work out. :-)