Ubisoft's limited exercise game just doesn't seem to get anything right.
You have to stick to certain things in order to get through each pre-set plan, rather than laying out your own. And if you do manage to find favorite exercises, you'll need to go into them individually, perform them, and then go back out to the next one. So much for finding a trainer that can serve by your needs.
That ties in with another big problem with Your Shape – loading times. They pop up constantly, and when you're in the middle of a high-impact workout, it's a drag waiting for the next activity to load up. It ruins your momentum, having you start, stop, start, stop and eventually collapse either from either a lack of rhythm or sheer boredom. Ubisoft should've fixed this, along with the customization, to really give it a chance. No dice.
The GamePad is rarely used in Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013, outside of showing your progress with certain activities. The game does support Uplay, Ubisoft's online service, but, sadly, you need a computer to really get the full benefits from it – something else that can interrupt your workout. You can earn coins to unlock new trainers and outfits, but they fail to alleviate the problems that plague this game so badly. Even the inclusion of recipes is useless, mainly because you have to squint at the GamePad screen in order to read them properly. Just buy a diet book instead.
After having a pretty solid run on the Xbox 360 with the Kinect-powered Your Shape games, Ubisoft takes a stumble down the stairs with the debut of the series for Wii U. The controls just read everything wrong, and strain your progress to no end; the lame presentation and consistent loading times are a headache; and the supplementary features, namely customization, go nowhere fast. Just wait for Wii Fit U instead. Your calves will thank you for it. (Ouch.)
Score: 2.5 / 10
