With Active Life: Magical Carnival, it feels that the series is running out of gas a little bit again. It’s a collection of 24 mini-games. I’ve grown to become very suspicious of games that jam in as many mini-games as possible, as if the game publisher were hoping that more quantity would make up for less quality. I get that impression here.

Like the other Active Life games, this one uses a special floor mat controller from Namco that you plug into the Gamecube connectors of the top of the Wii. The mats work similar to mats used by Dance Dance Revolution, but are not compatible.

With this game, you enter a virtual theme park. Various games support 1, 2, or 4 players. Unfortunately, as with previous Active Life games, all the players have to squeeze on one controller and/or take turns playing; there’s no way to use two controllers. With small kids this isn’t a problem, but with grown-ups it starts resembling a bad game of Twister.

You can play an “adventure mode” which isn’t much of an adventure, you just play as many different activities as you can to fill up a sticker booklet which will make your park more “popular”. Or, you can play each of the mini-games individually. As with previous Active Life games, you can play as your Mii (they’ll attach a weird looking human body to it), or as one of their default creepy characters with the Little Orphan Annie lack of eyeballs.

Here are all the mini-games, broken into five different “Zones”:

Fantasy Zone:

1) Flying Carpet (up to 2 players). Here, you get on your hands and knees and press buttons to steer or accelerate a flying carpet, similar to Aladdin. This one is hard on the neck, as you need to really strain your neck to see the TV.

2) Magic Lesson (up to 4 players). This is a pattern matching game like “Simon” where you have to memorize sequences of buttons given to you by a magician.

3) Ballroom Dancing (up to 2 players). This was a game where you have to press certain buttons with your feet in time to a waltz beat in a ballroom strangely reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. Not a bad concept, but the execution isn’t great–the music is terribly non-distinctive, which means there’ll be a lot of trial-and-error before you get it right.

4) Flying Broom (up to 2 players). Once again you’re flying through the air chasing a fairy, reminiscent of Tinkerbell. You need to have good reflects to press buttons to turn or to avoid walls.

Haunted Zone

1) Monster Panic (up to 2 players). Here’s another game where you’re kneeling on the floor and have to press buttons to flip switches.

2) Haunted House (up to 2 players). Finally, a game that uses the mat controller for walking. You need to tiptoe through a haunted house to avoid waking up ghosts, and then avoid obstacles by running or jumping. This one came closest to what the Active Life series should be all about, although some of the obstacles seemed frustratingly random.

3) Who’s the Ghost (up to 4 players). An interesting “spot the intruder” game where you have to memorize a group of Miis in the room. The screen goes blank and then you need to spot who wasn’t there before and press on the appropriate mat button.

4) Ghost Hunder (up to 2 players). This is a “Ghostbusters” type game where you use the Wii remote to snag a ghost and then press the square buttons with your feel to “reel it in”. The concept was done before and much better by Nintendo in Wii Motion Party.

Circus Zone:

1) Ball Balance (up to 2 players). Another button-stomping game where you need to match random sequences of buttons in time to stay balanced on a ball. Very similar to other games in the previous Active Life games.

2) Trampoline Tricks (up to 2 players). Another button stomping game where you need to jump and then mash the correct sequence of buttons before you land. This one has also been done, but I do appreciate the use of the mat controller in this one.

3) Rope Crossing (up to 2 players). You’re on a tightrope and need to balance yourself using the Wii remote and walk by pressing the square buttons. Again, I do like the use of the mat controller for this, but conceptually the concept was done better in Wii Fit Plus.

4) Giant Swing (up to 2 players). This is another timing/reaction game where you need to jump on the right set of two buttons with precise timing to get your player to go from swing to swing. This one was an exercise in frustration, as it took a long time to get the timing right.

5) Lion Show (up to 2 players). A game where you have spot the pattern by which a lion is charging you and crouch (by standing on the square buttons and holding the top arrow buttons) or jump accordingly. Not a great game for people with big bodies.

6) Spinning Wheels (up to 2 players). A game where you basically run in place and jump when you see clowns in your way. Another exercise in frustration, and the clowns will come out of seemingly nowhere.

7) Motorbike Challenge (up to 2 players). A game where you steer a motorbike in a cage by standing on the square buttons. The more balloons you collect, the better you’ll do.

8) Clown Show (up to 2 players). A rather incongruous activity where you can string up to three random activities under “Circus Zone” together.

Carnival Zone

1) Hammer Strike (up to 4 players). Here, you mash the blue button as much as you can, which will dictate the force by which your hammer swings to ring a bell. This was decent, although the use of the game pad seemed forced–this (as well as all the carnival games) would have been much better just using the Wii remote.

2) Frog Jump (up to 4 players). Another game where you get on your hands and knees and swing a hammer by pressing on the blue left button to try to get a frog to jump onto a moving lilypad.

3) Balloon Maker (up to 4 players). A carnival game where balloons will inflate, and you need to stop the gas flow before the balloon pops. This was was fun, but again the Wii remote would have made infinite more sense.

4) Ball Rolling challenge (up to 4 players). A well-executed game where you roll a ball onto a curved rail and try to use just enough force that it ends up in the designated spot.

Pirate Zone

1) Chase the Monkey (up to 2 players). A running game where you run in place on the mat and jump to avoid obstacles in your pursuit of a runaway monkey.

2) Bomb Panic (up to 2 players). A “hot potato” game where you press a button on the mat to pass a ticking time bomb to the next player.

3) Pirate’s Duel (up to 2 players). A game where you press the up arrow and down arrow that’s displayed on the screen with the proper timing to defect a sword wielding pirate.

4) Pirate Adventures (up to 2 players). A game that uses a lot of different controls. Run in place to climb up a mast and run, step on the square buttons to turn a wheel, and mash a bunch of random buttons to prevent skeletons from boarding the ship. This was a fun one, very similar to the “runaway train” game from Explorer, although there were times the controls weren’t as responsive as I’d have liked.

From an aesthetic perspective, the game is pretty and colorful. From a gameplay perspective, the controls are pretty responsive. And if you have multiple kids in the house, this is still one of the stronger multiplayer games out there.

The biggest beef I have with this game is that it just seems to lack the imagination that made #1 and #3 so strong. Many of the games are weak copies of other games that have been done elsewhere on the Wii. And virtually all the gameplay involves fairly and contrived generic button mashing that doesn’t feel very natural and/or is a thinly veiled imitation of what’s already been done in previous Active Life games, just in a different environment. I would have hoped that with new evolutions of the Active Life series would come new and innovative ways to use the mat and truly bring “active gaming” forward. Instead, it feels like a rehash of everything that’s been done before.

Not only are there practically no new ways of using the mat, as I pointed out multiple times above, in certain cases the use of the mat is almost superfluous–the same game would have been much stronger using the Wii remote.

I also get the strong sense that the game developers were trying more to play “catch up” with other games. The theme-park concept is being done right now in Kinect Disneyland Adventures for the Xbox and Carnival Island on the Playstation. There’s even a part of this game where you “take your picture”. Of course, the Wii doesn’t have a camera, so the “picture” that’s taken is of your avatar. There’s a clown that says “Ha Ha, You look so ridiculous”. It might as well have said “Ha Ha, our developers are trying to copy the photo-taking capabilities of the Xbox and PS3 on a system with no camera”.

This is sad in a way, because I think the mat controller that Namco introduced is a very strong one whose potential hasn’t even come close to being fully tapped and which can accomplish gameplay that the Wii remote, Balance Board and even the Kinect and Move can’t.

I will say that if you already have a mat and have enjoyed the first three games, at $29.99, this is a relatively cheap way to extend the use of your mat. But if this will be your first Active Life game, I would definitely recommending skipping this one and going with either Outdoor Life or Explorer. While I’d easily stand by my earlier ratings of both of those games of 5 out of 5 stars, with this one I can only muster a 3. It’s OK, but not earth-shattering.

The original Zumba Fitness for Wii was a runaway success, selling over three million copies. While I enjoyed the game, it wasn’t without its flaws. It seemed a game more suited for seasoned Zumba enthusiasts who could just jump right into playing. But for newbies, the dance moves were just too fast and the tutorials were weak. In addition, the way the game was organized was very confusing.

What a difference a year makes. I’m happy to say that the developers of this title must have been reading our reviews, because they fixed all of this and more. As a result, Zumba Fitness 2 is a game I wholeheartedly recommend.

When starting up the game, you see a catchy opening video of people doing Zumba. It definitely puts you in the mood.

The menu options are delightfully simple. They are:

Single Song
Full Class
Learn the Steps
Progress Tracker
Options

With Single Song, you can jump right into a song. You first create a profile by entering a seven-character nickname and input your height, weight, and birthdate. The default profile is a 4’11” woman who weighs 110 pounds and was born on 01.01.1990, so I had to go through the painful process of changing it (as usual, it seems like I was pressing the “up” button forever!)

You can then select from a list of 32 songs, listed alphabetically, with their intensity level and in-game “location” listed. They are:

Activao (Cumbia) – Low Intensity – NY Nightclub
Aires Habaneros (Tango / Salsa) – High Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Bubuzela Masala (Samba / Hindu) – High Intensity – NY Nightclub
Caipirinha (Batucada) – High Intensity – NY Nightclub
Chilin Bombom Guajira – Medium Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
Como Es Que Se Llama (Cumbia) – High Intensity – Miami Yacht Party
Dance Dance Dance (Hip-Hop) – High Intensity – LA Rooftop
Don’t Let Me Down (Swing) – High Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
El Merengazo (Merengue) – High Intensity – Miami Yacht Party
Hundu-Cumen (Hindu / Cha Cha Cha) – Medium Intensity – VIP Pool Party
I Know You Like It (Hip-Hop) – Medium Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
I Wanna Move (Hip-Hop) – Medium Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
I’m Going On (R&B Ballad) – Low Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
La Matanga (Cumbia / Warm-Up) – Low Intensity – VIP Pool Party
La Rumba De La Papaya (Flamenco) – High Intensity – LA Rooftop
Mi Vecina (Bachata / Cumbia) – Medium Intensity – LA Rooftop
New Day (Slow Swing) – Low Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Pause (Urban Latino Dance) – Medium Intensity – NY Nightclub
Poison (Electronic / Dance) – High Intensity – LA Rooftop
Que Onda (Axe) – High Intensity – Miami Yacht Party
Que Te Pasa (Cumbia / Reggaeton) – Medium Intensity – LA Rooftop
Quebra As Cadeira (Axe) – Medium Intensity – Miami Yacht Party
Quiebralo Bob (Quebradita / Ragga) – High Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Sukumbiarabe (Indian / Cumbia) – Medium Intensity – LA Rooftop
Ta Picao (Calypso) – High Intensity – Zumba Dance Studio
Tigre (Merengue / Warm Up) – Medium Intensity – Miami Yacht Party
Tu Remedio (Cha Cha Cha) – Low Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Un Corazon (Pop Ballad) – Low Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Un Solo Pueblo (Salsa) – Medium Intensity – LA Rooftop
We Speak No Americano (Swing House / Electro-Swing) – High Intensity – NY Nightclub
Zoka Zumba (Calypso) – High Intensity – VIP Pool Party
Zu Bailaito (Quebradita) – High Intensity – LA Rooftop

There aren’t that many familiar songs, but there are more licensed songs than the last version (the hip among us might recognize “Poison” by Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls or “Pause” by rapper Pitbull). But all are definitely catchy and very appropriate to Zumba dance. I would have liked to see the option for using your own music or downloadable content, but I didn’t see either.

As with the original Zumba Fitness, you put on your Zumba belt (included with the package) so that the slot for the Wii remote is at your hip. After making all your menu selections, you’ll be placing the Wii remote in the belt with the buttons facing outward, and the power button of the Wii remote on TOP (the first few times I played I put the remote in top-first, and got rewarded with a bunch of scores of zero).

In the style that games like Just Dance and Dance Central have made popular, you’ll see an animated figure of a Zumba dancer demonstrating the moves to you and your job is to mimic the moves as if viewing a mirror. There’s the added bonus of a small animated figure in a rectangle that’ll highlight upcoming moves.

I don’t know if my Zumba-ing has gotten better or the choreography has gotten simpler, or the presentation has gotten better (probably a combination of all three), but the dance moves were surprisingly easy to follow. There was a healthy amount of repetition and the arms and legs of the dancer are very clearly displayed at all times. It only took me 3-4 repetitions to get to a fairly good approximation of the dances, even at high intensity level. In the background are animations of dozens of others doing the same moves, which really helps make you feel like you’re in a real Zumba session, and also helps reinforce the moves you have to make.

The motion detection is surprisingly accurate as well. As an experiment, I tried dancing to the “real” moves first, and then I tried just shaking my remote. When dancing the “real” moves I got a 91%, and when shaking the remote, I got 12%. In other words, they put a lot of effort into getting the accuracy right.

Granted, the scoring might be a little TOO generous, given that it’s not really detecting your arm movements or the precise position of your foot and torso movements. But if your goal is to get a workout first and worry about the score later, you won’t mind so much. Each song lasts for about 5-6 minutes, and each one is a pretty good workout in itself.

With “Full Class”, you have the option of choosing one of 10 Short Classes, 10 Mid-Length Classes, 10 Full-Length Classes, or 8 Custom Playsets which you can design yourself. Each class takes place in one of five virtual locations: an LA Pool Party, a Miami Yacht Party, a NY Nightclub, a VIP Pool Party, and the Zumba Dance Studio.

I tried a short class, and it consisted of 5 songs, clocking in at a total of 25 minutes! I was completely wiped out. Needless to say, I haven’t tried a mid-length or full-length class yet!

“Learn the Steps” is the tutorial portion of the game. It is much, much improved over the first version of the game, which had a tendency to sweep you through the lessons without teaching you much of anything. Here, you’ll go through a tutorial of basic dance moves. The dance moves aren’t comprehensive, but at the very least you can master the basics that are used in many Zumba dances. They are:

Salsa: Sidestep, Forward and Back, Travel, Backstep
Merengue: March, Two Step, Six Count, Zumba Shuffle
Cumbia: Two Step, Forward and Back, Sleepy Leg, Sugar Cane
Reggaeton: Stomp, Knee Lift, Destroza, Bounce

You can practice the steps at slow speed and then speed it up to normal speed once you get the moves right.

The “Progress Tracker” will tell you how many days you’ve played the game, how many minutes you’ve played this month, your average score for the week. Then, it’ll allow you to view graphs of your weight (no Balance Board support, so you need to manually enter it each time), time played, technique, and calories burned. It’ll also show you how many of the 26 medals you’ve earned, and allow you to collect “extras” by earning stars on each song (the first extra you unlock is a cool “behind the scenes” video of concept art for the Miami scene). Long story short, there are definitely a lot of incentives to keep you dancing.

All in all, I’m very impressed by Zumba Fitness 2. Majesco could have easily phoned in the sequel and still sold a lot of copies, but it looks like they put real time and effort into making this a genuine improvement. If you’re a Zumba fan, this is a must-have. If you’ve always been curious about Zumba, unlike the last version I can wholeheartedly recommend this one.