The dance-inspired aerobics in Zumba Fitness Core aren’t for the faint-hearted. The routines will drill through your flab and mold the squishy fibers underneath into solid muscle...whether you like it or not.
Unlike its predecessor, Zumba Fitness Rush, Core is unapologetically intense, although it does share the same setup. (You can play individual tracks or choose between 20-, 40-, and 60-minute classes, create your own custom playlist, track your calories burned, and set goals. And the use of trainers and venues retains the same Dance Central–ish flavor.) Songs alternate between leaving you winded and brutalizing every muscle in your midsection — as well as your glutes and quads, and a bit of your arms and calves, too, for funsies. Whether you’re going from deep squats into explosive kicks during Russian folk dancing, or contorting your body to mimic belly dancing’s ripples, you’re always aware of that nebulous area that dancers breezily refer to as your center, even if you're tapping those muscles in a less forceful way than crunches would.
As a result, what this game does well is make you appreciate how much stability a strong core can offer — and how having one maximizes what you’ll get out of the high-intensity routines. It’s a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg conundrum that makes this game better suited for Zumba fanatics and the fitness faithful: whereas Rush’s routines, which incorporated more recognizable dance moves, allowed a wider range of people to keep up with them, Core’s fixation on fast footwork and quick-changing choreography (which mixes up recognizable dance patterns, moves inspired by the dance styles, and some gym drills) seems to take for granted that you already possess fast reflexes, plentiful endurance, and some strength. If you can keep up, the rewards come fast: at the end of our first week, after logging a 60-minute session per day, we already noticed new definition in our legs and firmness in our obliques.
But if you’re an exercise newbie, we’d advise caution. Our main concern about Core is how potentially dangerous its hardcore vibe can be to those not already in shape: the fast pace of the routines could cause injuries if proper form isn’t maintained while trying to match the moves, and we didn’t like how rushed the stretches were. (Even gym regulars may still want to consider tacking on their own, longer rounds of stretching, and also include foam-rolling to stay properly limber and avoid injuries.)
If you’re looking to change up your workout, Zumba Fitness Core will noticeably kick things into high gear: with a broader selection of dance types and music genres, and an extremely focused approach in its routines, it’ll help you tone your body without having to do a single drill or lifting any kind of weight. But if you’re looking at this game as your introduction to fitness through Zumba, you may want to start with the less-grueling Zumba Fitness Rush.
Side-by-side multiplayer (not shown) requires a large play space. If you don’t have one, avoid the elbow to the face and go it solo.PUBLISHER: Majesco • DEVELOPER: Zoë Mode • ESRB: Everyone • MULTIPLAYER: 2 players local (side-by-side) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Stick with it • COST: $50 • RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2012
+ Routines work your body thoroughly, with classes yielding surprisingly rapid results.
+ Fun songs; energetic trainers; ability to create custom classes.
– Choreography not friendly to exercise newbies; annoying camera angles; voice-commands still don’t register much of the time.
? In the next game, can we get the option to navigate menus with a controller?
