EA Sports Active

Inline skating sees your avatar hooning down a concrete track on rollerblades. Holding the remote and nunchuk, you crouch to go faster then jump to make your avatar go flying off ramps. It's on rails so there's no steering. What if you live in a flat and your downstairs neighbours don't take kindly to you jumping up and down all day? "Unfortunate for your neighbours," says Riley.

At last, it's time to try out the rubber band thingy. Riley demonstrates how you stand with your feet in the middle of it, about a foot apart, with a handle looped over each hand. You also hold the remote and nunchuk. Then it's a matter of copying your avatar's movements, pulling the band upwards and holding for a few seconds before relaxing again. The rubber feels strong and stretchy so there's no fear of snapping it.

To finish off and cool down we do some dancing. There's no need for the rubber band or neoprene strap - you just hold the remote and copy the dance moves on-screen, waving the lasso, raising the roof, pushing the shopping cart and so on. It's all very American and very cheesy, and it's the stupidest I've felt all day.

That's it for today's demo, but Riley confirms there are more than 30 activities to choose from in the finished product. There are no mini-games, so don't expect anything along the lines of the weirdly addictive penguin game in Wii Fit. There are activities based around basketball, baseball, tennis and the like, but they're drills rather than sports sims.

EA Sports Active will work with the Wii balance board but they're not showing that aspect off just yet. "When you're using the board you have to take off your shoes," Riley says. "That's key, because EA Sports Active is much more intense and aggressive than... Um... Other exercises that use the Wii balance board."

She can avoid using the name all she wants but there's no hiding the obvious comparison with Wii Fit. So does the world really need another Wii exercise game? What's different about this one? "The best differentiation is Eastern wellness versus Western fitness," Riley says. "This is a Western fitness circuit-style exercise routine that includes upper and lower body as well as cardio."

The other key factor, she reckons, is the fact you're guided through the exercises. "You're getting a circuit laced together by fitness professionals - unless you choose a custom workout and become your own fitness professional. The point is, you can go from A to B to C to Z in order to get what you need, versus having to go in for each specific activity."

If what you need is to be less fat, though, EA isn't promising this is the answer. "This is not a magic bullet, it's one of the things you can do to stay healthy," Riley says. So you can't spend five minutes in the morning with EA Sports Active then all afternoon at Jones BBQ and Foot Massage and expect the weight to drop off? "Exactly. We wouldn't overtly say this is a weight-loss product. It's a home fitness experience that helps every part of your life. Or it could just be a fun product. EA Sports Active can be whatever you want it to be."

Unless you want it to be a first-person shooter, obviously. For many gamers EA Sports Active will hold no appeal - but as Riley points out, no one's pretending it's a game anyway. That doesn't mean there's no market for it, as demonstrated by the fact Wii Fit is at No. 1 in the UK charts for the 13th week since it came out. Still - it's a shame there's no motorbikes.