So you’ve picked up a Nintendo Wii, the kids are all in bed and you want to give it a try, and a few months of letting yourself go have packed on the pounds. So the question here is: Is this a good workout? The straight answer is: It depends.

Like any game that involves working out or any routine at all, the first thing you have to realize is that results are directly related to how much effort you put into the game itself. If you play it for 5 or 10 minutes, you probably won’t get much results. But if you’re there an hour dancing like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance to a funky latin beat, you’re gonna see results.

Zumba is a neat concept. You can choose either tutorial, workout or single routine…

Tutorial is to get you warmed up on the nuts and bolts of the system. You put on a fitness belt and the Wii uses infrared technology to detect your movement. If it matches what the instructor on screen tells you to do, your aura will glow green, your energy meter will increase and the crowd will go wild as you’re moving for them — it works similar to Dance Dance Revolution, only with the waist band instead of the pads.

Workout is what the name implies. You either choose a backdrop in Zumba Party (such as a nightclub, or a rooftop) or you pick a Zumba Class. The class has the option of beginner, intermediate or expert. Your choice affects how long the game will continue for, ranging from 20 to 45 minutes.

Lastly, you have Single Routine, which is almost like a freeform. What you can do here is a dance routine just to practice it or if you don’t want to workout for a long time.

But is it a good game? One of the flaws of this game is that the infrared technology on systems like the Wii, along with the Playstation Move and XBox Kinect, is still a relatively new technology. This means it’s going to be prone to error on occasion. This can be frustrating if you mirror the instructor’s move and get marked red or if you just practice and two shakes of your hips makes the crowd go wild.

Also, I for one thought it was a little disheartening that the game didn’t come with a calorie count. Giving a person a general idea of how many calories they burn is a good idea, and this game doesn’t keep track of that.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t pick it up. In fact, if you want to build confidence in learning about Zumba but don’t want to step into a class and find yourself hopelessly lost, this may be a good way to get to feel the ropes, and even if you get more out of actually going to a Zumba class, you’ll at least thoroughly understand the basics of Zumba dancing at home.

In conclusion, Zumba is an effective workout if you put your heart into it. The ideal situation is just to find something that suits you and this might be something you’ll thoroughly enjoy. Give it a try and see if it works for you.