And so it has come to this. The latest phenomenon from Nintendo has seen your reviewer standing on a wireless balance board in front of his television, while a games console passed judgement on his (lack of) physical fitness. If it wasn't enough that the damn thing weighs you, it also then calculates your body mass index on a graph that's enough to send you scuttling off for some comforting Doritos.

It also assesses your centre of gravity, which basically tells you that your posture is as knackered as your stomach. Then, recovering from that slug to the guts, it gives you your Wii Fit age. This takes into account your age, height and weight, and basically - unless you're an athletic type - humiliates you in bright letters on the screen in front of you. Suddenly the investment in a big TV wasn't looking all that wise.

Still, it then pretty much compels you to do something about it, and in the way that Nintendo likes to do (as we've seen in DS successes such as Brain Training and Maths Training), it then gives you a daily workout of sorts. This breaks down into a series of differing activities that bother your body in different ways.

There's muscle building, for instance, or a bit of yoga, some balance work or burning off some of the lard. Some activities take place on the balance board, others involve you putting it to one side and switching to the Wiimote instead. But all of them prove to be quite testing.

Not everything is available at the start, so you're free to dip in and out of all the little sessions you've unlocked, and as you build up your training, you get access to more and more. It's still, in the medium to long term, a fairly repetitive series of events you're ultimately presented with, but when the incentive to keep going is that you're spared humiliation by Nintendo, then fair enough. Incidentally, you can choose to password protect your Wii Fit profile, so that other users of the console can't come and have a mooch behind your back.

The thing about Wii Fit, though, in spite of the fact that it seems at times to be a computerised torture chamber, is that it works. It's actually fun. And while it won't have you sculpted like a bodybuilder at the end of a few months, you can see where it's going, and it's hard to object. The game encourages you to set a target body mass index, and presents you with the details and statistics you need to hit it. It's certainly more compelling than buying an exercise video with some C-list celebrity smacking her flesh around the screen.

The price is a sticking point, of course. £70 is a lot to pony up for something that isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But with the innovative hardware included, it's fair to say you know what you're going to get with something like this. If you're willing to put the time in, and aren't the type whose gym membership direct debit is working out more per visit than you'd like, then it could be a smart investment.

Expensive, a bit limited, but genuinely innovative and surprisingly good fun. Even if you do feel that it wants to laugh in your face.