If you're one of those people who finds it hard to stick to a fitness regime, gets bored quickly or would benefit from a bit of variety, it might be a good time to think outside the box when shedding a few pounds for the beach this summer. Enter the world of Wii-based exercise, which has already delivered the successful Wii Fit and now takes it back to basics with EA Sports Active.

The two ‘games' actually complement each other in that the Wii balance board can be used with Sports Active, though in truth it's far from integral to the effectiveness of the package. What you do get supplied here is a sturdy, rubberised leg strap designed to house a nunchuck (which acts as a pedometer to record steps and other movements) and a rather cheap-looking resistance band for power and strength exercises.

The latter should be able to withstand a bit of punishment, but we'll mention early on that most people will find it far too lightweight to provide a decent amount of resistance. It is possible to buy higher-resistance bands and we picked up a black 1.5-metre ‘max strength' band from eBay for £4 which was far more effective.

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The software itself provides detailed instructions on how to use these components, and each of the wide range of exercises offers a video demonstration that shows exactly how to hold the remote and nunchuck and/or utilise the resistance band or leg strap.

First up you need to create a profile by entering a name, age, weight and selecting an avatar and personal trainer. From here it's possible to enter a 30-day challenge or create custom workouts, with a total of 104 available that are split into cardio, upper-body, lower-body and sports categories.

The 30-day challenge is a good start, offering a nice mix of exercises and the incentive of ticking off the days on the calendar when goals have been achieved. Cardio exercises include a range of running and walking drills, boxing with a heavy bag and targets and dancing, to form the bulk of calorie-burning.

To build and tone muscle, the upper and lower body workouts include bicep curls, shoulder presses, lunges and squats and, while no substitute for free weights, could certainly improve muscle endurance and they add a nice bit of variety. Finally, the sports exercises, which are by far the least intensive, provide welcome respite and a bit of fun during some of the more hardcore routines.

Make no bones about it; EA Sports Active will certainly make you sweat. Exercise difficulty is split into easy, medium and ‘intense' and even on the middle setting there's plenty of puffing and panting to be had. The range of exercises provided on any one day are generally quite nicely balanced and alternate between body parts to give one area a rest, as well as varying in intensity so you're not constantly drenched in sweat.

In addition to the in-built activities, a journal keeps track of progress and includes a lifestyle and nutrition survey that offers tips on healthier eating/living and the ability to add other common activities to your profile (for example, walking, swimming, yard work and household chores) for a more complete assessment.

You can also work out with a friend using a second Wii remote and Nunchuck for a bit of added competition, though you'll have to pick up a separate leg strap and resistance band, unless you improvise.

Despite the fact that you're pretty much running, jumping or flailing about on the spot for much of the Sports Active experience, it does a great job of keeping you entertained and motivated with some nice visuals, cheesy but effective music and the vocal encouragement that's shouted at you by the personal trainer.

The fact that targets can be set and calorie burn is reported in real time at the top of the screen is also integral to the experience, if only to illustrate exactly how much you need to sweat in order to burn off that last Mars Bar, packet of crisps or pint of beer.

Provided you have sufficient motivation to want to get fit, the variety and fun-factor of EA Sports Active makes it a genuinely effective way to go about it, and for those averse to expensive gym memberships and exercise equipment it's a nice, modern-day alternative.

EA Sports Active is plenty of fun and obviously has genuine benefits in terms of keeping fit and, to an extent, building and toning muscle. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that this really is a 'personal trainer in a box' and, while it's not as effective as free weights and the gym, it does a great job of keeping you motivated with its wide variety of exercises, polished presentation and focus on all-round body fitness.