ActiveLife Extreme Challenge is the follow up to the successful ActiveLife Outdoor Challenge game, and they use the same mat-style controller from Namco Bandai.  If you already have Outdoor Challenge, then you don’t need to buy the version of Extreme Challenge that comes bundled with the mat.

ActiveLife Extreme Challenge uses the mat controller along with the Wii Remote to incorporate the player’s entire body into the gameplay.   It does this in a lot of creative and fun ways, such as sitting on the mat for street luge, or kneeling behind the mat and using your hands to simulate rock climbing.

The game features ‘extreme’ themed sports such as base jumping, street luge, rock climbing, BMS, inline skating, skateboarding and even jumping rope.  And while double dutch may not sound very extreme, all that jumping and running in place is guaranteed to get your heart pumping.

It’s easy to jump right in and get going on the action, but it can be difficult once your playing to try and switch activities or even switch difficulty level on the games that you are playing.

Multiplayer is usually an alternating turn experience, except for a few times where you can go side-by-side on the mat.

There’s a lot to like and enjoy about this game, and a lot that you may wish had been done a bit differently.  It’s great to be able to use either the mat, the Wii-motes movements or the d-pad to select the next activity, because you’ll often find yourself reaching for whichever is closest at the time.  There’s also so many different types of gameplay, be it jumping, steering with the Wii-mote or even sitting on the mat, that everyone in the family is bound to find something they enjoy.  But that also means there’s going to be lots of gameplay types that don’t agree with your family.

ActiveLife Extreme Challenge can really get your family moving and competing together.  It’s not entirely perfect, but there’s enough here to make it a great way to add some variety to the way your family plays Wii together.