Surprise! A Workout for Gamers
Kinetic has the added advantage of using the PS2's EyeToy camera not only to put you in the game, but to analyze your movements and react accordingly. The "personal trainer" is never condescending and never overly enthusiastic. I loaded my personal program a day early just to see what would happen, and my trainer advised me to "take a day off". I wish more people would say that to me!
The workouts themselves are pure fun; you really do forget that you are exercising. One such exercise has you trying to hit a floating orb, and then dodging it when spikes protrude from it, in response to your hits. Kinetic even measures the strength of your punches and kicks based on the speed of your movement.
My only complaints? Like Yourself! Fitness, Kinetic could have taken more advantage of the interactive capabilities of the PS2. For example, rather than simply allowing me to take my heart rate and compare it to an average, Kinetic should actually log my heart rate and use it to track my actual progress over the 12 weeks. Also, the generic soundtrack is not very inspiring to exercise to. Of course, musical preference is subjective and the PS2 has no custom soundtrack option, so there's no solution to the music problem that will satisfy everyone's tastes. Sony, why can't we plug an iPod into the PS2's USB port and stream music (think: Xbox 360)?
So for only $50 USD including the camera and wide-angle lens, EyeToy: Kinetic is a steal, considering that you get an interactive personal trainer, a personalized fitness program that's fun, and you don't have to go to a gym.
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Note: I found that wearing clothing that contrasts with your interior decor improves the detection accuracy of the EyeToy greatly. For example, I have beige walls, and I'm caucasian; so, I put on black socks and black and red Fox cycling gloves so that the EyeToy could easily detect my hands and feet.