Review: 'Nike+ Kinect,' 'Your Shape' sweat it out

— "Nike+ Kinect Training" (Microsoft, for Xbox 360, $49.99) is probably the closest you can get to a personal trainer coming over to your place without added expense or intimidation. Brought to you by the swooshy shoemaker, "Nike+ Kinect Training" is essentially a four-week exercise program centered on three goals: get lean, get strong or get toned.

The camera-based Kinect system does an impressive job detecting motion in personalized cardio drills. The graphics and interface are slick, and the virtual trainers are actually helpful, though their repetitive prerecorded motivation will eventually become as tiresome as that grunting meathead at your gym's free weights. Three-and-a-half stars out of four.

— "Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013" (Ubisoft, for Wii U, $49.99) is the only fitness title out for the Wii U since Nintendo has yet to unleash a "Wii Fit" for the new console. While this edition of "Your Shape" smartly utilizes the GamePad for navigation, it unfortunately requires a Wiimote to track movements, and there are no Wii Balance Board features.

The Zen-heavy routines in "Your Shape" feel less intense but more diverse than the "Nike+ Kinect" workouts, and the game awards currency for exercising, which can be used to buy stuff like new songs and virtual gear. It's clever inspiration. However, holding a remote while working out feels like a big lunge backward for the genre. Three stars.

— "Dance Central 3" (Microsoft, for Xbox 360, $49.99) isn't technically a fitness title — and that's exactly why it just might be the best one out there. The third iteration of the popular Kinect choreography series features a revamped fitness mode that can stealthily track calories burned as players shake what their mama gave 'em to hit songs.