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The Digital Life video game convention and tournament is
held every year in the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
During the four cold days of October 14th -17th, the Digital
Life convention focused on different and new kinds of digital
media that is out there, including the latest and unreleased
video games. Being that this was the first video game convention
I’ve ever been to, I was very excited. I have to say
that it was the best four days I have ever had (so far).
All of the different and new games and products where at
my finger tips and I loved every minute of it! There were
several items that stuck out in my mind, but let me start
with what you are waiting for: The games.
The Video Games of Digital Life
There weren’t a lot of video games on display from
what I saw. But, there were a few games that made the whole
trip worthwhile. Following are a few games you will be just
aching to get your hands.
MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf (XBOX)
Wow, this is a game you will just want to have. The individuals
who played the original MechAssault will really like this
sequel. The game now has new ways to fight that don’t
include jumping into a mech (a giant robot) every 5 seconds.
In the new game, you can jump into a small battle armor
that can hack enemy mechs in a mech-hacking mini-game. You
can also man tanks with the stealth ability, ride in a VTOL
(Vertical Landing and Take off) plane, and even take on
a conquest mode (in the full game) to take over other planets
using Xbox live. During a play through, the graphics and
destruction were intense, but there was some lag at times.
But, it was still fun. My favorite part was getting in the
VTOL and attaching a tank to it, creating a flying weapon
of mass destruction.
The Bards Tale(PS2)
Will you save the world or go for money and women? These
are some of the many choices you must make in this hilarious
RPG. Similar to Fable, a role-playing games for the Xbox.
The choices you make will affect what people will say and
do. There are some really funny parts in the game, such
as the old man who teaches you the controls as your character
makes fun of him. Your character has the ability to summon
others to combat with him. Also, all the battles are viewable
on a world map, so there are no randomized battles. There
is some great voice work done in the game as well.
Conker: Live and Uncut (Xbox)
It’s been a long time, but Conker is back and with
a vengeance. A great feature of the game that I enjoyed
during my play was the multiplayer. With this game, you
can pick a character from one of the different classes on
either the Tediz side or Conker’s side, such as the
Lancer (a sniper character), and duke it out in huge levels.
The controls are a bit hard to get used to, but the game
is sure to have the same ridiculous antics and black humor
as its predecessor.
 Iron
Phoenix(XBOX)
Chaos reigns supreme as players fight in large arenas. The
players square off using Asian weaponry such as pikes and
katanas, which is choreographed by legendary martial artists.
During my play in a LAN game, I was facing 16 different
opponents in a ring at one time The fight was chaotic and
reminiscent of Unreal Tournament, where you are never left
alone. You are always either being attacked or attacking
someone. There was also a list of different combos at my
disposal, such as a Chi attack and a special mode were your
weapon transforms into a super weapon, allowing you to do
more damage and more combos. At this stage of development,
the game has become pretty good. However, don’t expect
Tekken 4-like graphics or complex combo system. Those of
you who are looking forward to this game will find that
there is a good single player experience. My favorite part
was powering up when my magic bar was full and unleashing
some sweet combos moves.
Godzilla: Save the Earth (PS2/XBOX/GAMECUBE)
Godjira!! The king of all monsters makes his debut on all
three systems and decided to bring his friends with him.
In this 4-player action game, players can choose their monster
of mass destruction, from the Godzilla movies (Such as Rodan,
Mothra, or the fan favorite, MechaGodzilla) and fight in
giant levels to create mayhem and show which is the biggest,
baddest monster of them all. Each of the monsters has his
or her own special features from their movies. One example
is Mothra, who starts off the beginning of the fight as
a caterpillar. Then, as it takes damage, it transforms into
its final form. Another example is Space Godzilla, who gets
stronger with every crystal that you make on t he battleground.
The controls didn’t allow the movements on screen
to be very fluid. It actually felt like I was controlling
a giant, slow –moving creature than controlling a
human. But, it wasn’t uncontrollable.
 Guilty
Gear X2 #Reloaded (XBOX/PS2)
Strange title, great game. For those of you who played the
earlier Guilty Gear games, this game isn’t really
that much different than the past games. It did have better
visuals and backgrounds than its predecessors though.
Now, let’s get down to show floor.
The Show Floor
 Wow,
the place was awesome. There were so many video games, new
products and major brand names there that I didn’t
know where to start. First off, I decided to check out the
different people appearing there. Being his first time at
a convention, I asked a veteran convention-goer by the name
of Thomas how did he liked the convention. He said that
“it was very good and that they should advertise more.”
As I wandered the show floor in a daze of happiness and
excitement, I bumped into Vern Yip, one of the hosts on
the television show Trading Spaces on TLC. At the time,
he was promoting the AOL for Broadband booth stating that
this product, “is trying to show people that they
can incorporate technology with their homes”.
 You
can’t have a convention without a little competition,
right? Part of the Digital Life convention is the various
tournaments, which are part of the Game-On NY section of
the convention. There was even a DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)
competition. “We got plenty of free stuff, but the
food is overpriced.” said two of the competitors of
the DDR tournament. In a heated battle of Godzilla: Save
The Earth, a person named Angel won the championship, winning
3 new games through the guys at Ugo.com. When asked how
he felt about winning, he stated, “ I feel great!
It is hard to believe that this is my first time actually
playing the game myself. I expected to be in the Halo tournament,
but this was unexpected. At the last moment, I just caught
that win, I didn’t know how I did it…I guess
it was luck, I guess.” He made these statements as
he clutched his newly won games with pride.
Rolon Dumas, who came in second place at the tournament,
expressed to me that he really wasn’t good at any
of the games, but he was very good at fighting games and
would attend next year.
There were all sorts of gadgets and gizmos on the show floor.
One piece of tech eye candy that caught my eye was the Hip
e Desktop PC. It was created for teens and includes such
features as an Mp3 player and a cell phone that can dock
on top of the keyboard. It also had an all –in –one
monitor, similar to apple’s iMac (the mother board,
hard drive and CPU was all incased in the monitor). XM Satellite
Radio was also on the floor, showing off their stereo option
that will allow people to play the satellite music in their
homes. The Zen Micro (A.K.A the Ipod Killer) was being displayed
there as well and it has enough potential to compete with
Microsoft’s Ipod
Well, the convention was one long, strange trip. It was
very fun playing all those games and testing out all the
new technology before it came out. If you are a gamer in
the New York area, you are OBLIGATED to go to this convention.
It’s too much fun to miss.
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