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Michigan Tech Lode
The Legend of Zelda who pursues the protagonists throughout the game, and The Imprisoned, a gigantic blackfeathered beast that nearly destroyed the world in the past. The new villains work well; Girahim’s evilly oddball moments serve as a nice contrast to Ganondorf’s straight villainy— and, by the end of the story, the Imprisoned causes pretty much every other game in the series to be seen in a different light. Some of the other changes are nice too. The game actually requires you to manage your inventory instead of pulling everything from some kind of mysterious unlimited space. It forces the player to decide between, say, packing a spare shield, bringing along some Heart Potion, or taking some kind of “medal” that affects how often items drop from enemies. There’s a rudimentary crafting/ upgrade system, and many of the side quests are more varied and fun. The one potential issue has to do with how secondary items are handled. Instead of assigning secondary items
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to a button, they are selected by holding down the B button, pointing at the item you want to use, then the items are generally used with the A button. While this makes sense intellec-
tually, there are plenty of “Darn it, muscle memory!” moments to be had when a player tries to ready the slingshot by holding B but brings up the item-select window instead.
Give credit to Nintendo: it would have been easy for them to rest on their laurels and take a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” attitude towards Skyward Sword. After all, its predecessor
was fairly popular. Instead, they shook up the formula and the result might be the best Zelda game since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Photo courtesy of videogamesblogger.com
MUB Board Euchre Tournament a success Abigail Dillon Lode Writer January the 26th found me in a long line waiting to enter the MUB Ballroom. The Memorial Union Board table tent had promised a Euchre tournament and Tech students responded en masse. While the cash prizes available to the top four teams certainly gave an edge to the competition, most people were there just to play the popular game. Euchre is a card game that requires teamwork, strategy and a little bit of luck and guts. Teams of two sit around a common area, often a table, with the teammates sitting across from each other. The cards from all
four suits, from nine to ace, are dealt out, five to each player. Each round results in the seizing of five tricks, and the team with the most tricks wins points for the hand. A trump suit is decided at the beginning of each round and the team that selects the trump is required to take at least three of the tricks in order to score one point; two points are possible if they take all five tricks. The game is played up to ten points total, using the four cards (typically fives, but some play with fours and sixes) as a way of keeping score (uncovering a club, diamond, heart or spade for each point earned). When the team that selects the trumps does not make their quota, but the other team steals
at least three of the tricks, the latter gets two points. This is called a “Euchre.” Additionally, it is possible to “go alone” and play without the aid of your partner; if you take a majority of the tricks (3 or 4) you get a point, but if you can take all five tricks, then your team earns 4 points. When I finally made it into the ballroom, joining both veterans and those who had just learned to play that morning, I slipped into a nearby chair of an unoccupied table. It was barely five minutes before so many people had shown up that the MUB Board had to shuffle people into a previously walled off portion of the ballroom. Looking up from the
game rules I had been reading, I found myself without a seat as the Board struggled valiantly to find tables for all the students. I was soon returned to a seat, however, and I found myself partnered with another player. After a quick review of the rules, the first round began. Unfortunately, my teammate and I did not make it past the first round, but I stayed to watch the other games taking place around me as the winners moved on. Light banter and good sportsmanship were the order of the evening and good humor lasted all the way up to the final tables. At times, excitement overtook poise with occasional shouting; I saw one player leap
upwards so excitedly that his chair tipped backwards. Winners and losers shook hands at the end of rounds, both glad for the opportunity to play. The members of the MUB Board told me that this was the first time they had ever organized a Euchre tournament. They usually hold a Texas Hold ‘Em event during each semester, with a turnout of about eighty. This first Euchre event exceeded those events by 150 percent, with a total of 120 people in attendance. With such popularity, the Board is definitely adding this to their list of events and, by the end of the meeting, they were already discussing plans for future Euchre tournaments.