Rage in the virtual cage

By CORTLAND LYLE

Fists, swords, guns and superpowers were the weapons of choice for the Video Game Club’s Battle Royale game tournament this past Saturday, entitled “Rage in the Virtual Cage.” This event allowed participants to test their virtual fighting skills against one another. The games featured in this clash were limited to one-on-one fighting games, in which each player would select a character and duke it out.

In epic brawls, the players went head-to-head over the course of five different fighting games. The first game featured in the tournament was the D.C. Comics universe game “Injustice,” followed by “Skullgirls,” “Dive Kick,” “Persona 4 Arena” and, finally, “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.”

The tournament, though friendly, was nevertheless fierce. In each game, players fought their way through a tiered bracket, each round determined by a player winning two out of three fights. For each win, a player would receive one point, so the round winner would receive two points, and the loser would receive zero to one.

In the end, only one person could be victorious. Though each player fought well, the spoils of victory went to Chris Minor, a senior political science major with a minor in economics. In this case, such spoils consisted of a gift card to Game Stop, as well as bragging rights.

There was a large turnout at the event at the event from both club members and non-members who just wanted to play some games. Initially the event consisted of just ten participants, but many more came in later. Eventually, there were over twenty people in the room either playing or watching.

Matthew Gaughan, junior computer science major and president of the club, said he thought the event was largely a success, noting the strong turnout and good group of people.

Club members “love any chance they get to have fun,” Gaughan said. “We wanted to do something not ordinary [with this event]. We wanted to be a more inclusive club that incorporates the community.”

Gaughan’s words about having fun were reinforced by the fact that everyone at the tournament demonstrated good sportsmanship and had a healthy dose of laughs – victors and vanquished alike.