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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
Alex Lockwood

Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer

All content by Alex Lockwood
The NIU "League of Legends" varsity team practices the game on Oct. 16 in the Esports Arena. A "Call of Duty" team will be added in the coming months to the Huskie Gaming Club. (Ethan Rodriguez | Northern Star)

Huskie Gaming Club forms competitive ‘Call of Duty’ team

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
September 10, 2025
Students play “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” on Aug. 23 at the College Grind in the Holmes Student Center for Welcome Holmes. The Holmes Student Center is one of the places NIU offers for students to connect with others. (Totus Tuus Keely | Northern Star)

Third places: Finding community between work and home

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
September 4, 2025
A Spotify playlist titled “Beware A.I.” with songs such as Mr. Roboto, Der Kommisar and Pressure. Multiple bands have responded and pulled their music in response to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek funding Helsing, an AI drone manufacturing company. (Ethan Rodriguez | Northern Star)

Spotify CEO funds military defense firm ‘Helsing’

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
August 25, 2025
Banners of different video game series hang inside the NIU Esports Arena in Altgeld Hall. Lifestyle Writer Alex Lockwood explores five big updates coming to NIU Esports this fall. (Ethan Rodriguez | Northern Star)

5 highlights to look forward to in NIU Esports

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
August 2, 2025
The Tekken 8 logo sits in a black void. The NIU Esports players are competing in Tekken 8 as part of the Collegiate Fighting Game Conference. (Playstation under Fair Use)

Collegiate Tekken program breathes new life into NIU Esports

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
April 15, 2025
A cow drives a radio with wheels on top of a power line. Nintendo's newest addition to the "Mario Kart" franchise, "Mario Kart Worlds," will release on June 5 alongside the Nintendo Switch 2. (Nintendo under Fair Use)

‘Mario Kart World,’ a game changer for the franchise

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
April 9, 2025
Players compete against each other in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Phi Sigma Epsilon held a single, elimination-style bracket tournament with a cash prize for the winner. (Alex Lockwood | Northern Star)

Phi Sigma Epsilon holds intense Mario Kart tournament

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
April 3, 2025
The NIU Esports team plays a match against Northeastern University. NIU Esports suffered a defeat and ended the season with four wins and eight losses. (Alex Lockwood | Northern Star)

NIU ‘Overwatch’ season meets a disappointing end against Northeastern University

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
March 27, 2025
Banners of various competitive and non-competitive games hang from the ceiling of the Esports Arena. The NIU Esports team suffered a crushing defeat in Overwatch against Western Michigan University. (Ethan Rodriguez | Northern Star)

NIU Esports suffers crushing defeat against Western Michigan

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
March 19, 2025
A tall, masked figure reaches out toward the camera. "Until Dawn" is a film releasing April 25 that shares the same name as the game released in 2015. (Sony under Fair Use)

‘Until Dawn’ trailer leaves more to be desired

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
March 5, 2025
A new animatronic from the upcoming "Five Nights at Freddy's Secret of the Mimic" game is depicted. PlayStation unveiled new games during their "State of Play". (PlayStation under Fair Use)

The must play games of PlayStation’s State of Play

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
February 26, 2025
The status screen of the PlayStation network shows all systems are operational. The PSN went offline for nearly 24 hours with the cause being unknown. (PlayStation under Fair Use)

PlayStation Network outage frustrates weekend gamers

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
February 19, 2025
Four players try to knock each other out of the ring using the characters Steven Universe, Batman, Velma and Bugs Bunny. MultiVersus just announced their live service will end on May 30 at the end of Season Five. (Warner Bros. Games under Fair Use)

‘MultiVersus’ shuts down live service

By Alex Lockwood, Esports Writer
February 12, 2025
Gamers play against each other in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate." Esports is a profession and hobby that can be heavily competitive and involves several popular games. (Ethan Rodriguez | Northern Star)

NIU esports, a different way to play

By Alex Lockwood, Lifestyle Writer
February 6, 2025
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