Happy Easter everyone! To celebrate, take a reminiscent stroll through our countdown of the 10 best Easter eggs in video games.
Ooh and for anyone who is unaware- Easter eggs are often comical messages, levels or smile inducing asides hidden within a game’s software. The hunt for a title’s hidden gems is often likened to an Easter egg hunt (and that’s where we get the term).
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops- “Old-School”
It may surprise some to discover that one of gaming’s biggest franchises, Call of Duty, also has some of the coolest Easter eggs in all of the gaming universe. In COD: Black Ops, players can break out of the chair you find your character stuck in during the main menu, and wander over to a computer. Type “Zork” in, and you’ll be presented with the classic adventure title of the same name. Retro titles also available to play in other Black Ops titles, with platforming great “Pitfall” available to play on Black Ops II.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkqk8DjPxN4
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2. Batman Arkham Asylum- “Sequel Fail”
Such was the difficulty of finding Arkham Asylum’s secret room, that it took players six months to discover the hidden Easter egg after launch. Head to Quincy Sharp’s office, and use your explosive gel to unlock the secluded area. Held within is a map to Arkham City, which conveniently turned out to be the sequel to Rocksteady’s first Arkham game. The developers had intend to kick off a social media storm with its discovery, but left the room just a little too out of reach for even the most dedicated looters.
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3. Uncharted 3- “The Last of Us”
Naughty Dog placed a cheeky hint to an upcoming title in the third adventure of Nathan Drake (aka Uncharted 3). Slapped across the headline of a newspaper is a reference to a deadly fungus, which all too closely resembles the main premise of a little-known title, the Last of Us. As with Arkham Asylum, not everything went to plan. The Last of Us wasn’t announced until after Uncharted 3 was released, leading to an “ahh, so that’s what that meant” moment for many gamers.
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4. Hitman Absolution- “Ice Cream Vengeance”
We’re heading to the desert with Agent 47 now for a sweet Easter surprise, with deadly after taste. During the mission “End of the Road”, there are a number of vultures. Shoot each one, and the target your local friendly hitman has as a hostage will attempt to do a runner. Thankfully, an Ice Cream truck driven by the most lost man in history is on hand to do your dirty work and mow the target straight down.
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5. Grand Theft Auto V- “Thelma and Louise”
You can fill articles from here to the moon and back listing the endless fun to be had burying through all of GTA’s countless Easter eggs. GTA V is no exception. Arguably the best you’ll find round San Andreas is held every day at 7pm, on the peaks near Trevor’s helipad. Take a chopper up there and marvel at the recreation of Ridley Scott’s classic, Thelma and Louise. For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, spoiler alert.
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6. Metal Gear Solid 3- “The End is Nigh”
Konami are another developer renowned for adding amusing homages to dedicated fans of the Metal Gear Solid series. One of the more unusual comes in a boss battle with OAP sniper ‘The End’ in MGS 3. Given he was over 100 years old, you might often find the End catching a few mid-battle zzzs in the undergrowth, his world-weary mind too brittle for a younger, sharper Solid Snake. Taking that idea to the extreme, the End could also be defeated by switching off the game, and returning a couple of weeks later. The End would have met his end, dying from old age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylUDfrnGxCk
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7. Diablo 3- “Secret Ponies”
Bronies, rejoice! You can get your slice of glitzy pony action in video games as well. Diablo III built on the secret cow level of Diablo II by swapping the world of moo for the world of neigh. After a quick interaction with the ghost of the Cow King, players are teleported to a whimsical land of giant purple unicorns. Brownie (or should that be Brony) points to Blizzard for creating possibly thee trippiest nod to My Little Pony in video gaming.
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8. Just Cause 2- “All of us are Lost”
Something tells me that Just Cause 2 creators Avalanche Studios were fans of hit TV show Lost. Why? Well, it could be the fact they took the time to create an entire replica of the Lost island, and made it the setting for the game. Not satisfied to end there, the game’s narrative also lends itself favourably to Lost, by seeing your character crash his plane on route to the island of “Hantu”, as it is called in JC2.
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9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas- “The non-Easter Egg”
Despite Rockstar’s best attempts to say otherwise, one of the best Easter eggs you’ll find in San Andreas isn’t actually an Easter egg at all….sort of. Head to the top of Gant Bridge in San Andreas and you’ll find a rather frank sign stating:
“There are no Easter Eggs here. Go Away.”
…wait a minute.
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10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City- “The Easter Egg”
GTA developers Rockstar do often take a quite literal definition of the term ‘Easter egg’. Before the days of San Andreas and its dismissive signage, there was GTA: Vice City. Hidden behind a wall in the downtown area of Vice City is well…an Easter egg. Could there be a more fitting way to end our countdown of the best Easter eggs in gaming.
Got any even cooler gaming Easter eggs you’d like to share? Let us know the best you’ve seen in the comments below!
Videos- YouTube
