Video Game Easter Eggs

While this list would be better suited come April, a podcast brought the idea of video game Easter eggs up in my head to do this before it would escape my memory. Easter eggs are common in both video games and TV/film, and upon seeing them can either be groan inducing or something that causes you to point at the screen and applaud the inclusion of said Easter egg. Here is a list of Easter eggs that I, although not having experienced them all, was the most interested in hearing about:




Adventure - Warren Robinett

While it's nothing spectacular, it gets nods as the original video game Easter egg. Now whether or not this is true, this secret room that says "Created by: Warren Robinett" is credited as the first. In a game where you play as a dot escaping from a duck looking dragon (the original Pokemon?), I guess this could have been seen as a cool bonus. But at this point in gaming, its kind of...well...whatever?





Portal - The Cake May Not Have Been A Lie

We all know the meme. The cake is a lie. Thanks to the amazing experience of Portal, that has been hammered into the heads of gamers since it's release. However, after escaping from the test chambers, there's a screen with scrolling yellow text. Upon looking at it carefully and overlooking the computer gibberish, you can find a recipe for a Black Forest cake with ingredients hidden in it.

Super Mario Bros - Minus World

While I'm not sure if it should be considered an Easter egg instead of a glitch, it's something I would slap myself for not including as the mythical Minus World in the original Super Mario Bros. Many strive to see this level in which you swim, and swim, and swim but only few would actually see. At least, until later on when it became common knowledge of getting there in World 1-2 after jumping backwards while crouched and going down a pipe. Not the greatest Easter egg, because games where you swim are rarely fun.





Grand Theft Auto: No Easter Egg

The people at Rockstar do love their Easter eggs. So much so that they will actually include an Easter egg...as an Easter egg. This however is probably my favorite. The image says it all.





Halo: Combat Evolved - MEGG

Some people try to immortalize their love for one another by taking pictures, recording videos, writing poems, etc. In the case of Jamie Griesemer, a level designer for Halo: Combat Evolved, he decided to add the love of his life, Meg Pallor, into the game. In doing so, it caused frustration to Halo players as a damn near impossible Easter egg to reach. But in doing so, you get to see a bloody heart with a bullet-hole letter M in the middle of it. Unfortunately, after seeing this, you are treated to a gruesome death at the hands of some Invulnerable Marines. Was it worth it?





Super Mario RPG - Link, Samus, and F-Zero

Super Mario RPG broke away from the normal platforming that made the Mario games great and went a different route in an RPG game. It worked, and worked well. While the Final Fantasy influence from Culex will usually be mentioned first, Nintendo also wanted to include some of their own franchises to the mix with nice nods. Thus, you can find both Samus and Link taking naps in the game (Samus in Peach's castle and Link in Rose Town) and F-Zero model cars in Hinopio's shop. Some may say Smash Bros was the game to bring it all together, but...

Just Cause 2 - Lost

Remember Just Cause 2? That game you ran around and blew things up because the story was completely forgettable? Well, this is one of those reasons it's such a great game. While I could have posted the mechanical shark or the beached whale, instead the game gets it's due with the island from Lost. Approach it with a plane and watch it get shot down. Escape before it blows and witness the weather change and see strange stuff on the island. Besides a plane wreckage with an SOS type message, there is also a chance to run into a monster of sorts...





Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - The End

Hideo Kojima thinks outside the box. That was evident enough in Metal Gear Solid especially during the Psycho Mantis fight. He does a similar thing here with the villain The End in Snake Eater but in a slightly different way. See, The End is a pain in the ass. For an old man, he is fast and sneaky and caused much more frustration with me than I thought possible. Had I known there were two other methods to beat him, I would have been fine. One included sniping him from afar when you see him at the warehouse, or the more Kojima way, save during the battle and turning the system off. When you come back a week later or move your date settings forward a week, The End will have died of old age during battle. I applaud you Kojima.





Batman: Arkham Asylum - Arkham City

Rocksteady sure knows how to hide them. Before Arkham City was ever announced, they had an Easter egg hidden in Arkham Asylum hinting at what a sequel would entail. While most collapsible walls were shown in detective vision, one room in particular didn't. This is a secret room in the Mansion that Batman has to use the explosive gel on three times before it will be discovered. On the wall is a poster showing a Arkham stamp over part of Gotham City. With Rocksteady saying the biggest secret in Arkham City hasn't been discovered yet, it makes me wonder what that could possibly be and when we will find it...





Saints Row 2 - I don't want to see those Easter eggs...

The craziness in Saints Row 3 isn't completely out of nowhere. If you want to put a little effort getting to a specific location, you can see a giant bunny rise out of the water. I'm not sure exactly what it's purpose is, but Saints Row 3 did follow up on it as they have the captured bunny on a boat in the game as well.




There are a ton of Easter eggs in games, some somewhat lame, others really cool and interesting. I've always had an interest in these as they are fun to find especially if they are more off-the-wall once you see them. I hope developers continue to add these to their game, because they are nice to find and talk about with other players not to mention extend the longevity of the game trying to discover them.

Looking Ahead to E3 2012

This time next week will be one of the most exciting moments in video games to happen this year. Between June 5-7, E3 will be taking place in Los Angeles. Like most people, I will not be there. Instead I'll be paying attention to the various news outlets who will feed us numerous videos and articles prominently featuring important (and not so important) news to come from E3. What I wanted to do was pull a reverse-Mr. Caffeine and look ahead to what E3 more than likely has in store.

*Doodly Doodly Doop*

*Doodly Doodly Doop*

• Sony - After the *ahem* lackluster performance of the Vita, it will be no surprise that most of their press conference will revolve around selling their new handheld system. They will probably show more of the connectivity between the PS3 system and the Vita by showcasing games like Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (which was recently announced for the Vita as well as PS3) and a game we haven't really seen since last year's E3, Ruin (now titled Warriors Lair). Of course I'm sure they'll have PS3 games to show as well including God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, Dust 514, and LittleBigPlanet Karting. Wouldn't it be nice to see some Grand Theft Auto V footage here? If there's a conference to have it, I'm going to go with Sony. Those expecting a new system announcement...I'm guessing you'll need to hold your breath.

• Microsoft - I think Microsoft has sort of fallen under the radar for E3 this year since most people can really only name Halo 4 as something they will show. Alan Wake was rumored to have a sequel underway, so that's a possibility, along with Forza which seems to be a staple almost every year. It would be no surprise to have Kinect shown for a while with more application uses and games, but I think Microsoft will try and go with exclusive content for the main serving of content. Since the Resident Evil demo was a timed exclusive for the 360, I'm guessing there may be some gameplay footage shown at this conference. And of course, don't count them out of holding out exclusivity for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 as well. New console here? Nope. Hold it just a little longer.

• Nintendo - Here's that new console you were wanting: the WiiU. Although most people were looking forward to it last year, there wasn't a whole lot to go off of. I would say we can expect to see a price for the system, to see the system itself, and perhaps...a name change. Mario and Pikmin have already been announced for WiiU so those should be seen, and remember that mention of Smash Brothers last year? Maybe a quick video of that will be shown as well. Then some name drops of games coming out for the system and finally the time period it'll be released. Maybe not an exact day, but I would say "Winter 2012". But before all of that, expect a lot of 3DS games, including ones mentioned last year. Luigi's Mansion seems like a no-brainer along with the New Super Mario Bros. 2 game, but I have a feeling there may also be a new Kirby game in the works and some sort of RPG shown at the conference as well.

• Ubisoft -  What do you honestly think? They have one of the biggest games coming out this year in Assassins Creed 3, so there is no doubt that it will come up for a lengthy amount of time during their press conference. The same with Far Cry 3 which was also shown last year and seems to be another of their core game they want to push. Rayman Legends has recently been announced and the predecessor had time devoted to it last year, so there's a good chance it'll be shown. They also announced Shootmania to be shown at E3, and it seems like something that would find it's way into their conference as well. The crux of their presentation will depend on if they have Mr. Caffeine do the hosting. Despite how terrible he was, I found enjoyment in all of his bombed jokes.

• EA - I would say EA should have a strong appearance at E3 this year. They have Madden 13 to show and all the various updates to the game that seem to be receiving some praise, Crysis 3 which was recently announced with lots of high-tech bow and arrow action, and Medal of Honor may make an appearance with Warfighter. Also, remember that ending of Mass Effect 3 that caused the Internet to implode with hatred? Well, I expect them to show hints of the "true" ending DLC that they said they would make on the fans behalf. With Katy Perry having some sort of The Sims involvement, maybe they'll even treat everyone to a performance by her as well! Oh yeah, and that new SimCity game that they plan to drop on PC's next year. You remember that game right?

Side notes of confirmations, rumors and speculations:

• Skyrim DLC: Dawnguard - It's already been announced and...that's about it. If they want to show gameplay of it (or anything else for that matter), there would be no better time than at E3.
• Epic & Unreal Engine 4 - Epic plans on revealing Unreal Engine 4 and minds will be melted. In so many words, that's what has been promised upon the showing.
• The Last Guardian - I said it last year, and I'll say it this year. Eventually I'll have to be right...right? But after Fumito Ueda's departure from Sony, it may speed up the process. But I didn't add it to Sony's press conference...just in case.
• Overkill & Valve - Earlier this week there was talk of a collaboration between the PAYDAY: The Heist and Left 4 Dead crews. While it may seem early, it would sure be nice to see what kind of collaboration is taking place exactly.
• Kingdom Hearts - Tetsuya Nomura may have put his foot in his mouth by saying Kingdom Hearts is due for another console game. Whether this an HD collection or Kingdom Hearts 3, he may want to do some calisthenics if nothing is mentioned shortly. He said we may know if we finish Dream Drop Distance (releasing in July), but that's soooo far away.
• Just Cause 3 (and 4?) - Well, since Just Cause 4 already has web domains in the works from recent news, that could mean Just Cause 3 is underway. That could mean an appearance next week at E3. Hopefully someone from Eidos parachutes it in.
• Half-Life Episode 3 - You can't have a rumors and speculations section without including this game. No real basis for it...but yeah.

Up until doing this, I was kind of hesitant about E3. This year in general has felt somewhat underwhelming in video games other than an occassional few. The constant push-backs in release dates aren't helping at all with Bioshock: Infinite, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Tomb Raider, etc now shipping in 2013 instead of 2012 have caused me to feel a sense of sadness from how big this year was going to be. In truth, this year still has potential for being a pretty amazing year. There's a lot of games lined up that we know about, but may not think about all the time. Then there's the ones that still haven't been announced. Add in the potential of the WiiU being released by the end of this year and 2012 doesn't look half bad. Sometimes it just takes a list to see that.

E3 Press Conferences

Other than the Sony mishap, there's not much news to talk about is there? So I'm focusing (yet again) on E3 and what to expect from the 3 big press conferences held by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. So the company with the least amount of news going into E3 is Microsoft, and they are kicking off the show conferences.

1. Microsoft - The Underdog

On June 6th, at 10am, Microsoft will be taking the stage for their conference. And truthfully...nobody really knows what to expect. The obvious thing will be Kinect games and going from the rumblings around the web, they will try to bring in some fans with some core games. Child of Eden is a good possibility with it's release being the following week and I'll go so far as to say a Dance Central 2 after the critical acclaim it received the previous year. I would also expect them to discuss a lot of features that they are talking about for it and an idea of when to see those.

Expect new features for the X-Box like they do yearly. With the acquisition of Skype, that has to be included in the conference somewhere and how that will be brought into the system. New avatar stuff comes about every year with some sort of app that nobody really cares about but Microsoft will include anyways.

I would expect to hear something Halo related, whether it be a new game but it seems more likely for a re-release of a previous game. I've heard a lot of the original being the re-release, but I could see them go the Sony route and re-release the first two games on a collection disc ala God of War, Tomb Raider, etc. The recent news of the Alan Wake downloadable makes that a possibility of something to be shown and I would say it's a safe bet that a Forza is also in the works. Gears of War 3 is a given since that is coming out this year. Oh, and expect a tease of the summer sales they tend to do with the new arcade games to come out. They also normally announce some sort of exclusive with a game like Call of Duty and the map packs, so with the new Modern Warfare coming out, exclusivity with new DLC for that.

Lastly will be a price cut. In fact, I'll say it here. Price cut on all console systems, not just X-Box. I would say Kinect as well, but with the success of it still selling, if a price cut is in the works it will probably wait until Winter for the Christmas rush. Speaking of Kinect, also expect them to continually praise it's success until you hear crickets and snores from the audience. We've heard the same "Kinect is the fastest selling..." discussion since it's release, we don't need it taking up valuable time at the press conference that's supposed to intrigue people for the future.

Unless Microsoft has something hidden behind a big curtain this year, this press conference will be a dud. Kinect will be a big focus since it's the only thing close to a "new system" that they have to compete with Sony and Nintendo's new systems. They need to show games though, not just for Kinect, but for the console as well. They shouldn't rely heavily on 3rd party games to carry their system this year, because the other two consoles are releasing a ton of system exclusive content. They need to WOW with Kinect and they have to get gamers psyched up for future 360-exclusive releases if they even want people to remember they were there this E3.


2. Sony - Winning People Back

The past couple months have NOT been kind to Sony. If the Geohot mess wasn't bad enough, the hackers last month certainly was. So this E3 conference is a major event for Sony especially so soon after the new PSN arrives and the "Welcome Back Program" looms in the future. Which leads me into what will happen on June 6th at 5pm...

Do they address it, or don't they? Part of me thinks they want to move on and try to just impress the hell out of everybody in an attempt to make them forget. It's been discussed pretty extensively the past few weeks and will be for the next two at least. But...it's the elephant in the room. The big fat elephant they have dancing on their projection screen while they try to sell us on the NGP. They have to address it. An apology will be made I'm sure and I think they will also reiterate how important their consumers security is and they will then go into detail about the situation and what they have done to make it better. I also don't expect us to see the "Welcome Back Package" until E3 or maybe slightly after just so they can bring it up as a "see...we care!" way to finish that topic.

I'm sure the Playstation Phone...Xperia Play...whatever it's called will also be talked about. Most people won't care, but I'm sure there will be a few minutes just for this phone and what it can do.

But...the NGP will be the big thing for Sony. We'll get to see it running with games like Uncharted and Wipeout and they let us know all the specs and details about the system and even the release date, price, and list of games. If they don't, they are foolish. They may discuss the PSP and how they plan on improving that with the NGP, but I see a decent portion of the conference being devoted to this new handheld with cheap shots thrown at Nintendo about gimmicky 3D (before they go into their 3D Playstation games and televisions part of the show).

Then out come the games. Twisted Metal was the big reveal last year, so I'm not expecting that to be the finale but it's expected to have something at the conference. The same with Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, The Last Guardian, Dark Souls (maybe), the upcoming Final Fantasy and some news on more collections such as the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus one and probably show us what that looks like cleaned up. The finale, in my mind, has to be The Last Guardian. People have wanted more on that game than any other the past few years and it's time it came out. I'm calling it now...Gameplay will be shown and a release date will be given.

Sony has the potential to be the big show. Nintendo has all eyes on them for their new console reveal, so Sony will have to put the effort in to divert the attention their way. If they do it correctly, and Nintendo fails to impress, Sony has this one in the bag. The PSP was a disappointment (let's not even mention the GO), so a big focus will be on promoting the NGP and they have to have it a decent price to compete with the 3DS regardless of what it can do. They need to acknowledge the recent hackings if only to get it out of the way especially since people are wanting to hear Sony discuss it. And finally, show us that extensive PS3 exclusive list of games to expect that people often overlook for the X-Box's piddly exclusives.

3. Nintendo - All or Nothing

The day everyone is waiting for is June 7th. At 9 in the morning, Nintendo takes the stage with big expectations and hopeful explanations.Their conference will be divided into 3 sections: 3DS, Wii, and Cafe'. Now, will the 3DS go before or after the Wii? It is just their handheld system and they tend to get less love at press conferences than consoles, but with the Wii dying, I can see the 3DS going second. However, if they want to promote the Cafe' right (and depending if they have games to show), they will show the Wii THEN Cafe' if only to show the major differences between the systems.

The 3DS has sold well, but not to Nintendo's liking. They will address this and show how they plan on improving this. So...bring out the 3DS games. The list of games that came out last year will have footage for this year along with seeing what that Super Mario Bros title tease is all about. They know one of the major downfalls of the 3DS was the lack of games so they want to prove everyone wrong and show that it wasn't wrong for them to purchase this system. Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros 3 (?), the e-shop, and more will be discussed in this portion of the conference. Oh. Price drop for the handheld as well and maybe a new iteration by the end of the year.

The Wii is dying, but not quite dead. They will still show games that will be coming out this year, similar to what they did last year with games like Donkey Kong, Kirby, etc. Games we weren't expecting, but will see for the Wii shall be announced that will come out before the year's end and of course the one we do know about: Skyward Sword. The problem is, again, the Wii is on it's last legs. Other than some new game announcements and a price decrease, there's not much going for this system this E3. If anything, it's just to help propel the new system to the fanbase.

The big announcement of E3! PROJECT CAFE! The mysteries will be unveiled. What will it look like!? The the hell is the deal with the controller!? Are the graphics really better!? These questions and more will all be answered. This is what everyone wants to know and see at E3. Nintendo can win back a large portion of the hardcore gamers they lost with the Wii, or they can utterly disappoint everyone with a lackluster system that barely competes with the current gen of consoles. What happens here will help dictate the pace of the next generation of consoles. Sony and Microsoft are definately keeping an eye on this console and if it looks like it will be a beast, it could cause them to speed up towards their next system as well. I'm not sure exactly what Nintendo will show, but if they are shooting for the core audience I would expect big name developers to be mentioned, maybe some video of what games will look like, and the hardware itself at the very least. They may hold off on showing the controller, but since it's not as big of a departure that the wiimote was, I don't see them keeping that a secret.

Nintendo's conference will be the most interesting. This is the one people are looking forward to but can Nintendo show enough leading up to the reveal of Project Cafe to interest people? The console itself may show too much or too little and like any reveal can cause some ripples in the fandom. The 3DS didn't get the greatest reception upon it's reveal, it wasn't until people had it in their hands before it really took off. This console could be the same. If Nintendo has a lackluster showing for Project Cafe, the rest of their show will be scoffed at. The 3DS is to help people feel better about their purchase, the Wii is to bide the time until the new console, and the Cafe is supposed to have people excited for the future. If Cafe' is disliked, nobody will care about the Wii releases since those are dying out anyways and the 3DS is just a handheld so it's not held up to the same standards of a console and that news will play 2nd fiddle anyways.


It is coming. We are just a few weeks away and most things are pure speculation at this point. News tends to be pretty dead up until E3 (unless smaller devs want to get SOME mention before the wave of news hits), but with what's coming up, can everything deliver? There's a lot of hope for what's coming out in Sony and Nintendo's camp, and Microsoft has people scratching their heads. But if last year was any indication, anything can happen. It is coming. We are just a few weeks away...