8 of the coolest video game easter eggs of all time


Kids love to find Easter eggs on Easter Day and adults love to find Easter eggs on video game day (which is just about every day because video games are awesome and Easter eggs are awesome, too.) Here are some picks for the coolest video game Easter eggs of all time. Fair warning, the Dead Space entry has a pretty big SPOILER.

8 ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’


After adamantium clawing your way through most of the first level (a kick ass romp through the ruins-filled jungle) you’ll be able to see a hatch straight out of Lost. It can be found by going through a stone doorway that has been barred-off with wooden planks. Now, if only we could get inside the hatch…

7 ‘Dead Space’


As Dead Space players may remember, Isaac Clarke’s girlfriend (you know, the one he was trying to catch up to throughout the entire game) has been dead the whole time. Spooky. But did you also know that the first letter of each chapter spells out N-I-C-O-L-E I-S D-E-A-D? Spookier.

6 ‘Max Payne 3’


Whenever you find a piano in Max Payne 3, take the time to sit down and play. Eventually, Max will play the simultaneously haunting and soothing classic Max Payne theme.

5 ‘Uncharted 2’ & ‘Uncharted 3: Marco Polo’


This is easily the most amusing video game Easter egg of recent years. In Chapter 6 of Uncharted 2 and Chapter 14 of Uncharted 3 you’ll find a pool; jump in, swim around and Drake will attempt to play Marco Polo with whichever NPC (non-playable character) is currently accompanying you.

4 ‘Resident Evil 3: Nemesis’


Before meeting up with Carlos at the diner, check out the movie theater and you’ll find a poster out front that advertises Biohazard 4. (Biohazard being the Japanese title for Resident Evil.) At the time it caused some speculation, but little did RE fans in 1999 know that in 2005 the IP would deliver its finest entry yet in Biohazard/Resident Evil 4.

3 ‘Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ and ‘Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask’


There are Mario references in every Zelda game, but here are two of the coolest from two of the best Zelda games known to Nintendo fan-boys across the globe:

– As child Link in OoT, go to the royal courtyard at Hyrule Castle and peer into the windows. You’ll see portraits of various characters from the Mario games.

– In MM, the sinister dude with the magic masks happens to have a Mario mask strapped to his sack. Would it be awesome to turn into Mario and try to navigate through Termina as Nintendo’s chief mascot or would that just cause you to get stomped into the dirt immediately by an Iron Knuckle or Garo Master?

2 ‘Halo: Combat Evolved’


As Legendary-Level Halo: Combat Evolved champions know, it’s no easy feat to beat the game on its toughest setting. The AI is tough and unforgiving and you’ll certainly find yourself dying and respawning through many sequences – the first battle in “Truth and Reconciliation” anyone? – many times before powering through the entirety of this deviously difficult, yet supremely satisfying game. Thankfully, you’re compensated for your efforts at the end. Beat Halo on Legendary mode and you’ll get to see a cutscene where Sergeant Johnson and an Elite are fighting, but then, as the Pillar of Autumn’s self-destruct sequence is initiated, Johnson says, “This is it baby, hold me,” and they embrace each other as the ring world explodes. Hilarious and touching.

1 ‘Doom II’


As a pre-teen who lovingly purchased Doom II for the Macintosh computer for $55 and thought it was the best non-Disney or Indiana Jones thing he had ever seen, I loved exploring every nook and cranny of the game, albeit with the cheat code that would let you walk through walls (IDCLIP) on.

It was upon fighting the last boss that I strolled on into its brain and saw the impaled head of John Romero (one of Doom II’s leading programmers) bloodied and sitting upon a pike, mullet and all. The amazing thing is that his head is actually an interactive hit detector for the boss, so you can (and bear with me here) walk through the boss’ exposed brain into a corridor with Romero’s head on a stick and then chainsaw it to death as his face contorts in pain. And then….game won. Sick (both meanings).