Video game developers are a cheeky bunch. Since the early days of Atari, they’ve hidden clever messages for curious players to discover. For every video game release, there’s almost always an Easter egg to hunt for, something the developers have hidden in the form of a message, an image or an in-game sequence that once found feels like a treasure.
Note: There are spoiler alerts in this story.
Most recently, a player has figured out an Easter egg in the Silent Hill 2 remake that confirms that the game isn’t just a remake but also a sequel. It revealed the main playable character James Sunderland has been stuck in Silent Hill for the past 20 years, which is when the original Silent Hill 2 was released.
While there are hints of this being the case throughout the game, what solidified it was a puzzle that was solved by a Reddit user through counting objects and aligning them with words, a real headscratcher for most who even attempted it.
Here are seven other Easter eggs that gamers enjoyed finding over the years.
Fallout: New Vegas
This post-apocalyptic game, released in 2010, pokes fun at one of the most famous scenes in the Indiana Jones film series. Specifically, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull when the protagonist hero decides to seek shelter from a nearby nuclear bomb test by hiding in a refrigerator. During the game, players can discover a refrigerator that shows a skeleton with what looks like Indy’s clothes, showing what would have happened if he hadn't escaped.
Grand Theft Auto 4
The Grand Theft Auto series has a plethora of Easter eggs to choose from but perhaps the most notable, and biggest, is the one hidden inside the game’s version of the Statue of Liberty. In the statue, which has the face of former US senator Hillary Clinton for some reason, players can find a giant beating heart that is strapped in place with wires. It's an eerie sight for sure.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
The Call of Duty games are about one thing: shoot lest ye be shot. In 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, players can take a break from the shooting and enjoy an Atari game that has been faithfully recreated inside one of the levels on an old-fashioned television. The Easter eggs require shooting a couple of mannequins to unlock, then the Atari game can be enjoyed.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars fans can’t agree on many things, but there’s one thing the vast majority can agree on: their hate for the character Jar Jar Binks. First introduced in Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, the character has become a punching bag for fans and haters alike. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, developers hid an Easter egg that shows just how much hate the fandom has for the character, freezing him in a carbonite slab. Carbonite was famously used in the film The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo was frozen in it by Jabba the Hutt.
Batman Arkham Asylum
There have been many great Batman games over the years but none are more beloved than Batman Arkham Asylum in which the Caped Crusader is locked inside the institution that houses Gotham’s most notorious villains. Fans had wondered what would come after the game, and developers teased the next would take place in Gotham, revealing a map hidden behind a wall that requires a particular set of explosions to reveal.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Returning to the Grand Theft Auto series, GTA 5 also has many great Easter eggs. However, one stands out specifically for its reference to a highly acclaimed Oscar-winning film. In an event that could only be stumbled upon in a specific location at a specific time of day in the game, it’s possible to find a recreation of a scene from the film No Country for Old Men.
The scene in question is when Josh Brolin’s character finds the aftermath of a gang shootout and a suitcase full of cash. If a player decides to take the take cash bag as Brolin did in the film, they'll find themselves chased by the gangs until they retrieve their ill-gotten gains.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
Gamers choose two players to compete against each other, trying to achieve the most bombastic dunks and alley-oops to score more points. The normal roster of players to choose from is from the NBA, but with the help of a cheat code, an extended roster can be revealed which includes, bizarrely, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Prince Charles (now the UK's King Charles III), Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff as well as the mascots of some the teams.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more about the coronavirus
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
More coverage from the Future Forum
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
WORLD CUP SQUAD
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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