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Google Zerg Rush: That was an order, soldier
Zerg Rush is Google's latest easter egg and it's admittedly a little late for the holiday itself. Search for the term (it's a Starcraft thing), and you'll be welcomed by a point-and-shoot mini-game where your enemy is an infinite number of color-coded, marauding o's. These will proceed to decimate your search results, which is currently a bizarre meta view of people explaining the game's existence. Get your trigger finger ready -- the internet needs you. (You also can publish your final score with pride on Google Plus.) [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Android.com easter egg has the robot doing the moonwalk (video)
It's Easter in November! At least over at Android.com. The website's latest refresh brought us a whole lot of Ice Cream Sandwich, but the real treat's a bit of a hidden gem. Google's new site's packing an easter egg in the lower-left hand corner that has the little green robot doing the moonwalk, waving hello and juggling among other things. You can check it out in the video after the break, but the real fun awaits you at the source link below.
Yes, there is a cow mode in webOS 2.0
Palm's current hardware situation -- or the lack of it -- is no laughing matter, but that doesn't mean the software guys can't have any fun. Turns out that if you receive an email in webOS 2.0 with the subject line "supercowpowers," you get dazzled with... well, a cow show. That's really the only way we can describe it. Kind of apropos for the same guys that used the Konami code, isn't it?
Avatar Extended Collectors Edition Blu-ray includes 3D Easter Egg
If you've snagged this week's Avatar Extended Collector's Edition on blu-ray even though you're really waiting for it to come out in 3D, you're in luck. AVSForum poster josephcoatar discovered that by fiddling with the menus, you can unlock an Easter Egg that pops up two 3D special features, the three and a half minute extended theatrical trailer and a four minute "Pandora Discovered" featurette. Even if you do plan on getting your hands on the Panasonic-exclusive 3D release this year, you can cut the waiting down by going to "Live Extras" in the main menu of disc three, pressing down, and slipping on some 3D glasses.
Goo.gl URL shortener can also spit out QR codes, if you ask it nicely
Once again, Google fails at being ordinary. Although the claim with its Goo.gl URL shortener is that it's more about quality than features, the search giant couldn't help itself and has inserted a QR code easter egg into the mix. Should you be so daring as to append a .qr at the end of your contracted hyperlink -- such as turning http://goo.gl/JCKW into http://goo.gl/JCKW.qr (both point to this post) -- you'll be treated with a QR code, built especially for you by the company's imaging smurfs. So, in case you still don't have Android 2.2 and its awesome Chrome to Phone functionality, here's an alternative method for transitioning the webpage you're reading onto your phone. Heavens forbid we'd ever have to actually type anything out ourselves.
StarCraft II easter eggs include iPistol, BSOD, and misplaced characters (video)
You'd think with all the pressure of making a StarCraft sequel worthy of the name, Blizzard wouldn't have time for humorous insider references, but StarCraft II begs to differ. The game's designers have expended some of their creative juices on concocting a jolly little iPod-esque advert for a fictional iPistol, which is supposed to let you "take your shot at life." And just in case anyone thought them biased, the Blizzard devs have also had a little swipe at Microsoft, with a Blue Screen of Death adorning the control console of a drill inside the game. Other than those techie witticisms, the eagle-eyed gamer will be able to spot a dancing Night Elf and a Tauren Space Marine from World of Warcraft, as well as Diablo from, well, Diablo -- but we'll let you play the game and figure out where they are for yourself! Skip past the break to see the iAd homage and BSOD screenshot. [Thanks, Michael]
YouTube easter egg lets you play Snake while clips load (video)
No, not Metal Gear Solid's Snake. We're talking about the Snake that was popular before the smartphone was a twinkle in the industry's eye. Google has imbued YouTube videos with an engaging new easter egg that lets you play the apple-chasing game while your video stream buffers -- simply mash your keyboard's up and down arrow keys during most any clip to increase YouTube's time-wasting potential tenfold. What's that you say -- your internet connection is so ludicrously fast that videos play instantly? Ah, my lucky friend, let us introduce you to YouTube's 4K mode. Or, for a special treat, hijack the footage we've provided after the break to get your meta-giggles going. [Thanks, Alan]
Lost finally has another HD Easter Egg?
It's been quite some time, but the most eagle eyed among us caught a look at this during last night's episode of Lost, showing an unidentified girl in the shadows during a key scene. It's been some time since the last Easter Egg we picked up on, it's hard to tell if they stopped putting them in or if we just stopped caring, but the debate over who this might be or if it was just a mistake has piqued our interest. So, are you still watching as closely as ever, or will it take a few more hidden secrets, characters rising from the dead or the always interesting Jack / Kate / Sawyer / Juliet romantic entanglement to get this one on the big screen Wednesday nights?
History Lesson: The Original Video Game Easter Egg
We know that most of you are probably familiar with this piece of Atari mythos, but we thought it would be a festive way to celebrate this Easter Sunday. While Robinett's egotistical stunt was definitely ballsy, it doesn't approach some of our favorite secrets throughout gaming history -- like the legendary Secret Cow Level in Diablo II, or the bitchin' audio file hidden on the Symphony of the Night disc. We're curious to know -- what easter egg, hidden in the folds of one of your favorite video games, especially tickled your fancy?[Thanks, Matthew.]
God of War easter egg hidden in Heavenly Sword
Members of the PS3 Forums have found an interesting easter egg in Heavenly Sword. Kratos' sword and armor from God of War can be found somewhere in the depths of the armory during Kai's mission. Now, that begs the question: who would win in a fight: Kratos or Nariko? (We're siding with the tortured Greek here.) [Thanks, XxBigP123xX!]
Enjoy Metroid Prime 3; Iwata sacrificed his weight for it
We have yet to test this, but apparently Nintendo president Satoru Iwata left Metroid Prime 3: Corruption players a secret message, accessed through the cockpit of Samus's ship. A GoNintendo reader translated the message, and our kinda-okay Japanese language skills are sufficient to verify its accuracy."Hello, this is Iwata from Nintendo. You may not know from an outsider's point of view, but being a director is really hard! When things are really busy and stressful we (us directors) may look tired and sick, then people may feel sorry for us! But in my case, it's the opposite, I get fatter and fatter, so then people don't think I'm stressed at all!"We're pretty sure he's talking either about running Nintendo or about his sympathy for the Metroid Prime 3 director, because we don't think Iwata was personally involved with the creation of this particular game. Maybe felt so involved that he reached for the Hello Panda. We have a little giggle when we think about Iwata working on Kirby games and starting to look like Kirby.
The letter of Sully Ballou
The Lady Bird over on WoW Ladies posted about a quest I've heard about but never done before. It's the Sully Ballou's Letter quest-- it starts from a poor deceased dwarf that you can find in the water beneath the Thandol Span (that's the bridge just north of Dun Morogh). In his hand, there's a letter that you can read, and that needs to be delivered to a woman in Ironforge.Lady Bird read the letter and found it suprisingly emotional, and then found out the reason for that is because it's real-- it was written by one Major Sullivan Ballou, directly before the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil war. It was famously read in Ken Burns' Civil War documentary, and the full text of the original letter is also available online. It is pretty darn touching, both as a love letter, and as a meditation on what real life war really costs us, both for those directly involved, and for those waiting at home for them to return.Blizzard has put a lot of hidden gems in this game, of course, but this might be one of the most touching.
Remember! Noblegarden tomorrow! [Updated]
Don't forget, tomorrow, April 8th, is Noblegarden in the land of Azeroth. What does that mean to adventerous players like us? That there are colorful eggs to collect -- and some of them might contain unique prizes. (I'm still hunting for that Noblegarden dress!) For those interested in egg hunting this year, they're found in the lowbie zones around major cities. So hunt in Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, Dun Morogh, Elwynn Forest, Teldrassil, and Durotar Eversong Woods, and Azuremyst Isles -- at least presuming they've updated the event to include these new zones. The screenshot above (Blizzard's official Noblegarden shot) is deceptive -- last year, at least, the eggs were half that size at best.Happy hunting, everyone!Update: Fixed two errors in my initial post, adding Teldrassil and Tirisfal Glades as locations, and removing Silverpine Forest. Also, according to reports, there seem to be no eggs spawning in the new Burning Crusade zones, Eversong Woods and Azuremyst Isles. Thanks to commenters Auriea and Rob!
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: beware the Easter Cow edition
After an insightful episode of South Park that explained the relationship between bunnies, eggs, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we decided to do some of our own research into the history of the seemingly bizarre Easter rituals. After becoming bored with that, we thought about easter eggs in the virtual sense -- i.e. those hidden treats found on CDs, DVDs and video games.Celebrate Easter by telling us your favorite virtual easter eggs; while you're thinking, check out our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics. Be sure to vote for your favorite! Where's the dice? Brunch-out! Illustrative diagram Popular trends The real winner It's a-fatal! Truth stretching We wouldn't be surprised Partied out
The evolution of game extras
The Associated Press describes how cheat codes, Easter eggs, unlockables, and in-game advertising are converging as marketers try to create more money and drive more game sales. While the article takes a broad swipe at the topic, and it's just plain wrong at times -- Easter eggs are "brightly decorated circles or balls ... that [unlock] bonus points, monster-slaying swords, extra lives, or infinite health" -- it covers the evolution of cheats and Easter eggs. These tricks used to be added by programmers as a way to surprise gamers, but they've become co-opted by marketing departments that release the secrets on a schedule to raise interest in a game.With unlockable content, its transition to a for-pay service bothers us. We don't begrudge publishers the opportunity to change their business model to give gamers more options to buy a game; instead, the trend seems to be selling us the same game more than once. Where are the cheaper games with for-pay content?
Today's weirdest game video: Gears of War secret man on toilet
Gamers will find anything, and we mean anything inside a game. Take this video for instance. Apparently in the Rooftops multiplayer level of Gears of War, there's a dead man sitting on a toilet inside one of the nearby buildings and you can see him through the window. You can follow the links to instructions on how to find it, but you'd do just as well to watch the video and see it in super slow motion.How do people find stuff like this? If they're anything like us, then they get tired of being pwned and start exploring the scenery. Our money's on that. Check the video out after the jump if you can stand the annoying music.
Why hello, Easter eggs!
If you've explored a little bit, you've no doubt come across numerous Easter eggs -- amusing and sometimes obscure references to the real world that are just enough to make you grin when you encounter them. And, of course, the Burning Crusade has not been immune to such treatment, and we probably haven't found the half of them yet. Who is the Blood Elf pictured to the right? Well, according to the game, it's Haris Pilton <Socialite>. You can also meet her pet, a wolf named Tinkerbell. And then there's Adam Heman (complete with tiger), Slim <Shady Dealer>, Floyd Pinkus, and even Eyonix himself (he's an innkeeper). World of Raids has a thread covering a few of these (including a full version of the Haris Pilton shot), a link to a screenshot gallery at JudgeHype with more (the site is in French, but I'm sure we can all figure out how to click on screenshots), and then there's the soon-to-be-legendary thread about Eyonix's in-game appearance.
HDTV Listings for September 21, 2006
What we're watching: All-new tonight is the series premiere of Shark on CBS, featuring James Woods as a defense attourney turned prosecutor who doesn't lose his underhanded style of winning cases after switching sides. Our old friend Grey's Anatomy steps into its new night on ABC, first with a series recap and then the season premiere at 9, followed by new series Six Degrees. NBC brings back My Name is Earl, The Office and E.R. for another season, we'll keep our eyes peeled for more easter eggs, you've gotta figure there will be one sooner or later. Damon Wayans' The Underground is new tonight on Showtime, no word on if it's any funnier, while college football lights up ESPN HD as Virginia takes on Georgia Tech.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
High-def presenting new challenges to set designers
Doesn't it just tear every fiber in your body when you are immensely enjoying a TV show only to be distracted by a bad set? You know, kind of like when Sidney Bristo (Alias) is racing down an exhaust vent to 'disarm' a satellite gizmo on a random rocket just before the launch and therefore the utter distruction of the world but the rocket they show is the Saturn V used in the Apollo program. These distractions could be minor like how the rocks just don't look like rocks or you can clearly see a sailboat off in the distance when a group of people are suppose to be Lost. HDTV doesn't help these issues ether as that extra resolution can ether make or break your viewing experience. Emmy and Telewest award-winning set designer Eve Stewart understands this and indicated that filming in high-def presents new challenges with the likes that have not been seen since the advent of color television. A suvey conducted bt Telewest found that 23% of people will go as far to change the station if the show has an unconvincing or unrealistic set. We don't know about going that far but we do like it when that easter eggs shows that HDTV rocks.Do you change the station if something just doesn't look or feel right about a TV show?
Apple easter egg in Pixar's "Cars"
Brian at FreeMacBlog writes in to point out an Apple easter egg he spotted in Pixar's Cars. During the opening race, one of the cars that is briefly on screen has an Apple logo on the hood, and is fittingly numbered "84." Pretty cool, Brian! Did anyone else spot this car?
