Awesome game secrets that every gamer needs to know

Written by kube00, Erik Kubik Friday, 01 July 2011 05:00

Video Games have had a long history of having secrets and so-called easter eggs being built into them. Some are reference to other games, others are little fun things the developers put in, while others are glitches in the game. So here’s a look over the last 25 years or so of some of the most awesome game secrets.

Contra

In my book, one of the biggest gaming secrets has to be the Contra code. Even back in the day some of my friends knew the code and the internet had yet to become popular. The famous code is Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right , B, A, Start. Nothing like playing Contra with 30 lives. Gamers have seen this code pop up in other games and social media through the years, including most recently on Facebook.

NBA Jam

Another secret lies within NBA Jam and being able to play as political figures and music superstars. Several versions of NBA JAM, including the original and tournament edition, players could enter their initials to save their stats. By entering certain initials gamers could play as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary Clinton. I’d always wanted to dunk on Scottie Pippen with the former President. The most recent NBA Jam let gamers unlock the Beastie Boys.

Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas

GTA San Andreas and the Hot Coffee Mod, this may be one of the better known secrets in gaming. It also may be one of the most controversial secrets to come out of gaming in the last 20 years. Rockstar faced legal action over this and had to recall thousands of copies of the game  Using a PC, or an action replay on Xbox/PS2, gamers could modify a little bit of code within GTA San Andreas. By doing this gamers could access a scene in GTA San Andreas with CJ and his girlfriend. Despite the problems this created for Rockstar this made GTA SA even more popular and spurred game sales.

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat 1 gave players the chance to fight Reptile. This is by far one of toughest secrets to get to. It required gamers to be on the pit stage, and have the object pass in front of the moon. If the timing wasn’t hard enough, then gamers had to win the match with two flawless victories, which is a chore within itself. If you could get everything just right, you would have the opportunity to fight against Reptile.

Diablo 2

Diablo 2 had a few secrets as well. One of the better ones was the cow level. By combining certain objects in the game, players could create a portal to the cow level. The cow level was a small map populated with aggressive, walking bovines with spears. Despite the constant mooing going on, playing the cow level with several other people in a party was a lot of fun. There was plenty of loot to retrieve and a chance to fight the mighty Cow King.

Metroid

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros and the much talked about Minus World. This was a glitch in Super Mario Bros for the NES in which players could fall through a wall in World 1-2 and enter the World on 2-2. While the level looks like World 2-2, once you reach the end of the stage the level loops infinitely. If gamers are interested in this today, the Wii’s Virtual Console still has the original Super Mario Bros glitch still intact.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid and the Psycho Mantis Boss Fight is another secret on this list. When I first encountered him, he said something to me about liking Castlevania. Well that was odd, and he mentioned other games as well since it was based on what other game saves players had on their memory cards. Anyways, throughout the fight with Mantis it was nearly impossible to hit him as he dodges every hit. The solution was to move the controller to port 2. This was a unique and frustrating secret for gamers. Eventually, fans of the series saw something similar in Metal Gear Solid 4 where Snake is forced to fight Psycho Mantis again.

Quake

What would PC games be today without Quake? Better yet where would FPS fans be without the ill-fated rocket jump? By jumping and firing a rocket at one’s feet with perfect timing, skilled gamers could propel themselves vertically. The problem was one could easily kill themselves and the others around them with little to no effort. But if you pulled it off and didn't die from the fall, then you have mastered the rocket jump.

So looking back some of these secrets were easy to find, others were a little tougher and may have required the use of a guide or the internet. It seems these days less and less games have the secrets that “wow” gamers.