So many buried treasures, even Indy can’t find them all!
Pick a GTA title, and you’ll find endless hours of free-roaming fun. The sizes of each game world have increased exponentially with each release. Thus, it just stands to reason that the larger the game world, the more things there are to do. The in-game missions of any GTA will keep you busy for hours on end, but that’s not all there is to find. The little side-missions (more importantly, the Easter eggs placed throughout the world) are what keep gamers poking around for months after the main game has run its course.
So, with so much to be found in the endless worlds of GTA , here are just a few fun, hidden Easter eggs from various GTA titles over the years (ones that I personally feel deserve a mention).
#5 – Thelma and Louise
Believe it or not, these two hellcats actually make an appearance in GTA V . Now, there are already so many little jewels to be found with a world as freakin’ huge as Los Santos, but this is one of those that just makes me smile. You can find Thelma and Louise to the north of Los Santos (just Google the spot on the map to find the exact location). This must also be done right around 7:00 pm to find it. You’ll see a dirty old convertible perched at the edge of a cliff. The cops surround them and, just as the two vixens did in the movie, they punch it and plummet off the cliff (ending in a fiery crash that you didn’t get to see in the movie).
#4 – An Actual Giant Heart in the Statue of Liberty
I sometimes feel that GTA IV doesn’t get the credit it deserves for its open-world accomplishment. We always hear as of late just how awe inspiring the current version of Los Santos is, but tackling a virtual New York City was no small feat. Of course, with a city that never sleeps, you can only imagine how much fun and adventure you could pack into a virtual world this size. Well, one of the more weird sights to see is actually outside the city. If you visit the Statue of Happiness on what would be the real-world Liberty Island, there is a spot that can only be reached by helicopter. Once there, climb a ladder and make your way inside the statue to find A GIANT ZOMBIE HEART! Well, technically, it’s not undead, but it’s held up with giant chains and appears to be fairly…organic.
#3 – One More Coffee for the Road
I know I’ve referenced this is another article regarding gaming sex scandals , but I would be remiss if I excluded the Hot Coffee Mod from a GTA list (as the case could be made it’s the biggest hidden item in the franchise’s history). Now, this certainly doesn’t fall into the category of “Easter egg,” as those, by their nature, are meant to be found. This was a particularly mature portion of the game that was going to be included as a mini-game, but due to the potential ratings issues it might cause, Rockstar decided to block it from the game (without fully removing the content from the disc). This later resulted in modders finding the little hidden secret, patching it for the PC version, and allowing gamers to access this portion of the game that would forever burn the java reference into our minds.
#2 – Say Hello…
If you love Scarface …then Vice City is the GTA for you. Before there was an actual movie-licensed game, GTA Vice City was overflowing with little nods to the classic. The setting of the game itself (80s Miami) is very similar to the backdrop of the film. Not to mention, you can visit an apartment complex in one of the Southernmost portions of the map that looks a lot like the place where Tony and his friend are almost killed in a bathtub by a crazy, chainsaw-wielding drug dealer. Also, the ending of Vice City (REALLY old spoiler alert) is blatantly patterned off the end of the film. Not satisfied? Oh, you want a real Easter egg? OK, dive through the windows near the VCN building. There you go. A real Easter egg.
#1 – Close Encounters
Aliens, aliens, and more aliens. GTA V contains more Easter eggs than any other game in the series, but alien references are ones that occur most often. Some of the various alien sightings throughout the game include a frozen alien in the opening prologue and a space ship making an appearance over Mt. Chiliad. Also, you can find a ship that’s crash landed underwater north of the map and another hovering around Fort Zancudo. It makes you wonder if the game designers didn’t have some greater purpose for including so many UFO references. One find that still has gamers scratching their heads is a map found on top of Mt. Chilad that features drawings depicting what appears to be a reference to a jetpack and another alien craft. There are also rumors that gamers may have found hidden underground tunnels that may be directly related to the mysterious clues. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lead to the Batcave.
Those are just five of the countless Easter eggs and hidden gems just waiting to be found in the huge worlds of GTA . Finding hidden stuff and going off the beaten path to explore is certainly one of the more fun things you can do in GTA , which is no doubt why people so eagerly await the release of each new entry into the franchise.
Hell, I’m pretty sure if GTA VI had no story mode and featured only geocaching-style adventures, it would still make a billion dollars .