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21st April 2014
Our Top 10 Easter Eggs in Remedy's Games

It's now the tail end of the Easter weekend, I hope you enjoyed the holiday and spent it surrounded by vast amounts of chocolate. It's also the holiday where gaming websites post articles about their favourite easter eggs in video games. As Remedy's titles are filled with homages, references and secrets, it's a good time of year to revisit their games. Here is our top ten favourite easter eggs from the Death Rally, Max Payne and Alan Wake series.

10. Christine
Alan Wake, Alan Wake's American Nightmare


Even if you haven't read the book by Stephen King or seen the film, chances are that you've still heard about Christine. It's a red 1958 Plymouth Fury with awareness, intelligence and some homicidal tendencies...Oh, and the ability to regenerate. After choosing an owner, it becomes the single most important thing in driver's life, and even attempts to kill anyone who tries to get in the way.


Gamers can spot this car lurking in the shadows while playing Alan Wake. Sadly you can't drive the vechicle in the game, but....would you really want to? Christine doesn't attempt to kill Alan in any of the episodes but probably just takes great joy in watching the other vechicles being flung at the protagonist's face. In fact, in The Signal DLC pack, it's perhaps the only car which doesn't try to kill Alan as he makes his way to the bookstore. Christine also reappears again in Alan Wake's American Nightmare, this time under direct lamp light as Emma Sloan is seen to be working on it throughout Act I.


9. Super Mario Easter Egg in....Max Payne 2?
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne


As Easter Eggs go, seeing fireballs from a rather sweet platformer which stars an overeager plumber with a comical moustache, in a film noir game about death, deceit and forbidden love...is pretty strange. The two titles are very different from eachother, yet share some middle ground as both protagonists are searching for a loved one while being tricked by those they trust. "Seriously Bowser? You've just took Mario go karting and now you're kidnapping his best friend? Not cool man."


While jumping across broken ledges on the outside of Max's apartment block, the player will come across an "M" in graffiti on the wall. If you interact with the symbol three times, fireballs will suddenly appear and hover in between the gaps of the broken ledges, making perfect timing vital. Important tip: make sure to quick save!


8.  SADIM Gold Touch Brandy
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne


An advertisement promoting Gold Touch Brandy can be seen on televisions and billboards throughout Max Payne 2. The public spokeperson for the brand should a familiar face to players as she is played by Kathy Tong, the actress also portraying Mona Sax in the graphic novels.

In an alternative advertisement for Gold Touch Brandy, which appears during a nightmare level, Max is seen on a billboard promoting SADIM Brandy with the tagline "Everyone I touch dies". Those familiar with their Greek mythology may recognise the inspiration behind the name. Backwards the name reads MIDAS; the King known for his ability to turn objects into gold. It both foreshadows Mona's demise (as seen at the start of the game) as well as a reference to Max's wife and child.


....

 7. Alex Casey by Alan Wake
Alan Wake

Prior to the events of the game, Alan shot to fame with his Alex Casey series and created six original stories starring the eponymous protagonist. Those who played the Max Payne series may recognise a link between that franchise and the titles of Wake's books.


The first book, Alex Casey, is a link to Remedy's style of game titles which focuses on their protagonists. The second instalment, What I Can't Forget, links into how Max feels haunted by the past and is continually affected by the loss of his family. The third novel, Return to Sender, references the Address Unknown TV series which appeared in both of Remedy's Max Payne games. The Address Unknown episodes in Max Payne 2 were shown in a marathon entitled Return to Sender. The fourth book, called The Things I Want, is the name of a level in the second MP game and is also a section of Max's dialogue; "The things I want, by Max Payne. A smoke. A whiskey. For the sun to shine. I want to sleep, want to forget. To change the past. My wife and baby girl back. Right then, more than anything I wanted her." . The fifth instalment is The Fall of Casey, a reference to Max Payne 2's full title, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.


6. Deliverator
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne


One of the most memorable moments in Max Payne 2 is rescuing Vinnie Gognitti from an army of Cleaners. What would have been your standard escort mission had an extra interesting twist as Vinnie was also trapped inside Vlad's "trojan horse"; a life sized Captain Baseball Bat Boy costume with a bomb inside. As Vinnie couldn't walk through doors easily, the team had to escape using a van located in the garage. The word "Deliverator" can clearly be seen on the side panel. The van is a reference to the company's original title, Death Rally, in which the Deliverator was a unlockable sportscar.


5. Death Rally Arcade Machine
Alan Wake's American Nightmare

In Act Three of American Nightmare, players can interact with a Death Rally arcade machine which is tucked away in the projector room at the drive-in theatre. While you can't play the original title as part of a mini game, the screen will show gameplay footage. When the machine starts up, you will also hear the first part of "Welcome to Bright Falls" from the original Alan Wake game.


When Remedy moved into their last building, a number of developers created a full sized arcade machine for their lobby. Click HERE to view the construction photos.


4. Remedy, The Car Company
Quantum Break

If you pause the Quantum Break reveal trailer just as the cars are seen crashing each other, you may recognise a familiar symbol as the car badges are actually the Remedy logo. Like Skyfall, they do bad things to good cars and given the extent of destruction in just a few seconds, that level design is bound to be the next Death Rally map. Even though the title is still in development, there are quite a few interesting Easter Eggs even from the sample of gameplay footage we've seen so far, if you're interested in reading about more, you should check out our VGX analysis piece, HERE!



3. Mirra was Here
Alan Wake (The Signal DLC)

When Alan returns in The Signal DLC, everything seems familiar, yet wrong somehow. He finds himself in The Oh Deer Diner surrounded by ghosts of the Bright Falls residents. Like before, Alan needs to gets to the back of the diner, knowing that something would be waiting for him there. Unlike last time, he can actually break down the door and go in. In the bathroom, Thomas Zane appears to Wake through the mirror and  informs him about the Dark Place. During the discussion, the player can move around and enter the cubicles. In the final stall, there's a message on the wall reading "MIRRA WAS HERE."


The message is a direct reference to John Mirra from the Address Unknown television series in Max Payne 2. In the episodes, John is hunted by his evil doppelgänger who he sees in the bathroom mirror, and who he blames for the kidnapping his girlfriend.


2. Lords and Ladies
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

"My Lord! I am your long lost sister!" Yes, Lords and Ladies returned in Max Payne 2 with new episodes! While in the previous game, players got a short glimpse at the show, for the game's sequel we were treated to an entire series. All the episodes can be seen throughout the game, mirroring the plot as the levels progress. Those who played the original title may recognise two of the actors in the show; Lord Valentine is played by Sam Lake (the face of Max Payne in the first game) and Lord Jack is played by Marko Saaresto (the face of Vladmir Lem in the first game). Lord Valentine and Max Payne share similar experiences as does Lord Jack and Vladimir Lem. You can rewatch the series on YouTube, HERE.

It is a beautiful, beautiful series.



1. The Sudden Stop
Alan Wake


Of course you probably already predicted my number one favourite Easter Egg - it had to be The Sudden Stop manuscript pages. While Remedy likes to add little references to previous games in their work, I don't think many fans were expecting this. Unlike the other manuscript pages in the game, this one is narrated by James McCaffrey who reads his lines in Max Payne's voice including the deepness and delivery. The metaphors, the references to Late Goodbye, the homage to the first few lines of Max's dialogue, they brought back so many memories!

-- CONSOLE & PC GAMES --

Formerly "Vanguard"

The Crossfire Series

The Control Series

The Quantum Break Series

The Alan Wake Series

The Max Payne Series

-- MOBILE GAMES --

-- LIVE ACTION SERIES --

Icons by the incredible, Evil-Owl-Loki.

Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle illuminated.