Top 5 Best Ken Lobb Cameos found in Rare’s Greatest Hits

by Lerako on Nov 29th, 2015

You might know Ken Lobb as the voice of Killer Instinct‘s Chief Thunder, though his involvement in Rare‘s classic titles speak volumes to his influence and instruction to make great games even greater. Currently serving as Microsoft Studio’s Creative Director, Ken Lobb has been involved directly in the development of Killer Instinct, GoldenEye: 007 and Perfect Dark just to name a few. If you’re especially keen, you might manage to find glimpses of Ken Lobb outside the credits, where Rare staff has managed to immortalize his name and likeness throughout their thirty year history with tributes spanning across the Nintendo 64 and entering the foray of Xbox exclusives, including Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
We’re here to lobby some Lobb, decoding secret messages and keeping a keen eye for Ken.
Hang on tight – these are the Top 5 Best Ken Lobb Cameos found in Rare’s Greatest Hits!

---

#5. LOBB LAND HEATS THINGS UP FOR CINDER’S ROOFTOP STAGE – KILLER INSTINCT (ARCADE)

---

While Killer Instinct Arcade provided players with a number of No Mercy finishers to show off to their opponents, bouts atop Roof Top stages had potential to send things off the deep end with a finale that added another level of dimension to the already-stunning Arcade smash. If you could manage to drive an opponent to the edge of Desert Roof Top and send them skyward with a flashy Finisher they would plunge down, down below into an unseen pool of lava. During the blink-and-you’ll-miss it descent you’ll find the building is named “LOBB land” in tribute to Ken Lobb; this clever detail is absent from the home conversion of Killer Instinct for the SNES, though you can find it preserved in its full glory on Code Mystics’ iteration of Killer Instinct Classic for the Xbox One.

---

#4. BLASTING OFF TO THE STELLAR TWINS OF KLOBB – JETPAC REFUELLED (XBLA)

---

As an astronomical treat, Jetpac Refuelled offers up a universe of stealty puns and references to their classic titles during Jetman‘s quest which any fan worth their salt should manage to spot. Nods to Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark and Banjo-Kazooie can be found in the levels of Red Squirrel Nebula, JO3 Dark Cluster and Outpost Kazooie respectively. You’ll also notice that several titles are directly tied to the names of the development staff, though Ken Lobb does get two mentions as a tribute. Fuel up for the long journey ahead and you’ll be rewarded with a double helping of Ken Lobb goodness in level 111 and level 112 which have been titled “Approaching the Klobb Ring Worlds” and “Klobb Ringworlds” with ‘Klobb’ serving as the portmanteau of ‘Ken’ and Lobb’. More on that later…

---

#3. UP AGAINST THE NET WITH A LOBB TO END IT ALL – KINECT SPORTS RIVALS (XBOX ONE)

---

You’ll have plenty of courtside action in Kinect Sports Rivals as you square off against Eagle Legion, Wolf Clan and Viper Network in Tennis, but if you’re proficient with your racket you’ll come out on top. Nimble footwork and lightning sharp reflexes are par for the course, but if you want to really hammer home your victory AND catch sight of two Ken Lobb references, you’ll need to focus on keeping your rivals away from the net. After you’ve driven your opponent back with some high-energy rallies, return the ball with a feeble swat to take advantage of the lost ground between the net and your bitter challenger to score a point. If you’ve managed to outwit your competition with a stealty ‘lob’, you’ll earn the “Keen Lob” achievement paired with the player title “Klobber” for your efforts!

---

#2. TEAMING UP AND PUTTING IN A K-LOBB-ERATIVE EFFORT – RARE REPLAY (XBOX ONE)

---

If you’ve unlocked the ‘Making Of’ Killer Instinct feature in Rare Replay you’ll have already caught sight of Ken Lobb during his on-screen interview that details the behind-the-scenes mechanics for Rare‘s most impressive arcade fighter. It’s not enough to witness Ken Lobb in the flesh however, if you want to be ultimate you’ll have to play through the games that inspired the film! Travel through Rare‘s lineage until you arrive at Killer Instinct Gold and then prepare for some ‘klobberin’. With a roster of characters from the original KI title to new contenders setting a gold standard, you’ll need to sample each one in order to earn the ‘K-Lobb-erative Effort’ achievement. With 10,000 gamerscore to earn, the Twycross bunch have managed to secure 20 for an enduring Ken Lobb legacy.

---

#1. KEN LOBB IS THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – GOLDENEYE: 007 (NINTENDO 64)

---

While the arms featured in GoldenEye: 007 were faithfully rendered, Rare also took great care in giving each a title that was unique from their real-world counterparts. When designing a submachine gun that fired inefficiently, handled unpredictably and sounded off like a siren amidst stealthy covert missions, Rare decided to call it a “Klobb” either through healthy ribbing or unfortunate happenstance considering its properties. Regardless, both the Klobb and Ken Lobbs’ in-game Russian counterpart with a permanent lip snarl has become that of legend. This legacy even continued in Perfect Dark and Perfect Dark: XBLA where the classic Klobb became rendered slyly as KL01313 and Lobb’s Russian look translated to DataDyne henchman effortlessly; lip snarl intact.

Categories: Top 5 Lists