Top 5 Impressive Background Details You Didn’t Notice (Until Now)

by Lerako on Jun 25th, 2013

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”, parting words of my promiscuous ex-girlfriend as I walked into the bedroom and noticed a hairy pair of legs that shouldn’t have been. Yes, the powers of observation lend themselves quite well to those with obsessive compulsive disorders, and in particular a new niche has been established for gamers who can’t seem to keep their objectives in order. We’ve already established that Rare is quite keen to hide a horde of hidden heifers and impressive effigies of Mr. Pants for no other reason than their pensive boredom, but they’re certainly not the last.
An extraordinary amount of effort has gone onto these visual gags, and it’s likely that you’ve passed by without appreciating them at all, you cad! Exclusively for the likes of eagle-eyed observers, attentive detectives and bored gamers with nothing better to do, these are the Top 5 Impressive Background Details You Didn’t Notice (Until Now)

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#5. CHECKING IN WITH THE SCOREBORED – BANJO-KAZOOIE: NUTS & BOLTS (XBOX 360)

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Ignoring the games inside the Jiggoseum and turning your gaze to the large scoreboard suspended high above the action will allow you to glimpse at past triumphs, sporting highlights and cheeky dialog that make viewing the slow scroll worth every minute. Points of interest include a predictable boxing match-up between a Fizzlybear and Professor Pester of Viva Piñata, a game of pool featuring Babs Buffbrass of Grabbed by the Ghoulies fame and even a few events that include members of the Nuts & Bolts team for good measure. If you can keep from being distracted for nearly 10 minutes of scrolling action, you’ll find some saucy fourth-wall humor when the marquee reads, “Is anybody actually reading this?” and “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts must be boring if you are still reading this rather than playing the game.”

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#4. PATIENCE AS A VIRTUE IS SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL – DONKEY KONG 64 (N64)

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Throwing the file selection barrel in Donkey Kong 64 is practically cathartic and it stands as one of the last little pleasures you’ll experience before cynicism wins you over. Leaving Donkey Kong idle for even a second, or resisting to juggle the barrels about when you’re bored is a challenge in itself, but if you can manage you’ll be in for a treat. Curious Kremlings, squeaking Gnawty Beavers and a rampaging Rambi the Rhino will steal the spotlight, vying for your affections with several sight gags that never made it into the 101% teaser trailer. Eventually the sun will set and it will even begin to rain if you can keep yourself from pressing any buttons, a small price to pay for watching Kremlings chasing butterflies, Gnawty Beavers preform a balancing act and even Rambi rolling about on his own barrel behind the scenes.

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#3. SECRECY, CONSPIRACY, CHEDDAR (ONE OF THESE DOESN’T BELONG) – PERFECT DARK (N64)

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If you’ve only just catapulted yourself into Joanna Dark‘s spangly remake on Xbox Live Arcade and are left wondering why the achievement icons are switched up with swiss cheese, you’ve inadvertently stumbled upon Perfect Dark‘s biggest conspiracy. For reasons that escape a rational mind, each and every level in Perfect Dark harbors a single piece of cheese that can be spotted by particularly observant agents. The pieces often find themselves inside vents, placed precariously on high ledges and even inside toilet bowls, all waiting to be discovered. Ultimately, tracking down all of the wedges makes itself an incredibly laborious task which is made somewhat fruitless considering that the cheese doesn’t actually do anything – nor can it be collected. But if you hope to truly master Perfect Dark, you’ll need to have cheddar on your brain.

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#2. GHOULHAVEN TORTURE MAKES IMPS LIMP – GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES (XBOX)

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Rare can be quite sadistic, after all, they did release Grabbed by the Ghoulies! If you’re looking for a bit of literal torture found in the haunted house romp however, a band of unfortunate Imps that met untimely ends should sate your twisted curiosities. Inside the Ffffreezer, a trio of Imps have become frozen inside the thick ice, elsewhere in the Laundry, a lone Imp can be found crushed as it was put through the wringer. In Krackpot’s Laboratory and the Experiements Chamber, a toasted Imp connected to a Jumper Cable and an Imp splattered against the wall can be found respectively. Perhaps the most appalling torture comes in the Lower Corridors, where an Imp can be found trapped in a web, and being fawned over by a massive spider. The very thought of experiencing unconditional love – truly the worst torture imaginable!

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#1. RATTING OUT SECRETS OF THE PERFECT PREQUEL – PERFECT DARK ZERO (XBOX 360)

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While Perfect Dark may have provided so much Camembert that we camem-bear it anymore, the tell-tale signs of conspiracy cheddar weren’t about to be missed in its Xbox 360 prequel, Perfect Dark Zero. If you’re especially attentive and work well with the Jackal, you should manage to spot a few rats hidden around each and every level – quite possibly looking for the cheese to be found in Joanna‘s N64 missions. Once again, the hunt for all of Zero‘s rats is a tedious task that offers no achievements, though if you’re feeling a little cruel you can always lock sights with the furry beasts and squeeze the trigger. The small explosion of ammunition shells and burst of blood that follows is your only reward for tracking down the rats, but it offers a more satisfying conclusion to firing aimlessly at cheese wedges for a change.

Categories: Top 5 Lists