Grand Theft Auto is one of the most popular franchises in the world, even if you include things outside of video games. The latest entry, GTA V, broke numerous sales records and has been a source of tremendous profit for the developer, Rockstar Games.
The series’ last venture in their version of New York City took place in GTA IV and fans are hoping Liberty City shows up in GTA VI in some fashion. In the meantime, it seems best to look at the numerous easter eggs fans found in and around GTA IV’s Liberty City.
10 Manhunt Hippos
Rockstar Games has a long legacy of beloved video games and has amassed a pretty respectable collection of franchises. One franchise that’s become dormant over the years despite fan feedback hoping for a sequel is the Manhunt series. Survival horror is a hard genre to find profitable success in, and the genre is likely the primary reason there hasn’t been a new entry in the Manhunt franchise. Thankfully, GTA IV features purple and blue hippo trashcans in the Broker amusement park, which are a direct reference to Manhunt.
9 A Certain Video
Now, easter eggs come in many shapes and sizes, and with Rockstar Games you never know how family-friendly or vulgar they’re going to be. The internet is known for viral videos that come out of nowhere and take the world by storm and the in-game radios in GTA IV mention a rather notoriously disgusting one. The video in question gained internet infamy years ago for displaying some rather polarizing activities. According to the internet, it’s in the best interest of everyone to do themselves a favor and avoid the video at all costs.
8 Chuck Norris
For years Chuck Norris was the focal point of jokes and middle school kids across the world had a blast telling each other the most ludicrous ones they heard or thought of. In the years since Chuck Norris’ presence on the internet has relegated itself into a relic in many ways.
Players in GTA IV can reminisce over Chuck Norris in Cluckin’ Bell restaurants as they can come across an action figure labeled “Cluck Norris” that’s very obviously a reference to the martial arts television star who took the internet by storm in the early 2000s.
7 Super Mario Bros.
Players who venture to the arcade in Chinatown called Videogeddon will be treated to easter eggs, some being quite obvious and others taking a bit of work to figure out. Outside of the arcade is a wall featuring sprites of characters featured in games people can play inside of the arcade. One of these sprites is a ripoff of Mario from Super Mario Bros. intended to pay homage to the popular 2D platformer from Nintendo. It’s pretty much just color-swapped, which fits considering that was a common practice in early fighting games to provide additional characters.
6 Hillary Clinton
It’s no surprise that former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wasn’t a huge fan of video games. She advocated for new regulations that would be put on video games, a perspective that seems so out of touch, especially in 2020. Her face is embedded on the Statue of Liberty in Liberty City, and she’s holding what looks to be a hot cup of coffee. The coffee seems to be a reference to the sex-scene scandal that led to Clinton taking the developer Rockstar Games in front of the Federal Trade Commission following the release of GTA: San Andreas.
5 Wayne’s World
Before the days of Austin Powers and Shrek, Mike Meyers was a standout member of Saturday Night Live. One of his bits turned into its multi-film franchise called Wayne’s World and featured him and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, respectively. In GTA IV’s first DLC episode titled The Lost & the Damned, players acquire a car called the Rhapsody. On that car’s dash is a picture of Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World, which is fitting considering that film featured an iconic scene with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody as the musical focus.
4 Halo Show
The Grand Theft Auto games do a great job of building these living breathing worlds that feel complex. A neat detail Rockstar Games does is add fake commercials and television shows that play on screens in the world. Players who tune into the television channel called Weasel can come across a rather popular and familiar character in the gaming world. The show is called Republican Space Rangers and is a clear spoof of Xbox’s mega-franchise Halo and features space marines wearing green armor flying a ship near a ring.
3 Achievement Names
GTA IV happened to release at a time in which achievement hunting was at an all-time high and developers were using them as an additional way to include easter eggs and homages to other forms of media.
The Liberty City adventure had numerous achievements that did exactly that. Some of these achievements included one titled Assassin’s Greed, a reference to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise as well as Finish Him!!, an obvious and direct reference to NetherRealm’s iconic fighting game franchise, Mortal Kombat.
2 Police Brutality
This next entry might be triggering to some readers, but given the current state of the world, this easter egg needed to be included. Rockstar Games loves to make satirical jokes, but at the same time, they also like to engage in political discourse. GTA IV features several scenes players can come across that feature police brutality. Including these in a video game may seem unnecessary on the surface, but including them adds to the immersion of the game and showcases how real and common these horrible acts are.
1 Vice City & San Andreas
Rockstar Games understands that their fans love the Grand Theft Auto series and will appreciate any connective threads they place between the titles. GTA IV is a prime example of this as it has easter egg nods to various other games in the franchise. On the Liberty Tree website, players can find an article that references urban legends in Liberty City, likely influenced by the urban myths from San Andreas. A mini-golf course in the Funland amusement park features two miniature models of buildings from GTA: Vice City.
NEXT: Ranking The 10 Greatest Rockstar Games Of All-Time
