All Black Ops Cold War Campaign Arcade Game Easter Eggs
It's finally here. After what has been an agonising wait of drip-feeding breadcrumbs and sometimes botched reveals through content creators, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is putting 2020 in its crosshairs and giving this crappy year a killshot. Bridging the gap between current and next-gen consoles, Cold War is tipped as the biggest CoD game ever and will hopefully follow in the successful footsteps of last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
While many of us are transfixed by the ambitious multiplayer, the long-awaited return of Zombies, and Cold War integrating with Call of Duty: Warzone, there's still a loyal fanbase that's here for the main campaign. Even in this era of multiplayer madness, we can't wait to follow the adventures of Frank Woods as he's recruited by Russell Adler and the covert team goes on the hunt of the shadowy Perseus.
More than just an ambitious story for Woods and co., the campaign has plenty of Easter eggs littered throughout the levels. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set in the past, and as a homage to this, there's a nod to the history of Activision. Although CoD is arguably the biggest game to come out of the publisher, let's not forget some of the other fan-favourite titles. The Black Ops Cold War campaign has hidden arcade machine around its levels, and if you know where to look, you can play them too.
What Black Ops Cold War Easter egg minigames are there?
Click to enlargeEnduro (1983)
The Atari 2600's racing game was ahead of its time by introducing a day and night cycle. The title was a test of endurance (hence the name) as players had to pass a certain number of cars each day. The mechanics were simple as drivers needed to overtake 200 cars on the first day to qualify for the next day's race in the National Enduro. After that, you had to pass 300 cars each day in order to keep going.
Barnstorming (1982)
Taking to the skies with Barnstorming, pilots had to navigate through a series of barns in the shortest time possible. It should've been easy, but obstacles including windmills, weather vanes, and even geese made it more difficult than expected. The game was split into four levels of increasing difficulty, with the fourth being randomised and impossible to memorise. If you completed a course in a certain time, you could send a picture to Activision and earn a Flying Aces patch.
Click to enlargePitfall! (1982)
Taking the role of Pitfall Harry, players had just 20 minutes to make it through this perilous jungle and get all the loot within. Obstacles included pits, quicksand, rolling logs, fire, rattlesnakes, scorpions, and crocodiles, while Harry could use vines to swing to safety over them. Getting a perfect score of 114,000 was tough (but not impossible) to achieve. Pitfall! was dubbed one of the greatest video games of all time, so it's great to see it immortalised in BOCW.
Click to enlargeRiver Raid (1982)
River Raid was a vertically scrolling shooter that was full of nautical peril. Jumping in the cockpit on a fighter jet, players launched a raid on the River of No Return while behind enemy lines. As long as you could stay in the air, River Raid could continue indefinitely. Unfortunately, your jet would crash if it hit the river banks, an enemy craft, or ran out of fuel.
Fishing Derby (1980)
Fishing Derby could be played as either single or multiplayer, making it a competitive game fans couldn't get enough of. As two fishermen sit opposite each other on a dock, they both have the sole task of reeling in 99lb of fish first. Using your joystick, you could hook fish and then reel them in. The fish near the bottom weighed more, however, are harder to reel and are in greater danger of being eaten by the rogue shark that also swims around the screen.
Click to enlargeGrand Prix (1982)
We're revving our engines for some F1 chaos with Grand Prix. Another favourite of the Atari 2600 sent drivers around one of four courses on a time trial. Hitting other players, oil slicks, or bridges would slow your racecar down and cost valuable seconds in your race to gaining the winner's trophy. Grand Prix is one of Activision's most memorable games, so see if you've still got the skills.
Kaboom! (1981)
Finally, you can drop the bomb with Kaboom!. The game played almost identically to the coin-operated Avalanche, but this time, you had a mad bomber dropping explosives instead of rocks. Players had to catch bombs in a series of buckets at the bottom of the screen, but missing one would involve the bombs exploding and a chain reaction causing you to lose a bucket. The game ended when there are no buckets left and the "Mad Bomber" has won.
Now you know where to go on this retro tour of Activison's past, you can get your nostalgic fill of these classics in all their arcade glory.
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