So on my first playthrough a while back, I couldnt help but gently chuckle to myself at the HH nod when I was at Camp Golf and saw a painting oh Mr. House standing in front of what I assume is Liberty Prime's legs. Wearing the same suit as Howard Hughes and everything.

Mr House is a pretty obvious take off on Howard Hughs, and your "House" icon looks a lot like HH

I know he's a nod to HH in general. I've been a big fan of Howard Hughes for a while, I think thats another reason Mr. House has such a big draw on me. xD

I particularly love how Howard Hughes was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, but never even bothered to pick it up. The politicians eventually tried mailing it to him. Hughes clearly had an admirable disinterest in 'public honors.' I wonder if the character of Tony Stark, from the Iron Man movies, has been influenced by Hughes. Stark's father was based on Walt Disney, another great entrepreneur from the same era as Hughes.

he was probably more afraid of the germs

Doubtful; it was awarded to him in 1939, when he was still relatively active in social life. He didn't start becoming a reclusive germophobe until the late 40s, as far as I know.

Yes, I have in fact. Howard Huges is awesome, mate.

Yes, I found that one hilarious, mimicking the famous picture of Hughes in front of the Boeing.

Stark was, in fact, intended to be an even stronger HH influenced character than he is now (former playboy, defense contractor, genius to the point of madness), as he was intended to get addicted to the safety of the armour he invented, which solved so many problems the outside world had - like HH shutting himself in and becoming sociophobic. Which is.... Ah, this is not a spoiler forum. ^_^

Thanks guys! While I was aware that Mr. House was a nod to Howard Hughes, I've never really known much about the man (perhaps because I am European). I read up on him on wikipedia, and the man really seems hilarious (in a tragic way).

These bits really made me laugh:

"Between 1966 and 1968, Hughes bought several other hotels/casinos such as the Castaways, New Frontier, The Landmark Hotel and Casino, and the Sands. He bought the small Silver Slipper casino only to reposition the hotel's trademark neon silver slipper, visible from Hughes bedroom, which apparently had been keeping him up at night."

"Hughes once became fond of Baskin-Robbins' Banana Ripple ice cream, so his aides sought to secure a bulk shipment for him—only to discover that Baskin-Robbins had discontinued the flavor. They put in a request for the smallest amount the company could provide for a special order, 200 gallons (750 L), and had it shipped from Los Angeles. A few days after the order arrived, Hughes announced he was tired of Banana Ripple and wanted only Chocolate Marshmallow ice cream. The Desert Inn ended up distributing free Banana Ripple ice cream to casino customers for a year. In a 1996 interview, ex-Howard Hughes communicator Robert Maheu said "There is a rumor that there is still some Banana Ripple ice cream left in the freezer. It is most likely true.""

"During the 1960s and early 1970s, Hughes disapproved of the underground nuclear testing taking place at the Nevada Test Site. Hughes was concerned about the risk posed by the residual nuclear radiation from the tests, and so attempted to halt the tests. When the tests finally went through despite Hughes' efforts, the detonations were powerful enough that the entire hotel in which he was staying trembled with the shock waves.[42] In two separate, last-ditch maneuvers, Hughes instructed his representatives to offer million-dollar bribes to both presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. His aides, however, never offered the bribes, instead reporting to Hughes that Johnson declined the offer and they were unable to contact Nixon."