Original Half-life preview from 1997 PC Gamer (link to scans)

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datter

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(cross posting this from the steampowered forums in case anyone here is interested);

I was digging about my basement today and found an old PC Gamer magazine from 1997 with a preview of the original Half-life in it. Thought some people might enjoy reading it, so I scanned it and posted it on my site;

enjoy,
datter
 
This isnt aloud. It will get deleted.
 
Thumbnail doesn't work. I doubt even PC Gamer will care about copyright on a 7 year old preview, btw.
 
Raziel-Jcd said:
This isnt aloud. It will get deleted.
Click to expand...

That would be, with all respect, very very sad. Come one, 1997! 7 years ago!

I doubt the magazine is afraid of losing income because someone posted scans of a 7 year old article. If anything at all, it's free advertisement.
 
Problems should be worked out now, still linked off the main page

datter
 
wow, just read that preview - it's like they are talking about a different game! a lot of stuff got cut or changed between when that review was written and when the game actually came out.

I remember getting psyched after reading a preview of Half-Life: Day One (which i warezed :)) on gamespot, but it's not up righ tnow - some broken link.
 
cool article. its funny, you can tell theyre still talking about it as if were like any other anticipated game. i dont think anyone expected it to be as revolutionary as it was until they actually got to play it. i know i didnt. i just heard it was a good game and it wasnt until i played HL: Day One that i realized it was pure genius.
 
Now, anyone have scans to the original REVIEW? From any magazine?
 
I didn't even hear the hype or buy HL when it came out. I got a ...errr demo of it. Then I was like wow. This is pretty cool. Then I went out and got OP4. Had to go get HL aswell after that. Then all's well.
 
lol

"...We all know there's a whole slew of Quake-engine games in the works - Quake II, SiN, Daikatana, Hexen II, DUKE NUKEM FOREVER.."

emphasis mine. I found that very funny :D
 
Note the part where they talk about HL deathmatch, and that a player's weapons and ammo take damage if they get hit by another player's weapon.

Neat idea, but unsurprising that was left on the cutting room floor, just like our hydra :(.
 
That's amazing. In the "Why should I care?" sidebar, PC Gamer had this to say:

"This is Valve's first project, and judging by what we've seen so far, they have the potential to vault into the top ranks of PC game developers..."

I wonder if they had any idea just how prophetic they were? Of course, they did conclude the paragraph by saying:

"...serious competition for Quake II, perhaps?"

Well, I guess they weren't that prophetic after all. Competition for Quake II? Quake II wasn't even in the running once Half-Life came out!
 
Great find. What is sick is I think I've still got that mag burried with a bunch of other old PC Gamer issues I left in my parent's house when I moved out.

Next time I head that way, I'll have to dig through the old pile and see what I can dig up!
 
look at the screens in that preview! LOL. those were wy early renditions of the game even then. kind of funny to look at in this day in age. especially barny's eyes in the early silo level with the tentacles.
 
Rocketman9mm said:
especially barny's eyes in the early silo level with the tentacles.
Click to expand...

That's one of the military police enemies that barney was based off so It's not barney.
 
Notice how many features were changed in the final release. The removal of the hydra is nothing compaired to the changes they made for the first halflife.
 
I have that issue (it's the one with the Q2 logo on the cover), nice to flick through the older stuff once in a while.

I also have the November '97 issue of PCG which includes a 10-page DNF preview, what I think are the earliest screenshots of Max Payne and a bit on Prey - those were the days.
 
"The weapon and its ammo can tahe damage" Why did they left that out?
 
Half-life 1 and 2 both got delayed a year, so when Half-life 3 is announced, whatever release date Valve gives us, we just add 12 months! :E
I wonder what was the reason for HL1's delay. Not finished or Valve was just not satisfied with their work?
 
Heh.....

"And when is it coming out?
December '97"

Har har. I love you Valve.
 
The_Monkey said:
"The weapon and its ammo can tahe damage" Why did they left that out?
Click to expand...


Same with the smoke grenades, tranq gun, and flying barneys
 
wow ow owowo game so good lol make me wanna get good 300 mhz computer wowo lolol i can't weit 2 play
 
Kanehdian said:
I wonder what was the reason for HL1's delay. Not finished or Valve was just not satisfied with their work?
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly they weren't happy with their work so they started all over from scratch.
 
A true blast from the past. Fw'ed this to the whole HL2 team.
 
I'm waiting on Confirmation from Dan Morris to allow this or not.
 
cliffe said:
A true blast from the past. Fw'ed this to the whole HL2 team.
Click to expand...

Why? They don't remember the preview of their game from 7 years ago? *tisk* *tisk*

Sarcasm aside, it is nice seeing how things changed over the years...and 7 years is quite a long time for things to happen in. I wonder if 7 years from now when HL3 will (hopefully) be out, will you guys look at the previews for HL2?
 
I'm really sorry, but Dan Morris said it's still no-go...He's the editor in chief, and his word is law.

Side note:

Cliffe; tsk tsk...

*Closed*
 
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