Chaos has always seemed to follow Valve and its Half-Life series, and things were no different with its second expansion to the original game. Half-Life Blue Shift was initially meant to be a lucrative new piece of content for the planned Dreamcast port of the iconic shooter that was canceled at the last moment, and made its way to PC as an additional expansion instead. However, an early version of the Dreamcast build has been unearthed, and the Blue Shift it contains includes some intriguing differences and a bizarre G-Man placeholder.
While this remarkably good Half-Life Blue Shift remake project helps realize the untapped potential of Barney Calhoun’s experience in the Black Mesa facility, this newly-uncovered version of Half-Life for Sega’s Dreamcast shows a very different side to things. Discovered by Sega Dreamcast Info and analyzed by prominent Half-Life YouTuber ‘MarphitimusBlackimus,’ this September 2000 build of the FPS game contains dozens of interesting differences versus the finished product, such as different facial models for key characters, map layout variations, and some cut encounters with Black Ops assassins.
There are also some pretty funny easter eggs buried in the credits. Roger Morgan, a programmer at Dreamcast port developer Captivation Digital Laboratories who was interviewed by Sega Dreamcast Info, can be seen credited under ‘Blood, Sweat, Tears’ rather than his official job title. The studio’s office mascot, a stuffed rabbit named Nathaniel, is also honored, with Nathaniel T. Lagomorph listed as the project’s Chief Executive Bunny.
The ending of Blue Shift is also janky and incomplete in this build, and while that in itself is a fun discovery, what’s even more bizarre is a placeholder that seems to foreshadow the ending of Half-Life 2, which was released roughly four years on from when this build would’ve been worked on. It sees G-Man appear from his ominous white door and walk through a black void similar to the one we see at the end of Half-Life 2. However, instead of delivering a sinister monologue, here he is dubbed with a reference to Budweiser’s infamous Wassup commercial from the late ‘90s.
It’s an amazing find, and suggests that either the teams at Captivation and Blue Shift creators Gearbox Software knew about what Valve was planning for the end of Half-Life 2, or that this placeholder may have even inspired it. Either way, it’s an unexpected discovery.
You can read Sega Dreamcast Info’s huge deep dive and interview with Morgan and Jeff Probst, a producer at Half-Life Dreamcast’s publisher Sierra Entertainment, here.
For more classics like Half-Life, here are the best old games that you can still play on PC right now and our recommendations for the best story games too.
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