Game Player's PC Strategy Guide

14 files

1. 

   Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games Vol. 1 No. 2 (Fall 1988)

   By kitsunebi

   This was originally scanned by marktrade years ago, and due to a combination of the magazine's age and the non-standard settings applied to the scanner used, the original file's pages look VERY dark and VERY brown.  Anyone wanting that "pure" version can find it on the Internet Archive.
   Cleaning this up and trying to make it look less than a zillion years old was probably the most complicated editing job I've ever done, as I had to edit the picture and text portions of each page completely separately.  Simply cranking up the white levels would obviously ruin everything by bleaching out text/images, so I had to use different techniques (indeed, I never once even touched the white/black levels) while editing.  But the end result is certainly a lot cleaner than this file has ever looked.  Go on, try to guess which is the original and which is my edit.
   
   
    
   PLEASE NOTE: This issue is part of the early "WTF are we doing do we even know how to publish magazines" era of Game Player's.  When they first began, Signal Research clumped all of their titles together under a single numbering system.  So although this issue is labeled Vol.1 No.2, it is in fact the very first of their PC game line of mags (though the title would change a couple of times in rapid succession before settling on "Game Player's PC Strategy Guide.")
   For the record, Volume 1 of Game Player's went like this:
   Vol.1 No.1 The Game Player's Guide to Nintendo (this issue was also sold under the title Game Player's Nintendo Buyer's Guide)
   Vol.1 No.2 (this issue) The Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games
   Vol.1 No.3 Game Player's Nintendo Strategy Guide (this issue was also sold under the title Game Player's Strategy Guide to Nintendo Games)
   Vol.1 No.4 Game Player's MS-DOS Strategy Guide (in my scan pile)
   After that, the Nintendo and PC titles went their separate ways, but because Signal Research loves confusion SO FREAKING MUCH, the very next issue of the PC mag was labeled Vol.2 No.2.
   So here's the PC title in full:
   The Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games Vol.1 No.2
   Game Player's MS-DOS Strategy Guide Vol.1 No.4
   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol.2 No.2
   ...and from this point they continued in order, beginning a new volume at the start of a new year.  But rest assured, THERE IS NO Vol.1 No.1, Vol.1 No.3, or Vol.2 No.1 of the PC title.  And don't expect concrete/accurate cover dates on these early issues - THEY DON'T HAVE ANY.  So we're going with "best guesses."
   For the further adventures of Game Player's PC Strategy Guide, follow along as they release the odd issue under the title Game Player's PC Buyer's Guide, and then switch to the title Game Players PC Entertainment, all using the same number system they started back with The Game Player's Guide to Nintendo.  And then of course, they eventually relaunched as PC Gamer.  But that's another story.
    
   Preservation is learning, kids.  Sometimes we learn about the stuff written in the magazines.  And sometimes we learn that you can completely sh*t the bed when starting a publishing line of magazines, and yet still have people reading and talking about them 35 years later. 
   Game Player's™:  An inspiration for f*ckups everywhere.
   

   252 downloads

   3 comments

   Submitted March 31, 2024

2. 

   Game Player's MS-DOS Strategy Guide Vol. 1 No. 4 (Winter 1988)

   By kitsunebi

   This is both the final issue of volume 1 of Game Player's line of magazines and (in my opinion) the first true issue of Game Player's PC Strategy Guide.
   Long-time fans of convoluted publishing practices will recall that when Game Player's first began, it published all of its mags under the same umbrella, meaning that volume 1 consists of:
   Vol.1 No.1 The Game Player's Guide to Nintendo (this issue was also sold under the title Game Player's Nintendo Buyer's Guide) Vol.1 No.2 The Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games Vol.1 No.3 Game Player's Nintendo Strategy Guide (this issue was also sold under the title Game Player's Strategy Guide to Nintendo Games) Vol.1 No.4 Game Player's MS-DOS Strategy Guide (this issue) Since Vol.1 No.2, The Game Player's Guide to MS-DOS Computer Games, was essentially nothing but a buyer's guide, this issue marks the first time the PC edition of the mag would begin to resemble its regular format of strategies, reviews, and other editorial content.  With Volume 2, the PC and Nintendo branches of the mag would continue their numberings separately.
   A lot of editing work went into restoring this mag from the ravages of time, so I hope you enjoy.
    
   *Please note: The page numbers of the magazine counted the included subscription postcard as pages 114 & 115, but I have chosen to move it to the end of the archive rather than interrupt the flow of the actual editorial content pages.  But rest assured that the mag is 100% complete.
   

   205 downloads

   3 comments

   Submitted June 7, 2024

3. 

   Game Player's PC Buyer's Guide Vol. 2 No. 5 (November/December 1989)

   By E-Day

   Game Player's PC Buyer's Guide Volume 2 Number 5 (November/December 1989)
   

   389 downloads

   41 comments

   Updated June 7, 2019

4. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 2 No. 2 (May/June 1989)

   By MigJmz

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Volume 2 Number 2 (June/July 1989)
   

   263 downloads

   0 comments

   Submitted June 27, 2021

5. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 2 No. 2 (May/June 1989)

   By kitsunebi

   *RESTORED kitsunebi edition!*
   This is my new edit of marktrade's original scan and edit which is available in 600dpi at the Internet Archive.  Marktrade's scan was previously uploaded to Retromags, though that version does not appear to have received any additional edits aside from being resized closer to 300dpi and having the scan of the spine removed.
   What I have tried to do with my edit is to breathe some life into the scan and restore what had been lost to the ravages of time.  In many cases, the primitive photography used in the game screenshots demanded that each screenshot on a page be edited separately to more accurately restore some of the colors that may not have been captured correctly even when the mag was fresh off the presses.  I hope you will agree that this is the best the mag has ever looked, but if you prefer the naturally aged/yellow look, marktrade's perfectly fine original scan/edit can be found HERE.
   Here are some example pages of my edit compared with marktrade's edit (which is identical in appearance to the one previously made available here):
   
   
   
   

   167 downloads

   4 comments

   Submitted January 18

6. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 3 No. 2 (March/April 1990)

   By marktrade

   This is one of marktrade's scans he put up at the Internet Archive.  His original files are very dark and yellow, so I've done what I can to improve them.  If you want his original files, they can be found here: https://archive.org/details/GPPCSGVol3No2
   

   282 downloads

   0 comments

   Submitted June 8, 2019

7. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 3 No. 4 (July/August 1990)

   By marktrade

   This one of Marktrade's scans that is available at archive.org in 600dpi.  It has been resized to 2500px high, but if you want the full sized 700MB version, you can find it HERE. 
   

   283 downloads

   0 comments

   Updated July 29, 2018

8. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 1 (January/February 1991)

   By KiwiArcader

   Back when I converted this to cbr for my own personal use (I'm not a fan of PDF, so sue me) I repaired some damage on a few of the pages and very slightly adjusted the levels to lessen the yellowing of the paper, but otherwise these are Kiwi's edits, with resolution left as is.
   

   230 downloads

   0 comments

   Updated July 29, 2018

9. 

   Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 2 (March/April 1991)

   By KiwiArcader

   Levels have been slightly adjusted to reduce yellowing, but otherwise these are Kiwi's edits
   

   259 downloads

   0 comments

   Updated July 29, 2018

10. 

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 3 (May/June 1991)

    By KiwiArcader

    Fixed damage on a couple of pages and adjusted levels slightly to reduce yellowing, but otherwise these are Kiwi's edits.
    

    223 downloads

    0 comments

    Updated July 29, 2018

11. 

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 4 (July/August 1991)

    By KiwiArcader

    Converted from PDF available at OldGameMags
    

    231 downloads

    0 comments

    Updated July 29, 2018

12. 

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 5 (September 1991)

    By marktrade

    Hare Raising Havoc - Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
    

    236 downloads

    0 comments

    Updated July 29, 2018

13. 

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 6 (1991 PC Buyer's Guide)

    By KiwiArcader

    Removed a price sticker on the front cover as well as some fold creases on the poster on the last page, but otherwise, these are Kiwi's edits
    

    287 downloads

    0 comments

    Updated January 12, 2021

14. 

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 7 (November-December 1991)

    By E-Day

    Game Player's PC Strategy Guide Vol. 4 No. 7 (November-December 1991)
    

    244 downloads

    2 comments

    Submitted March 3, 2022