Hello everyone!
Hope everyone’s been enjoying E3! Busy week in the office. But I’ve bravely taken a break from livestreaming conferences and downloading screenshots to give you a heads up on what’s in episode 11 of FirstPlay, which will be on the Store this Wednesday.
First of all, and totally exclusive to FirstPlay, we have the demo for Backbreaker, the new American Football title from NaturalMotion. If you didn’t know, they’re the guys behind the awesome Euphoria physics engine that makes gunfights in GTA IV a constant stream of reeling, cartwheeling bodies. Backbreaker offers something very different from the towering Madden series (mostly, dudes getting horribly canned) and is definitely worth a look.
In this week’s HD reviews you can find out whether Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker really is the best PSP game of all time, and whether Codies’ International Cricket 2010 can build on last year’s Ashes success. We’ve also got an interview with the guys at Media Molecule talking about LittleBigPlanet 2, and a preview of Ubisoft’s new RTS, R.U.S.E. No, I don’t know what it stands for, either.
On top of that we’ve got our regular round of Network Highlights – including a DLC round-up and the best of PSone classics – and screenshot galleries, this week featuring Killzone 3, Dead Space 2 and Vanquish.
And don’t forget if you’ve missed the minis we’ve given away over the last four weeks – Echoes, Blast Off, Age Of Zombies and Aero Racer – they’re all still available to download in episodes 7 to 10, on the Store now for just 99p each.
Please do find us on Twitter at @firstplay_uk, where we run regular giveaways and competitions, and email any suggestions, feedback or marriage proposals to FirstPlay@futurenet.com. We’re also on the official EU forums here.
See the Future of PS3. First.


















33 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:02 pm by RadioactiveMouse
Nice job on the exclusive demo guys
Looking forward to your views on cricket and MGS:PW too
2
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:04 pm by almighty-slayer
Eww exclusive demo
3
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:17 pm by commuterzombie
Not fussed about the Backbreaker demo (specifically because I have no interest in American Football) but as usual you’ve got a few things in there that I am interested in. I’m definitely not regretting my subscription!
4
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:21 pm by LeeandNomi
More things like the interview with the MM guys would be cool.
I would like to see some sort of article every month, the sort of thing you’d see in the magazine. How you’d do that in a video format is beyond me but you get on that guys and gals ; )
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 2:19 pm by Nathan Ditum
Hello! Sorry, bit late getting to the three this week. A few of the team are at E3 so it’s been a frantic couple of days
Glad to hear there’s interest in the interview stuff. It’s something we’ve maybe been a little slow to get into – we have a very clear idea about how we want FP to look, and we basically wanted to make sure we did things right. But yes – there’ll be more interviews and features coming.
Suggestions for features very welcome!
5
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:34 pm by seany1
so people need to pay to get a demo some have been asking for for a while now and has been on xbox live for weeks lmao lmao ahh makes me stear clear of firstplay even more now sorry
6
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:37 pm by Bonyman
Exclusive demo means less potential purchasers of the game, but then there isn’t a huge market for American footy games outside the US anyway. In which case this is actually a forced demo..
7
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:46 pm by seany1
@ 6 ive seen a fair few people asking about backbreaker demo in the store updates and american football is rather big in uk now with nfl twice selling out wembley stadium and its coming back again next year , twice next year infact . this is just shady tactics tbh forcing people to buy firstplay if they want a shot at a demo
8
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:54 pm by Carnivius_Prime
I used to play american football for a short while but even I have hardly heard anything about it being even remotely popular in the UK. Can’t say I’m bothered about a video game of it at all. Playing video game sports is almost as boring as watching other people play real sports as far as I’m concerned. Far prefer to get outside and play the real thing if I wanna be sporty.
9
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 12:58 pm by seany1
some people must have missed the game that was on at wembley when it was packed with 90 thousand people not long ago for an nfl game lol , wembley is in th u.k lmao
10
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 1:18 pm by SyncroUK
I wouldn’t even bother about the Backbreaker demo as the full game has a metascore of 54 on Metacritic. I don’t think I’ll be wasting my time with this download.
11
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 1:39 pm by Akira_Tenshi
Backbreaker has been getting awful reviews so no interest in that.
12
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 1:54 pm by Shadow-King
Hey can we use the screenshots from the gallery as our wallpapers for PS3? I heard u cud do that, but I duno how to do it!
13
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 2:03 pm by Raider197
@12 Save the image to your PS3 HDD (check the key legend on a screenshot) and then go to the image in the XMB, click it, press triangle, then set as wallpaper.
Backbreaker hasn’t been getting great reviews, but I’m a sucker for the Euphoria engine, it makes any game much more fun when messing around, although unlike GTA and Red Dead Redemption, a football game doesn’t have much messing around potential. I’ll try the demo anyway.
14
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 2:03 pm by The_Shuffle
You are not paying for a demo, you are paying for FirstPlay. The exclusive demo is a mere bonus for people who ACTUALLY GIVE A DAMN about FirstPlay and aren’t just greedy wanting something for nothing each episode. If you REALLY want the demo, buy FirstPlay. If you are such a big fan of the game you would buy the full game regardless of a demo and if you were unsure, you should be buying FirstPlay anyway for the content.
People like to come on the FirstPlay blog comments each and every week finding something to complain about, you really shouldn’t take any notice of them by now. Even if you offered free access to Killzone 3 for a month with FirstPlay they would complain about it being a smack in the face for people who have pre-ordered or something trivial like that.
15
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 2:17 pm by seany1
everyone is allowed an opinion , you defend firstplay is just as bad as people slating it , its an opinion everyone’s allowed them so just accept it rather than moaning abt others comments i say
16
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 2:28 pm by Bonyman
All opinions are welcome here
It’s good to see FirstPlay has it’s fans. Who knows, it might well improve in the future.
For now, I’m out.
17
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 3:14 pm by TheHappyTurtle
Although I’m not interested in backbreaker (poor reviews, and a sport I’m not really into) It’s good to see you finally getting exclusive content. I suppose it was always going to take a while.
Maybe you can get more exlusive demos, although I would think it difficult to get the more popular games as developers would want their product to reach as many people as possible, not just those who are buying a magazine. I’d be more likely to buy this is you got exclusive interviews with developers. E.g. the team behind the Demon’s Soul game would be a good one, I want to know how they feel about the delayed EU release. (later this month
)
18
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 3:26 pm by The_Shuffle
seany1, you are correct at last, everybody is allowed an opinion.
For you however there are two possible avenues here. Option 1 is you buy FirstPlay regularly and have a valid opinion. However, seeing as you clearly do not like FirstPlay I have to question your sanity in continuing to buy it. Option 2 is you have never bought FirstPlay or have bought it once, maybe twice. In this instance, your opinion is essentially useless as you have no more insight into FirstPlay aside from what you read here. It would be like me offering my opinion on vuvuzelas, I have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about as I have never actually experienced them.
If it is option 2, please go away. If it is option 1 though, just offer some nice constructive criticism and ideas instead of moaning week in week out, it might just help you be seen in a different light. Seeing as I read your comments in other blog posts, I already know what the answer is.
19
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 3:32 pm by seany1
@ 18 you obviously only read my posts in home ot firstplay as thats only 2 things i criticise . love how you say im allowed an opinion yet in same breath say go away lol dude why dont you just make your own opinion and stop stalking mine
20
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 3:57 pm by danielmccue
yes seany1 try to add constructive critism instead of whining every week i swear every post of yours is the same on everyting you comment on
i’m beggining to think your a xbox fanboy in stealth mode
21
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 4:01 pm by seany1
@ 20 yea few other peeps thought that till they seen my trophy count over 1200 trophies , 47 store games , ps1 , 4 pseye games and a few quid spent in home but yes im a 360 guy LMFAOOOO
22
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 4:01 pm by vonhammer
“we have the demo for Backbreaker”
So this is why it was held back,uggghh,the developers said it was ready weeks ago for release,now the only wat we can get it is with first play (I’m a subscriber by the way) sorry guy’s that’s lame.
23
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 4:41 pm by Wraxend
Quick question how can you have a HD review of a PSP game? Cool that we’re getting exclusive demo’s but american football that means i will have to learn the rules before i play, brilliant!
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 2:30 pm by Nathan Ditum
You’ve maybe got us there. It’s native resolution, which you’re quite correct for PSP isn’t HD. That’ll teach me to throw adjectives around.
As for American Football – Backbreaker is really accessible and arcadey. Worth a go if you have a few spare minutes
24
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 5:00 pm by DANNY3194
When are these avatars coming Nathan?
I’m very tempted to get a subscription, sell yourself out Nathan
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 2:32 pm by Nathan Ditum
They’re coming!
We’re actively pursuing it, talking to different parties about what we can feature, and making sure we have the technical side sorted. It’ll take a little while longer, but they’re coming.
25
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 5:52 pm by BalramRules
1st play’s just amazin XD
26
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 5:56 pm by SmoggyPhil
I actually like seany1s opinions.
So yeah.
27
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 7:25 pm by Wraxend
HEY Seany1 you know what? Your totally right lol. Whats up with these two picking on ya so much.
Look guys if you love FirstPlay that much just marry it already. But hey thats just my opinion.
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 2:33 pm by Nathan Ditum
Sorry folks, we’re taken.
Assuming Karen Gillan says yes, anyway.
28
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:03 pm by didzej1
I would like to subscribe FirstPlay, but it isn’t available in Poland (like many other things for the PS3)
29
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:31 am by Topov81
Hmmmm… ‘exclusive’ demo of Backbreaker, which is now available on the US store
Saves me 99p !
30
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 1:49 pm by Firewarrior
Screenshots of Vanquish? I just watched the gameplay video. Also wasn’t screenshots of Vanquish in previous episodes? Seriously, this is utter tripe. Why couldn’t Sony just make a Qore in UK, FP seems to be horribly late. That exclusive demo is on the US Store, for free.
31
Posted on 17 June, 2010 at 9:58 am by berts08
Where is this weeks episode of first play? I go on the uk store and go to first playto gt my episode but its not there, it just shows the price and the icon thatproves I bought it but no episode 11.
Posted on 17 June, 2010 at 10:06 am by Mike Kebby
I’ve just updated my store post, but we’re having some technical issues this morning, the content is released but seems to be intermittently appearing on the store. Apologies, we are investigating at present.
32
Posted on 17 June, 2010 at 1:39 pm by Firewarrior
No FirstPlay 11. Just Firstplay 10. Are these problems going to keep occuring?
33
Posted on 17 June, 2010 at 1:44 pm by Firewarrior
Seems you have to search ‘FirstPlay’ and go to the bottom for Episode 11……
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