This week in North America, you’ll find discounts on a variety of titles from Atlus, while PlayStation Plus members can enjoy some exclusive deals on select games.
Running through Monday, July 6, here’s the deals this week on the PlayStation Store:
Atlus Sale
- Catherine (PS3) – $9.99
- Dragon’s Crown (PS3) – $24.99
- Dragon’s Crown (PS Vita) – $19.99
- Odin Sphere (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Persona (PSP; PS Vita compatible) – $9.99
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP; PS Vita compatible) – $9.99
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSOne Classic) – $4.99
- Persona 3 FES (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Persona 3 Portable (PSP; PS Vita compatible) – $9.99
- Persona 4 (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Persona 4 Arena (PS3) – $14.99
- Persona 4 Arena DLC (PS3): Additional Colors Pack, Glasses Full Pack, Navigations – $1.49 to $2.99
- Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita) – $14.99
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon (PS2 Classic) – $4.99
PlayStation Plus Specials
- Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (PS3) – $39.99
- Atomic Ninjas (PS3) – $5.00
- Atomic Ninjas (PS Vita) – $5.00
- Dead or Alive 5: Last Round (PS4) – $27.99
- Foosball 2012 (PS3) – $4.00
- Foosball 2012 (PS Vita) – $4.00
- Project CARS (PS4) – $47.99
- Toukiden Kiwami (PS4) – $41.99
- Toukiden Kiwami (PS Vita) – $27.99
- Tropico 5 (PS4) – $41.99
- Unmechanical Extended (PS4, PS3) – $5.00
- Whispering Willows (PS4, PS Vita) – $9.99
As a reminder, the DriveClub PlayStation Plus Edition is now available and the July 2015 PlayStation Plus free games should be revealed on Wednesday.
What do you plan on buying this week?
10 Game Mechanics That Need to Evolve (or Die)
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10 Game Mechanics That Need to Evolve (or Die)
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Tutorials
Recommendation: Banish them entirely. Use contextual in-game scenarios to showcase more complex tasks. Let players play! They'll figure it out or teach one another.
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Item Pickups
Recommendation: Small, manageable inventories are great. Don't design quests and games that require the player to have 37 pinecones on hand just in case.
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Fetch Quests
Recommendation: Provide a main quest that is so expansive and diverse it allows for organic tangents that feel important. Fetch quests are artificial bulk. Get rid of them. Invest the time in a main quest that satisfies for 40+ hours instead and my time will feel valued.
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Inventory Systems
Recommendation: It doesn’t take a lot of effort to find creative ways for game worlds to make sense. In The Witcher 3's case, why not add an option for the banks in Novigrad to not only exchange currency, but allow you store items in safety deposit boxes?
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Minimaps
Recommendation: Allow for maps in towns. Outside of that, no map, no icons, until you explore the area. Create a world that can help players find their way intuitively without a map using landmarks, signposts, and NPCs that can offer more than grunts and stock expressions.
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Quicksave/Quickload
Recommendation: If games insist on traditional save/load mechanics, integrate it into the control scheme. Here’s a freebie, double-tap the touchpad to save, hold it to load. I’m positive that will lead to absolutely zero accidental saves...
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Character Momentum
Recommendation: Just pay Naughty Dog for their player momentum algorithms and be done with it.
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Fast Travel
Recommendation: All killer, no filler. Don’t make me backtrack unnecessarily. Use fast travel any time it keeps a player’s progress moving forward and avoid ever making a player move backward.
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Weapon Types
Recommendation: Have fun with weapon types. If you must have an axe and a sword, make them play differently. Not just heavy swing vs light swing, let it impact the way a character is responded to, let it affect the way a character develops, etc. If your game can’t include explosive teddy bears, then do some research to find the medieval equivalent to one (there totally is one).
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Dialog Options
Recommendation: Player choice will grow and become more complex as technology (and budgets) advance. But if a game cannot (or does not) provide the foundation for meaningful dialog options, don’t include it. It weakens your story and insults the player.
