For one week only, escape the heat and humidity with big discounts on titles that will entertain you all summer long. Check out the full list of PS3 games that are part of this year’s PSN Summer Sale:

• Back to the Future: The Game – Full Series (Sale price $13.99; Plus price $9.79; Regular price $19.99)
• Chime Super Deluxe (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• Dead Space Extraction (Sale price $10.49; Plus price $7.34; Regular price $14.99)
• Hard Corps: Uprising (Sale price $10.49; Plus price $7.34; Regular price $14.99)
• Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• PixelJunk Shooter 2 (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• Risk: Factions (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• Shank (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• Scott Pilgrim (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99)
• Swarm (Sale price $6.99; Plus price $4.89; Regular price $9.99) (Sale price $10.49; Plus price
  $7.34; Regular price $14.99)
• Tales from Space: About a Blob (Sale price $10.49; Plus price $7.34; Regular price $14.99)

Don’t hesitate because this limited-time offer melts on July 19th, and the games will return to full price. Head on over to the PlayStation Store on Tuesday and take advantage of this season’s best deals!

Roses? Played out. Champagne? Too bubbly. Chocolate? A risky proposition. If you really want to make your significant other swoon this Valentine’s Day, grab a couple of controllers and play some games you can both enjoy. Sure, you could choose to pound your mate’s face in the Gladiator Duel in Sports Champions. But you know that’s a battle you can’t ultimately win — any victories now are always paid back with dish-washing duty later. Let’s make a pledge: This year, it’s about nest feathering, not neck-snapping.

Here are some cooperative-focused classics that should brighten up the boudoire tonight, plus some Trophy suggestions to keep things nice and friendly. We also want to hear from you — what games do you like to play with your main squeeze? Be sure to fill in the gaps in the comments.

PixelJunk Monsters
This is the quintessential couples game. PixelJunk Monsters’ two-player cooperative mode is legendary for transforming non-gamers into digital devotees in just a few minutes. If your significant other struggles with the tower defense basics, have him focus on upgrading emplacements and collecting gold while you focus on the strategy. A guaranteed good time for all.

Trophies to shoot for: “Construction Expert” (Build 10 towers in less than 30 seconds upon entering a stage), “Money Grubber” (Clear a stage without losing a single coin)

LittleBigPlanet 2
For starters, Sackboy is freakin’ adorable. Second, the platforming gameplay is second nature to many inexperienced gamers. If your mate has a creative bent, you might also consider building a custom level together — Create mode supports multiple simultaneous users. Or just pick one of over 3.6 million levels and play that — perhaps an enterprising user has already created a good Valentine’s Day-themed level?

Trophies to shoot for: “Complete Story Mode” (Complete the main path of the story mode), “Multiplier 5x” (Score a 5x multiplier in a Story level); “Community Spirit” (Publish a level to the community)

Dead Nation
The couple that slays together, stays together. This is a perfect Valentine’s Day choice for a mate who’s handy with an SMG and a melee attack, as you’ll need some tight teamwork to blast the countless hordes of the undead that infest the sprawling urban environments. Protip: If your significant other isn’t much of a gamer, go with the easiest “Brain Dead” setting to avoid heartbreak.

Trophies to shoot for: “Teamwork” (Complete a mission in co-op mode on any difficulty), “Double the Action” (Complete Campaign mode in co-op Mode)

PixelJunk Shooter
Despite its dual-stick shooting and retro stylings, PixelJunk Shooter is well tolerated by non-gaming significant others. Exploration is emphasized over action, and creative solutions are more important than a quick trigger finger. There are plenty of opportunities for teamwork, too, whether it’s winching your partner away from an erupting volcano or collaborating on hunting those all-important diamonds.

Trophies to shoot for: “Cave Cleaner” (Kill over 100 enemies)

The Beatles: Rock Band
Fab Four? More like Terrific Two. The Beatles: Rock Band is a good option for a non-gaming significant other. If playing the plastic axe or drums is too demanding (or embarrassing), offer up vocal duties. Who doesn’t know the words to a few Beatles songs? I wanna hold your haaaaaaand…

Trophies to shoot for: “Don’t Let Me Down” (Save a bandmate from failing), “Shake It Up, Baby!” (Use Beatlemania at least 5 times in a single song using either Bass or Guitar), “Let’s Get Some Levels” (Calibrate your system for the optimal experience)

Borderlands
An ideal choice for the hardcore shooter couple. Borderlands’ heavy co-op focus works nicely in splitscreen, and infighting will be rare as long as you agree to some ground rules on revives and sharing loot. In fact, the only risk here is that you’ll grind for loot and XP for so long that you won’t leave any time for romance.

Trophies to shoot for: “Group LF Header” (Rescue a groupmate from death in a co-op game), “There’s No ‘I’ In “Team” (Complete 15 missions in co-op), “United We Stand” (Defeat the Rakk Hive, the Vault Boss, Sledge, Krom, or Flynt in a co-op game)

Dead Space: Extraction
Some couples like their Valentine’s Day hot. Others prefer the cold vacuum of outer space, and that’s where this suspenseful sci-fi shooter fits in. Armed with a pair of PlayStation Move motion controllers, you and your main squeeze will nip and tuck the loathsome Necromorph with surgical precision. You’ll find this co-op gem lurking on your Dead Space 2: Limited Edition Blu-ray Disc; it’s also available separately on PSN.

Trophies to shoot for: “Twice The Firepower” (Play cooperatively with a second player), “A Star is Born” (Complete any level with a 5 star rating)

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game
Deceptively tough despite the ultra-cute graphics, this 2D PSN beat-em-up is one where having a co-op partner or three will pay off in spades. You’ll want to exploit the tag-team attacks and revives as much as possible. And if the going gets tough, go ahead and steal a life — we won’t tell.

Trophies to shoot for: “The Power Of Friendship” (In a multiplayer game, reanimate another player at least 25 times), “Armed And Dangerous” (Defeat at least 200 enemies using interactive objects)

Time Crisis: Razing Storm
Gaming scholars have long known that lightgun-style shooters are an ideal choice for casual-gaming partners, and Time Crisis: Razing Storm is a natural if you’re packing two PlayStation Moves. The Arcade mode is packed with humongous action set pieces, screen-filling boss battles, and loads of secrets. Don’t overlook the Time Crisis 4 and DeadStorm Pirates bonus games, either.

Trophies to shoot for: “Arcade Master” (Clear Arcade Mode Ranking Play), “Synchronized Shooting” (Reach a Teamwork Level of 100% in DeadStorm Pirates), “Sharpshooter” (Obtain a ‘Nice Combination!’ rating 100 times in DeadStorm Pirates)

Extraction takes place before we meet Issac Clarke aboard the Ishimura in Dead Space, and chronicles the discovery of the mysterious Marker, an arcane artifact that holds the key to the Necromorph infestation in the first game. Once the Necromorphs squirm onto the scene in Extraction, your investigation on Aegis VII is cut short and the fight for survival begins.

Dead Space: Extraction comes packed on a single Blu-ray with Dead Space 2: Limited Edition on January 25th.

Playing Dead Space: Extraction on PlayStation Move makes for a fine demonstration of the motion controller’s precision and versatility. Aiming is quick and accurate with virtually no discernible lag: small, subtle movements of your wrists translate precisely on-screen, giving you the feeling of aiming with a computer mouse. One nice touch is how you twist your wrist 90 degrees to the left or right to flip your Plasma Cutter’s firing plane from horizontal to vertical, which can help you find the ideal angle for snipping off arms, legs, tentacles, and other protrusions of the vile Necromorphs. There are other weapons, of course, including a Rivet Gun and a Force Gun. The “wrist twist” will activate these alternate fire modes as well.

Using the PlayStation Move, you fire your current weapon with the T button (aka the trigger). Pressing the Move button activates a quick Telekinesis blast, which you can use to pick up ammo and items hidden throughout the environments — or use to hurl objects at the marauding Necromorphs. It’s your choice! Melee attacks are gesture based: you press and hold Circle, then rapidly slash back and forth to fend off nearby Necromorphs. Melee isn’t much use for inflicting damage, so think of it more as a way to dissuade nearby enemies.

Dead Space: Extraction running on the PS3 looked extra sharp in HD, with moody dynamic-lighting effects and a rock-solid framerate. This build of Dead Space: Extraction primarily showed off the Challenge mode, a survival-type arena where players can battle ever-toughening hordes of Necromorph grotesqueries. Dead Space veterans already know that strategically dismembering the Necromorphs is a valuable tactic, and this is doubly true in the Challenge mode if you want to beat your partner’s score. If you don’t have a PlayStation Move, Dead Space: Extraction will be compatible with the DualShock 3 controller (for you old-school types) and will also feature optional support for the PlayStation Move navigation controller, though it’s not required.

Dead Space: Extraction will ship on the Dead Space 2: Limited Edition Blu-ray disc on January 25th, and will be available separately as a PSN download. Once we land back in the States, we’ll sync up with the Visceral Games team to get a deeper look at Dead Space: Extraction on the PS3. Including, hopefully, some luscious new video. Stay tuned!