Treasure Hunter October 2012 –Mecha Action, Revolutionary Assassins, a Big Book of Friends, Deadmen and a Brawling Princess (Part 2 of 2)

In the second half of this month’s Treasure Hunter we pick up right where we left off with the Limited Editions of two highly anticipated games. Additionally, we have more anime goodies from FUNimation and Aniplex of America. If you missed part of one of this series you can read it right here.

Aria the Scarlet Ammo is a 12-episode anime series based on author Chuugaku Akamatsu’s series of ongoing light novels of the same name. In this quirky mix of action, drama and romance Kinji Tohyama is a second a year at Tokyo Butei High School. The school is special in that it trains “Butei” or armed detectives in order to fight crime. Kinji has a pretty low combat rank and is viewed as unimpressive. That changes when ace Butei student Aria H. Kanzaki rescues him from a bombing. Actually, Kinji saves Aria from disaster when it is revealed he’s secretly quite talented but only when sexually aroused. It isn’t long before Aria demands he become her partner and eventually the second year catches the interest of other female students. The premise of the show sounds mediocre at best to me so I’d definitely try a few episodes before buying the series. The Limited Edition of Aria the Scarlet Ammo is available in a DVD/BD combo pack and FUNimation has included a small art booklet. Aria is currently available at Rightstuf for $49 and was released on October 23.

If students wielding weapons wasn’t enough to catch your attention then how about a game that includes its own plastic rifle? It wouldn’t be a normal year without writing about the release of at least one of the Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts video games. In this case we have Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013, the latest installment in Activision’s yearly hunting sim. This game attempts to grab players with the story of two brothers who had a falling out after their father was mauled to death by a grizzly bear. Nearly a decade later the brothers reunite in order to hunt. If you’re into the Cabela games I suspect you’re more interested in gameplay than story. For $80 or $40 more than the standard version, Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013 ships with a special gun. The wireless gun can sense a person’s heart rate and hand tremors, affecting gameplay as a result. The 2013 version of Dangerous Hunts was released to tremendous fanfare on October 23. Or maybe I’m being totally disingenuous. Either way, the game is available now.

Finally, I have some blockbuster game material to discuss in the form of the latest Assassin’s Creed! The third numbered installment makes its departure from Europe and lands on shores of America during the Revolutionary War. This time Native American Connor Kenway takes up the Assassins’ mantle in the war against the Templars. Given the game’s locales, subject matter and sheer size, Assassin’s Creed III promises to be the most ambitious entry in the series yet. The Assassin’s Creed III Limited Edition features a host of goodies for the extra money including a nearly 10-inch statue of Connor, a 28-inch by 48-inch Assassin’s Creed style colonial flag, a metal belt buckle and George Washington’s notebook—an in-universe look at the commander’s life which also includes concept art for the game. For some odd reason Ubisoft opted to remove the steelbook from the Limited Edition of the game for North America, much to the exasperation of hardcore collectors. Ironically, the Steelbook is included in limited editions of the game in European territories. Oh, Ubisoft! Anyway, the Assassin’s Creed III Limited Edition will cost $120 and swoops into stores on October 30.

“High Speed Robot Action.” Zone of the Enders’ tagline will immediately remind you of Metal Gear Solid’s “Tactical Espionage Action” tagline. As it should, because both series are directed by the famous Hideo Kojima. Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner are two early PS2 action games featuring combat in giant mechs. In the future humanity has ventured out into space as Earth has become overpopulated. War breaks out among various factions of humanity as everyone fights over resources and political power. The original Zone of the Enders’ 2001 release was notable because it was packaged with a demo of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Many MSG fans bought ZOE for the demo and found it to be a solid game. It sold well enough for Konami to produce a sequel in 2003. Now, a decade later fans of the series can play both games in a re-mastered HD collection. The Zone of the Enders HD Collection Limited Edition includes a 100-page art book, selections from the soundtrack on CD and spiffy gold metallic packaging to hold everything in. Fans pre-ordering either edition of the game from GameStop will also receive a double-sided poster as a bonus. In what can be called a repeat of history (or smart marketing—you decide), a demo of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance will be included. The Limited Edition of Zone of the Enders HD Collection costs $60 (or $20 more than the standard edition) and will be available on October 30.

If you watched Adult Swim’s anime block last year you might be familiar with Durarara!!. I wrote a little about its premier on AS last year. In this strange but highly entertaining psychological action show Mikado Ryugamine has moved from a small town into the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo at the behest of his best friend, Masaomi Kida. Once there Masaomi warms Mikado about
“The Dollars,” the “Headless Rider,” an angry brawling man known as Shizuo Heiwajima, a shady information broker named Izaya Orihara and a mysterious knife wielding person that randomly attacks people. From the day he moves to Ikebukuro the young high school student’s normal life becomes anything but. The Durarara!! DVDs have been out for some time but Aniplex has finally decided to release the series on blu-ray. As of this writing Durarara!! costs $150 at Rightstuf. Fans will receive the entire series on BD, an information booklet, a double-sided poster, a slipcase for all the BDs and a tin lunchbox to house everything in. Given Aniplex’s penchant for selling anime in North America at prices nearly on par with Japan this set is actually reasonable priced at around $150, or $30 per blu-ray disc. If you’re interested in visiting Ikebukuro all over again the Limited Edition Durarara!! blu-ray set lunch box will be available on October 30.

C- Control – Money of Soul and Possibility is extremely interesting in the subject matter and concepts it attempts to tackle. Only in C could you find a show about finance, dueling monsters and leveraging one’s future potential wrapped up together in one neat, albeit, imperfect package. Kimimaro is a broke college student who catches the attention of a man dressed like a clown. His offer is no joke as he gives Kimimaro a chance to earn potentially unlimited amounts of cash by battling in a world known as the “Financial District.” If you want to know more about C, Alex wrote a full review last year. The Limited Edition of C – Control contains the entire 11-episode series in a DVD/BD combo pack. Contained within the combo pack is a replica of the “Bank of Midas” card. Sadly, the card does not give you access to the Financial District nor unlimited funds but it is still a neat piece of swag. You can throw some of your funds at C – Control in exchange for the series starting on October 30.