Treasure Hunter—April Showers May Bring Zombies, Superheroes and Demonology

April has been one hell of a month for the video game industry. The last 29 days have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. In fact, so much has happened that it’s easy to forget a small number of interesting video games were released this month. Compared to March, April can be considered another lull but the games releasing with swag are quite diverse.

After
a bit of a hiatus anime swag has returned for the month of April.
Unsurprisingly, NIS America has come to the rescue with another one of
its premium box set offerings. Hanasaku Iroha focuses on
Ohana Matsumae, a 16-year-old who is left in the dust when her own
mother elopes with a lover. The teenager is then left in the care of her
grandmother who runs the Kissuiso, a hot spring inn. Ohana ends up
working at the inn but finds herself at odds with the staff due to
cultural differences. Nothing says “this sucks” like being forced to
move from Tokyo to the countryside.  Instead giving in to discouragement
Ohana instead works harder to establish a better relationship with her
co-workers at the inn.  Volume one of Hanasaku Iroha’s Premium Edition
includes the first 13 episodes of this 26-episode anime on BD and DVD, a
36-page art book, a hardcover slipcase to house everything in and a
bonus Kissuiso towel for fans ordering directly from NIS America. Volume
one of Hanasaku Iroha made a steamy splash down on April 9 and will
cost $56 for those ordering from NIS.

Comic book and fighting game fans won’t have any grievances to air with Injustice Gods Among Us. In this latest offering from NetherRealm Studios (formerly Midway Games), fans of the DC Comics can once again pick up the sticks with their favorite superhero or villain. While NetherRealm claims Injustice has a deep story most fans are more interested in, well, the fighting. Seriously, does anyone really need a good reason to prove why Batman owns even if he isn’t endowed with god-like powers? Hardcore fans of the series will have likely thrown down the extra cash for the Collector’s Edition of Injustice. The edition includes a 13-inch statue featuring Batman and Wonder Woman, the Injustice Gods Among Us comic book, a digital version of the animated movie, Justice League: Doom and DLC skins for Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. At $100, or $40 more than the standard edition, this collector’s edition isn’t a bad deal.

Alternatively, fans of fight sticks might opt for the GameStop exclusive Battle Edition of Injustice. It includes the game, a colorful fight stick and the DLC skins for a cool $150. Injustice Gods Among Us began the good fight on April 16.

So, how about those Shin Megami Tensei games? If you’re a regular reader here you already know we tend to talk about this series a lot. You’ll also know that Geoff has been covering Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers since it was originally announced. Soul Hackers is yet another Megaten title that was left behind in Japan during both the Sega Saturn and PS1 eras. Atlus originally wanted to localize the PS1 port of the game but Sony’s American branch refused. 14 years and a new port later, North American fans can finally play the game. In this game technology and the supernatural meet as mankind faces disaster in that satisfying Megaten fashion. The first run prints of the game include part of the game’s soundtrack on CD as a bonus. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers cracked its way into stores on April 16 and will set you back the standard $40.

The fascination with zombies in pop culture continues with the latest survival horror game, Dead Island Riptide. This action RPG is a direct sequel to Techland’s Dead Island. In this follow-up a few survivors of the original game find themselves on yet another island that has been overrun with (wait for it now) zombies. If you enjoyed Dead Island you’ll probably get a kick out of Riptide. The game gained some notoriety when publisher Deep Silver announced the shockingly tasteless Zombie Bait Edition of the game for Europe and Australia. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your taste), North America won’t be receiving the bloody bikini-clad female torso. Instead we’re getting the Rigor Mortis Edition (classy name by the way!) which includes the digital goodies from the Special Edition, alternative box art, a zombie girl figurine, a key with a wooden tag, a small severed hand and a spiffy suitcase to hold everything in. If this is the kind of Rigor Mortis you can’t live without it’ll only cost you $80, or $20 more than the standard edition. Dead Island Riptide stiffly shuffled its way into stores on April 23.