Skulls of the Shogun - Xbox 360

Dead But Not Dull

2013-01-30T17:00:00Z

Turn-based tactical games aren’t plentiful on Xbox 360, but Skulls of the Shogun helps fill the void adeptly. It’s the kind of strategy game that I love; it lets you visualize and execute your best-laid plans, even if they can go down in flames.

Skulls is a grid-based tactics game without the grid. Regular units can move and attack in any order, and you’re free to use up all or none of your units’ allotted movement – which is always shown via a real-time circle interface. In general, the game accurately shows you the outcomes of your actions, whether that’s where you can move or how much damage you’ll inflict if you attack.

That said, Skulls of the Shogun isn’t simple. The boards contain environmental concerns such as cover, deadly cliffs, and the occasional intervening events/units, and they are thoughtfully laid out (each of the four seasonal levels contains five individual boards). Resource-generating rice paddies and monk-summoning shrines are strategically placed, and their production has a relatively small cap, which thankfully keeps battles from taking forever. Commandeering an enemy shrine destroys the corresponding monk, and the rice paddies and shrines emphasize the importance of controlling resources for your army – which include the skulls dropped by fallen units that can be eaten for upgrades.

As easy as it is to look at a board and start to piece together your attack strategy, the AI does a good job flanking, prioritizing its actions, and keeping you guessing. Enemies did something I wasn’t expecting more than a few times, and on several occasions I thought I had the match in the bag only to have the battle continue for a dozen or more turns.

Naturally, Skulls works great as a multiplayer title, and it not only gives you the option of four-player offline and online play, but also asynchronous, turn-by-turn multiplayer that can span the 360, Windows phones, and Windows 8 PCs. The mode is further differentiated by the ability to make or break alliances with others during the free-for-all battles.

Skulls of the Shogun could have more action and upgrade options for your units (like making unit facing more important), but it’s a fun, well-executed title with a great sense of humor. Plan on playing it, even if not all your plans will come to fruition.

For more on the game, check out our Test Chamber below as well as my quick strategy guide.

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Skulls Of The Shogun Release Date Revealed

2013-01-10T17:45:00Z

17-Bit's fun turn-based strategy game, Skulls of the Shogun, has finally been given a solid release date.

The game will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace on January 30 for 1200 Microsoft Points, and the game will also appear as a Windows 8/Surface title for $14.99 and on Windows Phone for $6.99.

Skulls features cross-platform, asynchronous play for the single-player campaign, so you can play it anywhere on any device.

In the meantime, here's a brand new trailer for the game.

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Skulls of the Shogun Shines In New PAX Trailer

2012-08-31T01:32:00Z

17 Bit's indie darling is looking better than ever in this new clip. The game should hit XBLA sometime in October courtesy of a publishing agreement with Microsoft.

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New Skulls Of The Shogun Dev Diary

2011-07-25T23:48:00Z

Get a glimpse into the creation of a downloadable game with this video of Haunted Temple's great-looking new strategy game.

We've been wildly excited about Skulls of the Shogun since we first saw the game several months ago. The unique concept and tight gameplay look extremely promising, mixing traditional strategy with a more action-oriented and accessible approach to gameplay. Developer Haunted Temple recently revealed that the game is on track to release on XBLA this January, and that the title is being published by Microsoft.

A new video on the game focuses on the game's creation, and offers a fascinating look at what it takes to build a new franchise from scratch.

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