Skulls of the Shogun: An epic battle of undead Samurai

Do you like your strategy games with a healthy dose of cartoon-inspired campiness?

If so, then strap on your Kabuto and get ready to assume the role of the living-dead General Akomoto in the Xbox game Skulls of the Shogun on your Nokia Lumia.

OK, back up the truck. A living-dead General? Well, that’s the premise before you begin your epic quest. You see, at the start of the game our hero is killed on the field of battle, and then journeys to the Land of the Dead where he seeks his revenge.

Yes, there’s a lot of backstory going on here, but trust me, it’s worth it. In the role of General Akomoto you oversee a small but loyal band of equally dead samurai warriors who will literally die for you again if they must (of course, you want to do your best to ensure they don’t die a second time). Your troops include infantry, cavalry and archers, and you do battle in turn-based format attacking the army of your enemy, Kurokawa.

The game is an endless march of battles, round after round. Fortunately, these undead warriors do not seem to get very tired. And – here’s perhaps part of the “Skulls” in the name of the game – if you eat the skulls of your enemy, you will recover health points in the game. Yeah, a little creepy, but even dead warriors need to eat.

The cartoon graphics are stylish and – dare I say it – a little bit cute. Yes, dead warriors hacking away at one another are strangely amusing to watch. And, the running commentary (i.e., smack talk) that flows throughout the game – both from your army and your enemy – is great stuff. The game makers certainly have a good sense of humor.

You will encounter a variety of other characters along the way, including monks and gods and … well, we don’t want to spoil the surprise, but this video is enlightening:

[rpsb_youtube]http://youtu.be/WwvpRI0pPS8[/rpsb_youtube]

As you learn to command your army of skeleton samurai warriors you’re in for a real treat. And, even better, the game is one of three new deals in the Windows Phone Store, on sale for the next week. Normally, this game is $4.99, but right now you can snatch it up for just $1.99 (that’s a 60 percent discount, if you’re doing the math).

You can dig in deep and learn more about the Skulls of the Shogun, including details about other supported platforms like Windows 8 and Xbox 360 from the official website.