If you are at PAX East and you haven’t had the chance to check out Skulls of the Shogun, then you are really missing out on one of the best games here. It’s fast paced, easy to learn, and you can play the multiplayer in just about any way that you want.
It’s possible to play by yourself in a 15-hour single-player campaign. Alternatively, there’s also 2-to-4-person multiplayer that can be played locally or online, and you can even combine those two. If you are playing local co-op, everyone can pass around the controller, or each player can have their own. It’s completely up to you.
It’s definitely the best arcade strategy game out here, and that’s not just because there really aren’t any other ones. This is seriously a fun game to pick up and play. The short blitz matches can be completed in about ten minutes, though if you’d rather have a longer game, you can have four players on a larger map. If you do decide to play an extended game, there’s always the option to save the match in the middle and come back to it later.
Despite having never played this before, I picked it up during my first game. The visuals make it clear and easy to understand what’s going on, what you can do, and how you can do it.
Skulls of the Shogun will be out later this year on Xbox Live Arcade, Windows 8, and Windows Phone 7. The Windows 8 version will be available in the Windows app store once the OS becomes available.
