It’s really tricky to make a proper description of what Skulls of the Shogun, being developed by Haunted Temple Studios, exactly is. At first, it looks very much like a cartoony and simplistic game. Getting into it, though, one can tell that there’s a surprising amount of depth and strategy that even mainstream games have a hard time comparing to.

A mix of turn-based strategy and arcade style action, the game puts players in control of an undead samurai army. The objective is to move the units into appropriate positions so as to eliminate the opposing forces, and ultimately killing their shogun, while preventing the same from happening to you.

To make things interesting, there are various items strewn about the area that you can have your units eat up, including skulls and various urns. Even better, eating the skull of a dead enemy unit will give you all the buffs that they had when they were alive. It creates a good sense of strategy in trying to decide if getting that damage boost would be a worthwhile venture, lest you risk that same unit getting ambushed and giving the opponent the buff instead.

There are multiple types of units that are available, the primary ones being infantry, archers, and cavalry. By possessing statues that are placed at various locations on the map, players can summon additional units to help bolster their forces, each with a unique mechanic. Crow monks, for example, can use gusts of wind to blow units away, while fox monks can provide defensive buffs to your army. Controlling these statues can give your forces a strong advantage against the opposition, and are imperative for victory.

While we only got a chance to look at the multiplayer mode, it gave a really good idea of how the game operated. The heavy emphasis on strategic combat creates a sort of waiting game, where you have to force the opponent to make a mistake first. The terrain is also an important factor, as rocks can obstruct the view of archers, cliff edges can be used to push units off for an instant kill, and hiding in bushes gives units a boost in their chance to dodge attacks. It’s a lot like a RTS game, in which there are so many factors to take into account when placing and commanding your units, and the turn-based format allows for more inexperienced players to take their time before committing to a particular action.

Of course our playtime abruptly ended after the game glitched up when one of the players tried to attack with their shogun, causing the game to half-freeze. Obviously, because it’s still an early build, such things are bound to happen. Here’s hoping that they can work the kinks out before the actual release.

Skulls of the Shogun is currently set to drop as a XBLA title in January 2012.