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In an App Store full of copycat games, games missing key features, or unbalanced games, Legion of the Damned is a refreshingly complete turn-based strategy game, but it definitely has its problems. A finite number of turns and repetitive storyline may turn a nice chunk of potential players away.

The opening scene is freaky but kept my interest. There’s a man about to be executed who’s given the option to join the “Legion” after he’s killed. The game is based on a series by sci-fi author William C. Dietz and, from what I understand from the short summary of the first book, the military somehow uses a person’s body after they’re dead to fight in their army. I enjoyed the comic book-themed cutscenes, and the voice acting is especially good for an iPhone game.

Gameplay is easy enough to explain. Standard turn-based strategy games consist of units that move around and fight on tiles (the tiles in this case are hexagons). Each unit may have a special power and a set of stats. The goal of this strategy game is to capture more flags than the enemy team within the eight turn limit. The game, even in skirmish mode (pass and play or player vs. AI), is always an eight turn game. That annoys me enough to withhold playing the game again until some sort of update allows that to change. Most people expect to enjoy games with a long-term strategic element. In that aspect, Legion falls short.

The storyline is interesting but a bit confusing. It seems as though the storyline would only be relevant for a person who read the books associated with the game. The missions in the campaign are a bit repetitive. I wasn’t as happy with the campaign mode of Legion as I was with some other iPhone strategy games like Mecho Wars.

I would describe this game as complete. This game has all the features a game should have that many iOS games tend to leave out. It has a comprehensive tutorial, campaign and skirmish modes, online multiplayer (even though there were little to no games going on when I was playing), a map maker, links to forums, Facebook, and Twitter, and direct links to iBooks for the nine novels the game is based on. Legion of the Damned is one of the better iOS strategy games I’ve played, but the eight-turn limit is a deal-breaker.