"Star Wars: Battle For Hoth" Review

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, "The Empire Strikes Back" was the hottest movie on the planet. Fans flocked like crazy to see the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest of the gang as they battled the evil Empire, led by the relentless Darth Vader. 30 years later, we’re still celebrating the film, and as part of that celebration, THQ has released a fun tower strategy game for the iPhone and iPad called “Star Wars: Battle For Hoth.”

THQ recreates the atmosphere of the opening sequence of "The Empire Strikes Back," taking place entirely on the icy planet of Hoth. As the leader of the Rebels, your job is to place the proper units in the right place to hold off wave after wave of invading Empire enemies, including small gunning AT-ST units and large AT-AT walkers. You’ll use a variety of vehicles to fend off the attacks, including Snowspeeders (for aerial assault), gun towers, infantry units and more. As you progress through each battle, you’ll be able to pick up command points, which you can use to either add experience to your current units or unlock new ones for combat . You can also use defensive techniques, including digging trenches with a shovel to keep your soldiers (temporarily) out of harm’s way.

For the most part, THQ does a solid job with the Star Wars presentation, including authentic sound effects from the films, as well as video clips that help set up the story. There are times it looks a little grainy, signs that the company was trying to compress the whole project under 20 MB so it wouldn’t hog iPhone/iPad memory. Otherwise, we’re happy with the ambiance, right down to the familiar Empire Strikes Back orchestral selections and, of course, the AT-AT’s slow walk towards their intended target.

As for the gameplay itself, it’s a mixed bag. The tower defense elements work almost perfectly, as you can easily target specific enemies and keep an eye on your perimeter. However, the interface is clumsy at times. The icons appear so small on the screen that it’s sometimes easy to hit the wrong thing, resulting in a mis-timed attack or, worse, missing your primary target altogether. The same goes for unit placement. Tap just one wrong corner of the screen and it’ll end up placed a few inches above or below. In this game, location really does make a difference, so precision would’ve helped more.

Once you get the hang of it, however, you’ll like the numerous encounters that “Battle For Hoth” brings in both Classic and Fortress (defense) mode.. It’s also nice to see the game supported by OpenFeint, so you can share earned Achievements with others while also keeping track of your place in the leaderboards. Sadly, there’s no competitive multiplayer, so you can’t challenge your friends’ Rebel forces with the Empire.

While “Battle For Hoth” isn’t the best Star Wars game we’ve seen, it’s definitely a different take on the legacy that’s worth trying out, especially for the low price of three bucks. At that rate, the force is strong with this one.

Price: $2.99

File Size: 18.9 MB

Developer: THQ

Platform: iPhone, iPad

iPadNewsDaily Rating (out of 4): ★★★

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