It's been 30 years since "The Empire Strikes Back" hit the big screen, and just in time to satisfy those of us suffering from a bad case of nostalgia, the movie's famed battle scene is finding new life on a small screen.
"Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth" — a new game for the iPhone and iPod Touch — is a fine way to get a dose of the finest "Star Wars" film there is (go on, try to debate it, I dare you).
In "The Empire Strikes Back" (which you may remember first arrived in theaters way back in 1980) the Imperial forces discovered those scrappy Rebels hiding on the ice planet Hoth. Now "The Battle for Hoth" game puts players in control of Rebel troops as they try to fend off an Imperial onslaught.
This is a tower defense game which means you'll have to smartly place your troops and weaponry on the game field as you try to stop wave after wave of attackers.
You'll be faced with the Dark Side's Snowtroopers, Viper Probe Droids, the two-legged AT-ST Walkers, Tie Fighters and more. It's up to you to size up the battle field as quickly as possible, cut trenches in the field to funnel your enemies down a path of your choosing and then deploy, among other things, soldiers, tower laser cannons, anti-infantry batteries and control centers to bring in the X-Wings to clear the skies above.
All in all, there's a lot going on here. You'll have to place power supplies for many of your weapons. Meanwhile, not only will you unlock additional weaponry as the game progresses but you can upgrade the defenses you have set as well. You can drill in even deeper and tell your units who to target first — the nearest enemies, the most powerful, those in the air, those on the ground, etc.
The game rings in at $2.99 in the iTunes App Store bringing with it 15 levels, two gameplay modes (Classic and Fortress) and two difficulty settings. You'll also get to enjoy clips from the film itself interspersed between levels.
Ultimately, as tower defense games go, "The Battle for Hoth" is quite a lot of fun but hardly ground breaking and its dim and uninspired graphics do leave something to be desired. However, I have one important hyphenated word for you: AT-ATs. Yes, 30 years later, AT-ATs are still effen cool. And in this game you'll eventually have to try your best to take down the giant walkers.
So get your Snowspeeders ready and may The Force be with you.
