Like Star Wars? Like tower defense games? Then you might want to take a look at THQs recent release Star Wars: Battle for Hoth for iPhone.

The game premise is that of all tower defense games; prevent your enemy (in this case the Imperial Empire) from reaching the other said of the map. As you play the game you get a fairly diverse set of units to deploy in defending Hoth. But, before I get into that, let's look at play mechanics first.

You start Battle for Hoth with some simple ground troop units and a shovel. The shovel allows you to alter the landscape of the level and force units to move a certain route. This is a great tool in later levels as you can really funnel the Empire to their doom. When you place your units and they destroy a wave of Imperials, you are rewarded with a green wrench icon you have to touch to collect. This gives you points to build or upgrade units. You have to be fast though if you wait too long the wrench will change color to orange then red, decreasing the point value. Wait too long, and your points are gone forever.

As you play through the 15 levels you unlock more types of units including; seated blaster units, radar lasers, turrets, snow speeders, x-wings, shield generators and ion cannons. Some of the more complex units like the ion cannon, shield generators and turrets require an energy generator placed next to them. The energy generator is required to power those units. If you upgrade a unit (say the shield generator) without upgrading the energy unit, you run the risk of losing power to that unit so you always have to keep it in check.

You can upgrade your existing units to make them more powerful and sell them as needed. I found the most fun in the game building up units under the safety of the shield generator and then taking out AT-ATs with relative ease once my units were upgraded to the maximum.

When writing this review, I have to admit I had some distaste for this game. Simple and not a lot of variety in what appeared to be a shameless use of an awesome gaming license. However, after I made my video review above, I am having a bit of a change of heart. I think I am trying to make Battle of Hoth more than it is; a simple Star Wars-themed tower defense game to kill a view minutes in your day while standing in line to get groceries. Should you get it? If you are a Star Wars fan I think you will enjoy. If not, I would pass.

[$2.99- iTunes Link (opens in new tab)]

Pros

Fast gameplay
Fun in small chunks
Fast forward the game action
Familiar Star Wars universe
Units behave as they should

Cons

Original game music is not the Star Wars music we love
Easy is too easy
Lacking variety of Star Wars units and ships

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Software trainer, blogger and mobile technology enthusiast living in the suburban Midwest.

8 Comments

Disappointing. Remember the old DOS game Rebel Assault (and Rebel Assault II); those are the kind of Star Wars games that I'd love to see on the iPhone. From an input standpoint I think that you would be able to play them pretty well with the accelerometer and potentially the gyro of the iPhone 4.
Hey Chad, pretty decent review. I had been tempted by this game but I'll likely pass on it now. Also, please proofread your post -- I think auto-correct went a little nutty and near the end of your post.
Yet again, on my phone to be reviewed. Chad beats me to the punch! :) For the record, I liked it somewhat, was a little disappointed in some aspects of the game. I was going to give it three and a half stars.
I bought this game when it first came out & I love it . It pretty much is like all other tower defense games but it is STAR WARS .
Hey Chad, quick question? Was your review filmed on an iPhone 4? It looks like mine when filmed in low light situations, a yellow tinge to the video. Thanks
@Frank- Yeah, I filmed at night and didn't have enough light :-(
Here I thought it was some cool infrared camera. ;)
Boob cannon! Kudos for those who get the refernce! :D

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