The Battle of Hoth is a paradox. On one hand, it’s one of the coolest Sci-Fi battle scenes ever put on film. On the other, it’s a complete strategic and tactical blunder – on both sides of the ball. First of all, the pack-mule that is the AT-AT is the lamest war machine ever conceived. It’s slow and it’s huge. Common sense says the closer to the ground the higher the survival rate. But here’s this lumbering behemoth with long huge legs that exposes its vulnerable under-belly high up in the sky. Okay, it has thick armor, but guess what? You can take it out by tripping it. Yes, tie some string around its legs and there she goes!
And the strategy? March them across flat icy terrain in clear weather in a frontal assault.
So then, you would think the Rebels would easily knock them out. But not really because well…they can’t. The excuse? They don’t have enough firepower. Why the heck do they not have enough firepower? Surely, the Rebels know about these Imperial AT-ATs. Versions of the AT-AT go back to the Clone Wars. And they’ve been at that Hoth base for some time. So, why do they not have enough firepower to knock out these AT-ATs that are surely to be used in a battle like this? Admiral Ackbar is freaking out again: “It’s a TRAP!”
Star Wars Battlefront has a new multiplayer gameplay video out, and it’s all about the Battle of Hoth. The game looks great. Battlefront has always been a fave and this definitely kept true to the original. It didn’t change stuff just to change stuff, which is good, but I wanted a little more wow-factor. The game is going to be fun, no doubt, but the look of it isn’t fully new-gen. Some of it doesn’t look that much different than N64 Shadows of the Empire from the 1990s. Actually, the Snow Speeder-rodeo-action is almost exactly Shadows of the Empire.
POV is whatever you want: first person and choose-your-angle third. Weapons, vehicles and equipment are all Star Wars arsenal including jet packs and rocket launchers. If you’ve played previous Star Wars Battlefront games, not too much different, at least not in this video.
Anyway, the gameplay is good enough and the graphics are stellar. We also get Darth Vader and Luke. That’s full-Jedi Luke, which we all know is not accurate since he hadn’t even met Yoda at the time of the battle, but let’s not nit-pick.
Back to the battle. The gameplay shows us some other tactical and strategic weirdness. At about 4:29 we get an orbital strike. An orbital strike is a bombardment from space, kind of like an off-shore strike from a battleship, except it’s from space, which means it’s direct fire. Remember Odin in Call of Duty: Ghosts? Yes, an orbital strike! It’s got to be the most effective weapon in this situation. If the Empire controls the space above the base, and can deliver an orbital strike, then why isn’t it doing it to start with? Why send in these turkey-shoot AT-ATs when it can orbital strike?
I love Battlefront. Superb replayability. It’s got war. It’s got shooting and Jedis. It’s Star Wars. And don’t get me wrong, Battle of Hoth is awesome…as long as I don’t think too much about it.
Star Wars Battlefront is out November 17 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.