Okay, I think I'm finally starting to feel Halloweeny. Work has been nuts, but I'm over the hump, and I can finally start dedicating every facet of my being to the continued search for fun-sized Snickers in bat-adorned bags and other things that go bump in the night. In a way, I'm almost happy that August was as lifesucking and horrible as it was, as at least I didn't get to blow my Halloween wad early like I usually do.

A few trips to various department stores tonight confirms that I haven't missed too much. We're still riding the cusp of all the impromptu "back to school" setups, which over the course of the next few weeks will transform into shrines to ghouls and goblins and sound-activated dancing Draculas. Most of the stores around here have started putting out a few things, but the real loot is yet to come.

I guess now is as good of a time as any to make my annual plea for X-E Halloween Countdown donations. If you think you have something I might be able to use for this year's feature, drop me a line. Old Halloween-themed commercials or taped-from-television sitcom episodes are always a plus. Pretty much everything is fair game so long as it seems like something I can write an entire Countdown entry around. (If it isn't something I think I can write about, I won't make you waste your time sending it!) Thanks in advance.

Now, onto soda!

Despite innumerable television commercials featuring extremist athletes cooling off with Mountain Dew, the beverage could be more correctly pointed to as a "gamer's drink." I haven't been a terribly enthusiastic video game player since my early teens, but if the stories are to be believed, Mountain Dew is gobbled up by the gallon by millions of mouse-sliding maniacs pulling all-nighters with their MMORPG buddies. Essentially, it's used as cold, fruity coffee.

Also, "MMORPG" sounds like something Bossk would say if he felt cheeky.

New Mountain Dew "Game Fuel" exploits this phenomenon. It's a new (and limited edition) flavor in celebration of Halo 3, which takes all the caffeine and ambiance of original Mountain Dew and makes it taste like something closer to a 7-11 Slurpee. The label sums up the flavor: It's Mountain Dew with a splash of cherry.

I can't come up with too firm of a critique, but I think I like it. The cherry isn't as overpowering as the drink's color suggests, meaning that you can down a 20-ounce bottle without getting that terrible stomach ache that usually comes with drinking cherry stuff. The price we pay for that red berry. Well, not this time my friends.

Actually, you know those little plastic juice jugs? The ones that are sometimes shaped like semi-clear barrels? We called them "quarter drinks" around these parts. "Game Fuel" is kind of like a carbonated version of the red ones.

I've read a couple of reviews from the drink's target audience, and a few were penned by annoyed gamers who didn't want to be "told" what to drink or pigeonholed as freaky deaky Mountain Dew-obsessed wackos. Ah, shaddup, ya snoots. You do realize that things like "Game Fuel" are what keeps the rest of us from getting a third rendition of Mountain Dew Pitch Black, right? If you can't handle the label, pass the poi Muhallo.

Posted by Matt on 09/01/2007. E-mail me!