Pepsi has a history of introducing new versions of its Mountain Dew product for trial periods. Over the course of the past few years it has offered its orange flavored LiveWire during the summer and attempted to turn its sour grape Pitch Black into the official soda of Halloween. I really enjoyed that Pitch Black and missed it last year. Now comes the latest offering from Mountain Dew: Game Fuel. Arriving in special edition packaging to tie with the Halo 3 video game for the Xbox 360, when I first saw this newest addition to the Mountain Dew line of soda, I actually thought it was a merchandising tie-in with the Transformers movies, though I couldn’t figure out why it was so late in arriving. The packaging features a robotic looking dude who I think will be easily confused with Transformers by those not into Halo.
Which I’m not.
Mountain Dew Game Fuel is advertised on the can as “Dew with an invigorating blast of citrus cherry flavor.” At first I must admit to being confused. I mean Mountain Dew with a cherry blast; didn’t Pepsi already do that with Mountain Dew Code Red? Ah, but the difference is subtle. Code Red has a “rush of cherry flavor.” Notice the essential missing ingredient there from Game Fuel? Hint: it’s citrus.
Mountain Dew Game Fuel is NOT Code Red. By that I mean don’t purchase this product expecting the same taste as our old reliable red buddy. The difference in flavor isn’t exactly overwhelming, but it’s a far way from subtle. I know I could pass a taste test if I had to. How best to describe the difference between the two cherry-infused Mountain Dews? Well, Code Red, which is my own personal preference, has a unique flavor that isn’t really very similar to traditional Mountain Dew in my opinion. Oh, you can tell both drinks are from the same company, but Code Red is heavy on the cherry. That’s why I like it. Mountain Dew Game Fuel, on the other hand, tastes more like what you’d get if you emptied some cherry juice or even Grenadine into a bottle of original Dew. In other words, Code Red is something else entirely, whereas Game Fuel is like drinking a Mountain Dew that’s been cherried up.
Is that a bad thing? Not at all. I plan to be drinking Game Fuel regularly as long as it is out. It’s significantly better than LiveWire, and it certainly shouldn’t be avoided like the Baja Blast they serve at Taco Bell. I mean that stuff is poison. (Of course, I’ve heard that same word used to describe Pitch Black, but I respectfully disagree, you pinheads.) Will it replace Code Red as my Mountain Dew of choice? Not at all. At least I don’t think so. This newest cherry Dew will, I think, be an acquired taste. Don’t form an opinion after just a test swig or even an entire bottle or can. Drink down three or four before making a final opinion because by the middle of the first 20 oz bottle I was starting to dislike it. By the second can after that, Mountain Dew Game Fuel was really beginning to grow on me. It doesn’t have the startling tang that Pitch Black had; the kind of assault on one’s taste buds that polarized fans of the Dew into two distinct camps: pro-Pitch and those who would rather drink battery acid. As a result, I imagine Mountain Dew Game Fuel may have a much longer life than the unofficial soda of Halloween managed.
