Red Bull Soapbox Race

I remember my first experience with Red Bull. It was the Live ’95 consumer electronics show at Earl’s Court and, being a fizzy pop-addled teenager (this was my pre-beer period), I was eager to grab every sample I could of this strange new ‘soft’ drink.

Seven cans of the stuff later I was close to hitting the ceiling of the famous old London venue. It didn’t so much give me wings as a nitrous-powered jet pack.

Fifteen years on, everyone in the civilised world is aware of Red Bull and what it can do. That’s partly because you see its name splashed everywhere – motocross events, Formula 1 teams, air shows and, most pertinently, soapbox races.

Red Bull Soapbox Race is HandyGames’s mobile take on the madcap kart racing event and it captures the zany atmosphere perfectly. Embarking on a globe-spanning tour, you take control of a variety of colourfully attired teams (the first, for example, is three grown men dressed up in bear suits) and strive to win the three trophies required to progress to the next round.

The fun starts well before the races, however. Your first task is to design your soapboax, picking each component from a choice of several. Each component possesses unique attributes that tilt the overall balance of speed, stability, creativity and weight. Getting a well balanced ride is crucial to success.

There’s more to do before you get to race. Just before jumping into your bespoke kart you must direct a choreographed dance performed by all three of your team members. When one slips out of synch with the other two you must quickly hit the corresponding button to pull them into shape and boost your performance score.

After all this, you’re ready to race. Viewed from behind, you must try to get off to a good start by stopping a gauge near the end, before guiding your ride left and right around the twisting course.

On your way down there’s plenty to be busying yourself with, such as collecting score-boosting blue flags and speed-boosting Red Bull cans, as well as avoiding speed-sapping traffic cones and tubes of glue.

But that’s not all, as bonus events – such as fixing a wobbly wheel, kicking a ball, hitting jumps and activating your bonus instrument (such as a giant spring) – are constantly drip-fed into the mix.

As you may have gathered, variety really is the spice of Red Bull Soapbox Race. It’s like the developer has been at the titular mental-juice itself, as the game flips from lightweight kart design to farcical dancing to crazy racing within a minute.

Admittedly each element of the game is as shallow as they come, and the buzz the game creates is strictly limited. However, HandyGames, in its wisdom, doesn’t let you stop for a second to realise it.