Hotshot Tales, Part 10: BarrelMaster

Hotshot Tales, Part 10: BarrelMaster

Theoretically, it's possible to rack up 7 eliminations with barrels during a Barrel Barrage race in Hotshot Racing, but it's extremely rare. However, I came very close to that in a recent attempt at Downtown (the first track in the Desert map set), notching up 6 kills over 7 laps. As usual, I chose Marcus' Carbon (the fastest car overall and in the Speed class) on account of its unmatched performance. So here's how it happened.

I got a few hits early on against Keiko, before eliminating her with a few more hits, the last of which came at the exact same time I took out Alexa with another barrel I'd placed earlier elsewhere. By that time, Xing and Toshiro had also taken a lot of damage, so I finished both of them off a few seconds apart with some well-placed barrels. My last two kills (against Mike and Aston) were the result of my victims hitting barrels I'd placed at least one lap earlier.

Above, from top: Careful placement and timing of my barrel placements allowed me to score six kills (of which five are shown here) during this Barrel Barrage race on Downtown.

Viktor (in a Blade) was the only opponent who didn't fall victim to my plan, but he got eliminated anyway, since he hit a barrel someone else had left behind after taking a lot of damage from other people's barrels. After Aston (in a Shadow) was eliminated on the last lap, I was left as the sole survivor, so I only had to concentrate on avoiding the barrels without running out of time until I reached the finish line.

Below is a collection of screenshots showing the greatest hits of the race, including the moments leading up to each kill from different angles.

Above, from top: Some of the most memorable screenshots from my craziest Barrel Barrage race ever, including the exact moments of each kill (or immediately before then) - I racked up six of them in less than 5 minutes.

Getting 5 or more kills (and surviving the full race distance) in a 7-lap multiplayer match, however, is even rarer still, since human players are less likely to be oblivious to the presence of barrels on (or near) the racing line. It's not quite as rare in a singleplayer game, but when it happens, it's still something to savor for all eternity.