Candy Review: Headshot Gamer Candy

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - by Traci

Want some sustenance for an all-night gaming session, something that’ll deliver a kick of caffeine just as well as your Mountain Dew and Bawls? Uncommon Loot thought so. They recently sent over a few Headshot bars, whose packages boast, “Headshot is a candy made for gamers by gamers. Feeling tired owning all those newbs? There is enough energy packed into this bar to improve your game so much, that people will be complaining you have an Aimbot!” Made with guarana, a highly caffeinated berry, the bar promises to pack quite a punch.

The first flavor Uncommon Loot released is Chewy Chocolate Toffee, though they plan to follow up and release new flavors such as Chewy Peanut Butter, Fudge Graham and Mocha Cappuccino every three months. The packaging looks like something a gamer would pick up – it’s silver and adorned with a cross hair and bullet holes.

I decided to try a Headshot bar one day after work because I needed a pick-me-up; I’m not exactly a gamer, but sitting at the same desk in the same position for eight hours can take its toll. The first thing I noticed when I opened the packaging was the overwhelming smell of butterscotch. The bar contains toffee, but this smelled more like butterscotch pudding than anything else.

Its chocolate coating is super sweet and slightly greasy – just enough to melt on your fingers a little as you eat the candy. After I took a bite, I felt a bit like Violet Beauregarde (of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame, of course) because the candy takes you through a few stages of flavor. The first taste that emerges is a sweet, candy-like toffee, which gives way to the flavor of the super-sweet chocolate coating. Keep chewing and the flavor turns into something oaty and almost granola-like, and after that, you’re left with an odd aftertaste that I can only describe as a generic energy bar flavor.

And it’s chewy. Very chewy. “Spend ten minutes eating this bar and then chug a glass of milk” chewy.

Somewhere beneath all the chewiness is the refreshing texture of crisped rice, which was very enjoyable. In fact, if I could suggest any improvements, I’d say add more crisped rice to improve the bar’s consistency.

This bar energized me. Now, this could be due to the placebo effect. I ingested the bar and expected a kick of energy, and it delivered. But it wasn’t sudden; I didn’t get a quick buzz. Instead, I found that I could carry out the normal activities I usually do – walking the dog, fixing dinner, etc. – and then some. I went shopping. I visited a friend. I planned a birthday cake and then made a late-night trip to the grocery store to buy supplies. I didn’t conk out until a couple of hours after I normally go to bed, and I’ll thank the Headshot bar for that. I can see how this bar would be an excellent refreshment for a LAN party.

As a candy bar, Headshot is so-so. As an energy bar, it’s absolutely delicious. It’s definitely the best energy bar I’ve ever tried. And better still, it actually worked.

• Uncommon Loot website (makers of Headshot)

Buy Headshot Gamer Candy online:

• at The Game Preserve Stores
• at ThinkGeek

caffeine, guarana, energy, toffee, headshot, chocolate