I dunno... I started playing around with a black background to go along with the powerup images and started liking it more and more as I tinkered. Think I'll leave this page as B-on-B, the rest of the site as W-on-B, and let the viewers decide. Send an email my way and I'll do as I'm told :)

	WATER BALLOONS (x3) This pick up fires a water-filled balloon, bouncing off objects and walls before bursting on the floor or a vehicle. An area-effect water splash reduces the traction of all vehicles within the balloon's burst radius. The physics of water balloon effects are pretty interesting to experiment with. As far as I can determine, the burst does indeed affect only traction or grip of the vehicle, and doesn't "push" vehicles at all. It often seems to provide a little kinetic jolt when your vehicle skids out of control or even gets airborne, but we all know how easy Re-Volt vehicles lose control under normal circumstances - add a lotta water and I've seen cars do flips that'd leave a gymnast green with envy :) Note that sometimes the balloons don't seem to have any effect at all even with a direct hit. If you're moving dead-forward on a flat surface, even zero traction will keep you moving forward without problems. Just don't try to steer for the second or so for the balloon effect to dissipate.
	BOMB The only pick up in the game that automatically triggers when collected, the Bomb turns your vehicle a charred black shade and starts burning down your antenna like it were a fuse. After 10 seconds or so, your vehicle suffers an explosion which will generally knock the vehicle around and often leave you on your roof. The good thing about the Bomb is that it is transferable - run up against another vehicle before the Bomb goes off and the effect is given oven to them. Maybe it's just me, but the Bomb never proves to be too much of a hindrance. If you're not steering too tightly when the Bomb goes off, it doesn't seem to do much of anything to your vehicle. Since you quickly get used to the Bomb's timing, all you do is try to hold a steady course for a second or so while the Bomb detonates. AI vehicles don't have much difficulty with this pick up either from what I've witnessed.
	TURBO BATTERY This pick up lets you turbo charge your vehicle temporarily, giving you a tremendous boost of speed. Accurate steering control of your vehicle becomes an issue during the effect, so drive carefully! The instruction manual for Re-Volt suggest that the Turbo Battery increases your speed by 10%, which is way low an estimate! My own experimentation has the Battery kicking in at least a 25% increase. It was even more powerful in the Re-Volt demo, but steering was virtually impossible - I prefer the tweaked retail version. BTW, using the Battery when you've been juiced by an Electro Pulse (and maybe a Global Pulse, haven't tested it yet) causes the drain effect to end instantly but uses up the Battery in the process!
	BALL BEARING When triggered, you drop a large bowlingball-like object behind your vehicle. Great for dropping in front of your opponents to slow them down, especially in narrow areas of the track where avoiding the ball is more difficult. Not much to say about this one that isn't obvious. A very useful pick up when you're already in the lead, but no good if you're in last place. Dump it quickly and grab another pick up if you're in 8th :)
	FIREWORK This pick up lets you fire a single "bottle rocket" straight forward. This weapon is slightly homing, locking on to vehicles in your sight. The Firework moves very fast yet somewhat randomly, exploding upon impact with a vehicle or a wall. One of my favorite weapons, especially since I tend to be losing at any given moment and need a forward-usable attack :) The explosion of the Firework has a small area-of-effect, so it is possible to hit multiple vehicles if they're close enuf to the target vehicle. The kinetic push of the explosion deceases with range - dead-on hits tend to completely flip cars, while near-misses might just force them into a spin or simply push them sideways a tad. Don't fire this weapon at a car immediately in front of you unless you want the both of you to flip :)
	FIREWORK PACK The same as the Firework pick up except you get three rockets. Not much else to say but to note that rapid-firing three rockets at an opponent will greatly increase the odds of disabling them momentarily :)
	OIL SLICK When activated this pick up drops a pool of oil directly behind your vehicle. Each vehicle (specifically, each tire of each vehicle) that passes thru the oil has their traction reduced greatly for a short period. Much like the Ball Bearing powerup, this is a great item for dropping in confined areas of the track. However, confined straight areas aren't very suitable since reducing traction in a straightaway doesn't do much. Dropping an Oil Slick in the sweet spot of a tight curve is a much better option.
	SHOCKWAVE Firing this pick up sends a spherical bolt of energy forwards, flipping any vehicles in it's path. The energy sphere travels in a straight line, but will bounce off of walls and the floor and continue onward for several seconds. The further away from the bolt as it passes, the less flipping effect it causes. My favorite Re-Volt weapon. Next to the Global Pulse, this powerup has the potential for affecting the most number of opponent vehicles, and quite possibly is the most detrimental of them all. When your vehicle gets flipped a dozen times by a Shockwave, it's very likely to end up on it's roof, facing the wrong direction, in a corner :) Besides, it's the best visual effect in the game, as each and every poly the effect nears gets twisted and warped!
	ELECTRO PULSE When triggered, an electrical glow surrounds your vehicle. Any other vehicle getting too close is hit by an electrical arc that reaches from your vehicle. For a short period of time the opponent car is rendered powerless. My second-favorite powerup, and my personal favorite "defensive" weapon. When in the lead and wanting to hang onto that lead, the Elctro Pulse is your best friend. As an opponent vehicle approaches from behind and attempts to pass, activate the Pulse and watch the opponent grind to a halt! Note that opponents can be zapped by the Pulse multiple times, but they don't seem to be affected by the repeated doses. Also note that the Battery powerup can negate a Pulse effect.
	GLOBAL PULSE Essentially an Electro Pulse that hits every vehicle on the board excluding your own. The rarest of the pick ups, this weapon is randomly selected less than 5% (and probably closer to 1%) of the time. The Global Pulse is the only weapon attainable in the game via a different method than running over a lightning-shaped pick up. The 2nd method is via a Secret Star, found one per track. Usually located in a difficult-to-reach or out-of-the-way area of the board, a Secret Star always and only grants a Global Pulse. While each track has a Global Pulse hidden somewhere, it's very rare that seeking out the Pulse will prove beneficial. The star is simply too far off the beaten track that, even with immobilizing every single opponent, you end up losing more ground than you gained. Then again, on some occasions the Global Pulse can quickly turn around an 8th place showing into a 1st place victory. If you know the track well and can get to the powerup, go for it!