Every Getaway Shootout Pickup Worth Grabbing, and When to Fire It

Getaway Shootout is a race first and a shooter second, and the pickups are what turn a straight sprint to the getaway car into a mess. They fall onto the course at random during the round, you collect one by hopping into it, and R (P for player 2) uses it. Here is what each kind is good for.

Guns

Pistol. The common one. A few shots, each knocks a runner back a step. Fine for stopping someone from passing you, useless for winning a round on its own.

Shotgun. Short range, big push. The right pickup when the pack is bunched on a ledge: one blast sends two or three runners backwards or off the edge.

Sniper rifle. One powerful shot that travels the whole screen. Face the leader, fire once, and they go flying. It only helps if you are behind, and it needs a straight line.

Rocket launcher. The round-winner. The explosion throws everyone near the blast, including you if you fire it point-blank. Hold it until the course narrows near the exit.

Explosives and traps

Grenades and mines punish the runners behind you more than the ones ahead. Drop one on a ledge you have just left and the computer players, who follow the same route, will find it.

Boosters

Crates hold the movement items. A jetpack lifts you straight over the section in front of you, which on the train and prison levels skips the hardest platforming. A speed boost makes every hop longer for a few seconds; it is good on the flat, dangerous on ledges. A shield ignores the next hit. Boosters are worth more than any gun when you are already leading, because a lead in this game is one clean landing away from being lost.

How the computer plays

The three CPU runners in 1 Player mode go for any pickup that lands near them, and they fire the moment they have something. Two things follow from that. First, a pickup that drops between two of them is bait: let them collide over it and hop past on the outside. Second, the computer rarely saves an item, so if a rival has just fired a pistol at you, they are empty and you can pass them safely.

Two-player rounds

Against a person the rules change. Humans hold the rocket. If your friend has picked one up and is not firing, stay off the narrow parts of the course until they use it, and take the high route on the rooftop level so the blast has nowhere to throw you. And remember that landing on a head is free: it costs no item and it knocks them down.