Checkpoint (pinball)
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| Manufacturer | Data East |
|---|---|
| Release date | February 1991 |
| System | DataEast/Sega Version 3 |
| Design | Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula |
| Programming | Rehman Merchant |
| Artwork | Paul Faris |
| Music | Brian L. Schmidt |
| Sound | Brian L. Schmidt |
| Production run | 3,500 |
Checkpoint is a 1991 pinball machine released by Data East. It featured the first dot matrix display (DMD) ever incorporated into a pinball game. For Checkpoint, Data East used a "half-height" DMD. By way of comparison, Williams later produced machines with standard DMDs that were twice the height. Checkpoint also features video mode minigames on its display.[1][2][3][4]
In 2008, the Popular Mechanics website included the machine on a list of the top eight most innovative pinball machines of all time.[5]
The machine's gameplay centers on a ramp with a so-called Lasermatic speed detection feature[6] that "clock" a pinball's speed by measuring the time between the ball hitting one switch and then a second, translating that time into a speed analogous to that of a racing car. The minimum is 80 MPH; a skilled player can achieve a speed upwards of 250 MPH. In addition to the customary high score list, Checkpoint also let players record their initials if they set the machine's speed record.[7][8] A similar speed measuring feature already appeared in the pinball machine Vector from Bally in 1981.[9]
Various scoring objectives can be met by achieving certain shot speeds. The game has four single-ball modes Fast, Blue Light Special, 1 million ramp/10 million ramp and Hot Nitro Round. The game also features multiball modes putting two or even three balls in play simultaneously. Checkpoint was also the first game to provide players with a choice of music before setting the first ball in motion. A player can select from among several musical styles, including Country, Rock, Jazz, Rap, Classical and Soul.[7] One of few other example of a multiple choice music feature is Sega's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The novelty quickly wore off for many players, who just wanted to play the game without having to repeatedly go through the choice of the style before the start of each game.[1]
The game features an ignition key to start the game, an auto plunger, a shaker motor that let the table rumble like a racing car and a Porsche Carrera theme with a spinning wheel in the backbox and an image of Neuschwanstein Castle in the background of the backglass.[1][10] Checkpoint is one of the few pinball machines designed by DataEast that was not exclusively linked to a film or television show in this period.[1]
Reception
Play Meter found it to be a fast game, and that no location was unsuitable for it, even recommending that some locations should buy two machines.[11]
