Data East

Checkpoint

Pinside Rating

This game received 58 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 6.801 _/10

6.801

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #273 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 6.782

Artwork: 7.15

Sounds/Music: 6.792

Other Aspects: 6.586

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 2 of us have rated this game.

6.19

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Found 34 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 34 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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5.419/10

85 days ago

CAS

ChapDDR

Pinside member

Utrecht

1y 23,900 17 2 10

Normally I only review games I have owned/played a lot, this one is an exception.

This game sucks hard!

It is a one-trick pony, just shoot the ramp all day. Nothing else is worthwhile (or inviting). The layout has almost nothing to do except shoot the ramp, the rest is just random filler which serves the purpose of making it look like there is more to do.

The speed-meter on the ramp, and the ignition key are cool though. And I like the music selection.

Still, that won't save a game from having abysmally boring gameplay. Would not recommend owning one, just play it a couple of times on location and call it a day.

6.831/10

1 year ago

MTP

Petie423

Pinside+ Pro!

4y 62,900 32 7 22

I just got one of these yesterday, I love everything about the art and sound. The turn key start and gimmick of measuring how fast the ball is moving are both awesome touches to a cool looking machine. It is a bit of a one note table, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

Petie423 has owned this game in the past.

8.216/10

1 year ago

CMW

RoxasUrSoxas

Pinside member

Middleburg Heights, OH

7y 62,050 125 20 59

Checkpoint was surprisingly more fun than I expected. I like a lot of the older Data East titles and this is no exception. The artwork and sound packages are great, and theres even 6 sound tracks to choose from at the start. Good use of the shaker motor and smaller sized dmd, especially for being the first pinball with a dmd! There's a good variety of shots and for the era, I think Checkpoint is a great game for the price.

RoxasUrSoxas has owned this game in the past.

10.000/10

2 years ago

BNZ

Beanz

Pinside member

Daytona Beach, FL

3y 20,250 8 7 16

My son loves this game. All of us adults need to remember we are not the only ones playing pinball. Not all games need a deep rule set or a tournament mode. some just need lots of cool sounds , blinky lights and attractive graphics that this game has. This is the recipe to attract younger kids to pinball and then become angry nitpicking know it alls like us when they grow up. LOL

Beanz has this game on the wishlist.

6.350/10

3 years ago

HGO

Hugoscollectible

Inactive member

3y 10,500 2 20

I find this game very hard to understand and and it is hard to hear the sound effects and music. I do like key start button though.

7.400/10

3 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

7y 185K 13,219 70

Been here a few weeks and still giving it a spin but so far a favorable impression. Its not as one sided as some folks suggest "hit the ramp, hit the ramp, hit the ramp" which you can certainly do. I prefer to advance the tach to redline for 3 ball multi-ball.

Call outs are great, music good and you can choose 6 different tracks. Animations on the DMD are fairly sparse by later standards. The artwork is superb all around. For some reason I don't like the popper placement, they seem to get little use in most games. If you hit the spinner hard the upper lanes are bypassed so the ball never drops into them and the three center drops keep you from getting a ball in the middle of the pops.

The shaker implementation seems sparse to me, again that may be an artifact of early application of the device. Much better done in later titles like Jurassic Park and Last Action Hero.

A solid game if you are a car guy. Game is still here so updated rating to reflect that.

gdonovan edited previous rating on July 26, 2022.

9.252/10

3 years ago

SDS

ScottThePhotog

Pinside member

3y 60,800 184 8

My wife and I collect older Porsches, so this pin was a must for us. The theme is brilliantly executed. Beautiful artwork all around and one of the best back-glasses I've seen. I love the little things like the key on the left for the start button, the matchbox 911 on the playfield, and the shaker motor that rumbles when the engine revs up.

Overall, fast and fun gameplay with a challenging multiball jackpot. The biggest downside is it's a one ramp shot pin. So much of the game is shoot the right ramp. There is the far right lane and the left lane with the spinner, for some awards or lighting others, but typically, the main shot is the single ramp. They did make it challenging with the MPH speed requirement on the ramp to advance the RPM. Each time you redline, the required speed increases making it more difficult. It's a really good thing they implemented that. It keeps you coming back game after game trying to get faster and faster. In addition to the standard high score, there is a fastest speed award that rewards points and initials on the game.

Playfield layout is fairly good. I love the spinner on the left. More pinball machines need spinners. Completing the "fast" letters 4 times enables the opportunity for fast scoring. During that time, all targets are worth 55K and you can rack up some serious points with the spinner. The 7 drop targets are fantastic. It reminds me a lot of Black Knight 2000. The pop bumpers, flippers, and slingshots are quite strong and really get the ball moving quite fast. Sometimes a bit to fast and the ball flies over walls or hits the glass.

Another similarity to BK2K is the music. Brian Schmidt did the music and sounds on both and they are top notch. The select-able music at the beginning is clever and can change the tone/vibe of the game. My wife and I have our favorite selections. I usually go for rock and she picks classical. The classical is hilariously similar to Wendy Carol's album "Switched on Bach" from the '60s. There are lots of fun call outs and the sound effects are wonderful. It's cheesy and delightful.

The lighting is fantastic. A great use of lighting animations and the RPM gauge is great. This is the first game with a DMD. It is a half size DMD and has some good animations on it. I wish they had made more use of it, but for the very first DMD machine, they did a great job.

Out of the pins in the collection (granted only 3 at this time), this is usually the guest favorite.

6.800/10

3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,120 23 271

It was the first dmd, but behind that it doesn't hold any special significance for me. I'm not big into theme, but it is absolutely loaded with artwork and checkered flags. It has drops, pops, and ramps...but it just seems to wash away in the sea of DMD titles.

If you need a car game, I suggest getting High Speed. It is a better game, costs less, and is built tougher.

7.127/10

4 years ago

KRF

vassq

Pinside member

Sanford, ME

11y 48,050 101 9 13

This game needed one more ramp. One more going the other way sort of like a check point race
or up the middle across a bridge or up a mountain. The theme doesn't feel like a checkpoint racer.
It feels more like local oval track racing, slightly repetitive after a few games. it has the features to be great
its just needed one more ramp of some type.

vassq currently owns this game.

6.963/10

4 years ago

FRB

firebird

Pinside member

Anchorage, AK

13y 29,900 81 1 45

This one got better with more plays. There are a couple basic ramp, shots, an easy bonus shot - all in all enough different ways to move play forward constantly that it remains fairly interesting for the era of the machine. A MPH clocked ramp, raising RPMs, Redline. The one thing this specific machine does (not sure if all do) is that balls lose control in the lower play field and end up bouncing on the glass, over the flippers, and such. This kind of makes it unpredictable. There is a voice that keeps yelling "faster," obviously if you follow the advice bad things happen. All and all pretty fun - not necessarily overrated, but not terrible. There is a very consistent theme that foreign car lovers would get into. Something is just a little amiss in the whole package.

7.908/10

4 years ago

LXL

Isochronic_Frost

Saratoga Silverball

7y 221K 9,402 108 1 1

Checkpoint is a lot of fun, especially with a group of friends. This is the kind of game to get non-pinball people into pinball!

Isochronic_Frost edited previous rating on November 21, 2020.

4.905/10

4 years ago

BAT

TBatti

Pinside member

8y 50,800 662 7 40

I find the shots repetitive and the game play to lack you wanting to come back for more.

7.867/10

5 years ago

DJP

dpannell

Pinside member

7y 74,050 363 17 1

A fun game that everyone wants to play. A piece of history, the 1st DMD game. Surprising good animations considering the small size of the DMD and , did I mention this was the first DMD game? The shaker motor is well implemented, reminiscent of a classic hot rod. The mirrored backglass is a striking piece of artwork, one of my favorites! The sound in this game is awesome, you can select your music style at the beginning of the game! Some complain that the game is not deep enough but I find that there are some good shots in this game and I don't tire of it nearly as fast as other games costing 4 times as much. Only ~3K of these made and parts are hard to find, get one while you can!

dpannell edited previous rating on January 03, 2023.

6.748/10

5 years ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,179 7 253

Ok game. Pretty limited rules and animation and gets repetitive like the guys voice. Art is actually pretty good and I like the music. For the price, I’d get one, but it probably wouldn’t last long.

6.377/10

6 years ago

???

Rasslinmoron

Pinside member

Birmingham, AL

8y 39,300 48 7 21

Good game for the $$$$$$. For $1,200 or less i'd buy it all day long. However over $1,250 or so i'll pass, even at todays skyrocketing pinball prices. Very good first pin which it was for me.

Rasslinmoron has owned this game in the past.

6.605/10

6 years ago

PDK

Ravennapin

Inactive member

Ravenna, MI

7y 26,750 9 4 7

I have had this pin for over a year now. Good safe family friendly theme. I think it is a perfect pin for a man cave, especially for someone that loves Porsche. Stacked against my brand new pins, it is less exciting, but alone in a game room it is a great fun machine.

Ravennapin currently owns this game.

6.204/10

6 years ago

ACE

wingnut707

Pinside member

10y 32,900 5 2 39

Basic game. Fun to play once in a while but would never own. Fast paced and fluid shots. The music selection is awesome but the sounds are pretty bad.

wingnut707 edited previous rating on September 11, 2023.

8.740/10

7 years ago

LEE

Gamer1

Inactive member

Unknown

11y 19,000 13 13

Head for the Checkpoint....Redline!!! This machine was featured on Storage Wars and really grabbed my attention with the racing theme and orange cabinet. Plus, I love any pin that has an automotive racing theme. In my opinion this pin is well underrated from a collectible standpoint alone and the game play is challenging. Here's why check these features out: shaker motor, turn the key to start the game, select your music prior to play, a spinning wheel on the back glass that gets faster as you hit shots. The back glass is awesome it is mirrored and is very cool. Game play is good especially the ramp shots that drives red line! Bottom line play it if you can find one and make your own decision. I do believe these pins will go up in value because of the limited production (3500) and the automotive genre that is increasing. I was already offered to sell mine and refused because I do enjoy playing this pin and it originated the dmd world. I put led lights into mine and it is breath ta-kingly gorgeous to look at and is addicting to play!

Gamer1 currently owns this game.

6.597/10

8 years ago

TBK

xTheBlackKnightx

Pinside member

8y 128K 4,097 137

Checkpoint is solid in gameplay, and it actually is better in terms of shot features than games like High Speed or Getaway, and cheaper as well.
Not as good as Corvette or Indianapolis 500, however.
I cannot compare Stern's Mustang to this machine, because it is not really a good game in terms of design comparison or quality.
This is a "stop and go" machine however, not based on speed of action like the others mentioned.
You will understand when the left ramp is fed from the kicker, rather than fed from the right side flipper shot.
Good challenge in trying to achieve and keep multiballs going. Primary tune is "ok".
Artwork is quite good.
Checkpoint has a lot of "whizbang" if you are a car nut like the tachometer and key start.

4.842/10

9 years ago

KJA

tonedef131

Pinside member

Fort Wayne, IN

9y 55,050 368 18 9 1

Crate full of gimmicks. There is so much to like about this game at fist that I can't believe how fast I got sick of it. I think racing themes are fantastic for pinball but this game just has no flow. The speedometer and pit stop hole add about as much to the game as the spinning wheel and key start. They are entertaining for the first few plays but after that you are just searching for anything else to do. The only reason I didn't rate the sound as low as possible is because you can choose the radio station which is cool and a couple of the channels are alright, but the callouts are insufferable.

tonedef131 has owned this game in the past.

9.060/10

9 years ago

GAV

pocketscience

Pinside member

Sydney

9y 42,900 529 6 6

Love this game, as would any lover of Porsche - or even cars in general. The choice of music is very nice and gameplay is very fast (especially on a recently waxed play field), but if you practice you can control it which amplifies the enjoyment level even more. This game sits nicely beside my Porsche in my garage and every time I drive into the garage I'm tempted to have "just one game"... which almost always ends up in me being shouted at by SWMBO! :)

pocketscience edited previous rating on January 17, 2020.
pocketscience currently owns this game.

7.790/10

9 years ago

EWT

Elvisinmypants

Inactive member

Fargo, ND

9y 54,550 569 33 6

with a new set of black rubber, this is a completely different game, than the uncontrollable frenzy with the white rubber installed on most examples.

Elvisinmypants currently owns this game.

7.123/10

10 years ago

STR

scottrogers

Pinside member

Windsor, CO

10y 36,150 55 10 12

I'm a Porsche/Car nut, so I bought this machine more for the "look" and theme than the gameplay. But I was surprised that the game is actually quite fun and I plan on restoring the machine and adding my own flair to the machine. I was expecting worse quality from Data East especially this older game, but the machine seems well made and easier to service than my other DE and some Williams.

scottrogers currently owns this game.

4.508/10

10 years ago

DAN

BeaverBrewing

Pinside member

Beaver Falls, PA

11y 80,150 289 7 282

Ramp, ramp, ramp, ramp...then some more ramp.

4.343/10

10 years ago

TMC

extraballingtmc

Pinside+ Frequent

Maple Ridge, BC

12y 131K 4,340 23 107 1

why was this even made?!

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

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