Freakin' Dragons

May 12, 2011 9:41 PM

Friday Flash Fun-frustration! In the form of "Checkpoint", a fast paced platform game similar to N, featuring wall-jumping, spikey things, and a narrator who doesn't appear to like you very much.

Protip #1: On some levels it's necessary to die, not just to get keys in dead ends.
#2: You can wall jump up on a single wall, you don't need two.

I got about 270 deaths and completed in 21:10 or so. Good luck.

posted by Dillonlikescookies (10 comments total)

Can I be the first to register my dislike for the Portal-ushered trend of narrators who dislike you?
posted by LSK at 9:55 PM on May 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I played between five and ten minutes of the game, and found it a bit bland. It seems like a watered-down version of Exit Path by jmtb02. If you haven't played it, it's definitely worth giving it a go, especially for the multiplayer mode.
posted by lemuring at 10:03 PM on May 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I liked it! Couldn't beat it though, got frustrated at the the level with the moving blades and dragon... I hope that wasn't the last level.
posted by auto-correct at 10:27 PM on May 12, 2011

Can I be the first to register my dislike for the Portal-ushered trend of narrators who dislike you?

Only if I can be second.

I don't mind unreliable or hostile narrators per se, but this one seemed poorly done (disclaimer: I got bored with it after a couple dozen levels) for a couple reasons. Firstly, it seemed to me (based on the repeats) to just be randomly selected "Ha ha, you died, you turd" messages appearing; nothing to build character or in service of a deeper storyline like Portal, just taking advantage of the ability to be a dick to the player. Secondly, dying is required to pass levels. So it's not even poor gameplay the narrator is making fun of; it's both legitimate screw ups as well as actual correct gameplay. (In the Portal games, GLaDOS will discourage correct gameplay in her role as an adversary and dishonest narrator; here, it's just a textfile of a dozen random insults.)

It just seems (absent later gameplay that brings it all together) like the author wants to coerce random strangers into dying in his game so he can spew vapid insults at them. Surely therapy is simpler than programming a Flash game.

Exit Path, though, is pure awesome.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:07 PM on May 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Surely therapy is simpler than programming a Flash game.

Some days you'd be surprised.
posted by hellojed at 11:13 PM on May 12, 2011

FUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

Hate those dragons.
posted by Slackermagee at 11:29 PM on May 12, 2011

I agree with lemuring that it's a bit like Exit Pad, but not as good. Also, for a game with a name like Checkpoint, you'd think it would save your progress. Anyway for anyone who hasn't played N yet: download here (available for Windows, Mac & Linux).
posted by bjrn at 12:22 AM on May 13, 2011

Lord knows I'll probably end up coming back to it later today, but I rage quit on the level with three spinning blades near the ground and three portals, the hardest to reach of which (and most useful) didn't work.

The physics feel a bit washy to me, and one of the things that made n great was how solid and predictable the platforming was once you got used to it. I know how hard that is to get right from playing with making my own platformers, but it's such an important part of a die-a-lot.
posted by lucidium at 2:53 AM on May 13, 2011

similar to N

a clone? i didn't play that far, but it looked like it. the whole wall jumpy/slidy thing.

The physics feel a bit washy to me, and one of the things that made n great was how solid and predictable the platforming was once you got used to it. I know how hard that is to get right from playing with making my own platformers, but it's such an important part of a die-a-lot.

Yes. I didn't trust this one to give it much time. Exit Path plays a bit tighter, but I'd still just rather download some new levels for N ... I still love N.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:51 AM on May 13, 2011

Got to a level with invisible platforms. What's that about?
posted by yaxu at 1:18 PM on May 13, 2011 [1 favorite]