Difference between revisions of "CheckPoint"

From LoadingReadyWiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
m (added blog post about it being on hiatus.)
(→‎Credit Structure: Added Beej to silhouette list and details of that update)
 
(206 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 5: Line 5:
 
|Creators=Graham Stark, Kathleen De Vere, Jeremy Petter, Paul Saunders
 
|Creators=Graham Stark, Kathleen De Vere, Jeremy Petter, Paul Saunders
 
|Status=Active
 
|Status=Active
|Updates=Mondays
+
|Updates=Thursdays
|Host=Penny Arcade Television
+
|Host=Penny Arcade Television, YouTube
|OriginalRun=May 9, 2011 - December 30, 2013
+
|OriginalRun=May 9, 2011 - December 30, 2013, January 5, 2014 - present
 
|AssociatedShows= [[Escapist News Network]] (predecessor)
 
|AssociatedShows= [[Escapist News Network]] (predecessor)
 
|
 
|
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''CheckPoint''' is one of two successor shows to the [[Escapist News Network]], the other one being [[Feed Dump]]. The show debuted on [[Penny Arcade Television]] on May 9, 2011 and is [[LoadingReadyRun|LoadingReadyRun's]] first series to premiere on the network. CheckPoint initially featured the same team that wrote and produced ENN ([[Graham Stark|Graham]], [[Kathleen De Vere|Kathleen]], [[Jeremy Petter|Jer]] and [[Paul Saunders|Paul]]), but has since pared down its cast to mainly Graham and Kathleen. It is, for all intents and purposes, ENN's direct successor.
+
'''CheckPoint''' is a show that takes a satirical approach to covering news in the video game industry. It is one of two successor shows to the [[Escapist News Network]], the other one being [[Feed Dump]]. The show debuted on [[Penny Arcade Television]] on May 9, 2011 and is [[LoadingReadyRun|LoadingReadyRun's]] first series to premiere on the network. CheckPoint initially featured the same team that wrote and produced ENN ([[Graham Stark|Graham]], [[Kathleen De Vere|Kathleen]], [[Jeremy Petter|Jer]] and [[Paul Saunders|Paul]]), but has since pared down its cast to mainly Graham and Kathleen. It is, for all intents and purposes, ENN's direct successor.
  
As of December 30, 2013, CheckPoint was put on [http://loadingreadyrun.com/blog/2013/12/08/checkpoint-cleared/ indefinite hiatus]. Penny Arcade [http://penny-arcade.com/2013/12/06/changes shut down] 3rd party programing on its PA TV site.
+
As of December 30, 2013, CheckPoint was going to be put on [http://loadingreadyrun.com/blog/2013/12/08/checkpoint-cleared/ indefinite hiatus] due to Penny Arcade [http://penny-arcade.com/2013/12/06/changes shutting down] 3rd party programming on its PATV site. Because of the large fan response, they decided to incorporate CheckPoint into their streaming lineup as a live broadcast called '''CheckPoint Plus'''.
  
 
===Format===
 
===Format===
Line 37: Line 37:
  
 
====Credit Structure====
 
====Credit Structure====
While ENN had a "grander" opening relying heavily on pre-rendered computer graphics to emulate and parody professional news outlets, CheckPoint's opening is considerably simpler. Each episode starts by quickly showing a CheckPoint colored LoadingReadyRun logo, the CheckPoint logo, and then shifts into the "Today" segment, which acts as a cold open for the episode. This quick blurb briefly highlights one of the stories before a quick opening sequence plays, which consists only of the show's title card and silhouettes of the CheckPoint team: Kathleen, Graham, and Paul. Since Jer's departure from the show in Season 1, his silhouette has been omitted; previously it was between Graham and Paul in the title sequence.
+
While ENN had a "grander" opening relying heavily on pre-rendered computer graphics to emulate and parody professional news outlets, CheckPoint's opening is considerably simpler. Each episode starts by quickly showing a CheckPoint colored LoadingReadyRun logo, the CheckPoint logo, and then shifts into the "Today" segment, which acts as a cold open for the episode. This quick blurb briefly highlights one of the stories before a quick opening sequence plays, which consists only of the show's title card and silhouettes of the CheckPoint team: Kathleen, Beej, Graham, and Paul. Since Jer's departure from the show in Season 1, his silhouette has been omitted; previously it was between Graham and Paul in the title sequence. The credits sequence was updated as of Episode 373 with new silhouettes and adding Beej as he became a regular host.
  
 
The ending credits are an even bigger departure. Unlike ENN, which was known for having conversations between Graham and Kathleen during the credits after the studio lights have dimmed, CheckPoint transitions directly a brief credit sequence that quickly lists off all appearances, writing credits, and so on before moving onto the "Coming Up" segment, which is functionally the same as the "Today" segment except that it's generally narrated by Kathleen and acts as a stinger.
 
The ending credits are an even bigger departure. Unlike ENN, which was known for having conversations between Graham and Kathleen during the credits after the studio lights have dimmed, CheckPoint transitions directly a brief credit sequence that quickly lists off all appearances, writing credits, and so on before moving onto the "Coming Up" segment, which is functionally the same as the "Today" segment except that it's generally narrated by Kathleen and acts as a stinger.
Line 50: Line 50:
  
 
===Notes===
 
===Notes===
* The silhouette of Jer in the opening appears to be the same picture used previously in the second ENN intro.
+
* The silhouette of Jer in the Season 1 and 2 opening appears to be the same picture used previously in the second ENN intro.
  
===List of Episodes===
+
===Episodes===
====Season Three====
 
{| align="right"
 
|[[#top]]
 
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%; text-align:center;"
 
|- style="background-color:#B72E38; color:white;"
 
|style="width:12%;" | # in Series || style="width:8%;" | # in Season || Title ||style="width:20%;" | Date
 
  
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
+
See: [[List of CheckPoint Episodes]]
|125 || 21 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Attack on Titanfall]] || November 4, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Miss the "good old days" of the console wars? No? Well, EA seems to.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|124 || 20 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[A Torrent of Theft]] || October 28, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Have you found a torrent of something that's too good to exist? Leave it alone.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|123 || 19 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[There's No Mojo Here]] || October 21, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Do you need common sense and market research if you have wild, unattainable dreams? Yes Madcatz, you do.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|122 || 18 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Just Say No to Mojo]] || October 14, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Are you in the market for a luxury Android console? If so, did someone hit you on the head?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|121 || 17 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Longest Half Life]] || October 7, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |At last, our long nightmare is over. Ha ha, just kidding.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|120 || 16 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Ghost of David Jaffe]] || September 30, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Do imaginary friends make the best business partners? Only David Jaffe knows.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|119 || 15 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Grand Theft Apple]] || September 22, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Now you can take the GTA experience wherever you go! Just don't crime and drive.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|118 || 14 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Anger in Ouya Town]] || September 16, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Turns out that giving out FREE MONEY brings out some unsavory behaviour.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|117 || 13 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Mighty Mega Nine]] || September 9, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Keiji Inafune's new game totally isn't Mega Man at all you guys.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|116 || 12 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Ubisoft and Nvidia Sittin' in a Tree]] || September 2, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Ubisoft has formed a mighty alliance with Nvidia! OMG THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!! It's so cute!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|115 || 11 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Plants vs. Productivity]] || August 26, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Humans love Plants vs. Zombies. But couldn't we be doing something better with our time?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|114 || 10 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[A Little Less Kinection]] || August 19, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Microsoft announces yet more changes to the Xbox One. At the rate they're going you'll just be buying a rebranded PS4 on launch day.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|113 || 9 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Same Sexy Sims]] || August 12, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Is The Sims the most progressive game ever? Maybe? Maybe.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|112 || 8 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Sweet Treats]] || August 5, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Before you jump into the latest dating sim, watch Kathleen's handy primer.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|111 || 7 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Self Control 2]] || July 29, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Stardock Software is dangerously close to poking a hornets' nest.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|110 || 6 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Peripherals]] || July 22, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |There is now an entire documentary about a video game peripheral from the 1980s. We've arrived.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|109 || 5 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Mystery, Intrigue, ISK]] || July 15, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Spies, double-agents, space carriers: an average day for EVE Online.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|108 || 4 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Mattrick Goes to the Dogs]] || July 8, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Not content with ruining one company, Mattrick sets his sights Zyngward.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|107 || 3 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[No One Can Hear You Pee]] || July 1, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Looking for a way to deal with some inconvenient people? Give them Routine on Oculus Rift.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|106 || 2 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[XBox-One-Less-Thing]] || June 24, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Microsoft changes its tune on the Xbox One, and an app that lets you have sex with your iPad!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|105 || 1 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[XBox On Point]] || June 17, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Underwhelmed by the Xbox One. Here's a few reasons why.
 
|-
 
|}
 
 
 
====Season Two====
 
{| align="right"
 
|[[#top]]
 
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%; text-align:center;"
 
|- style="background-color:#6D6B6C; color:white;"
 
|style="width:12%;" | # in Series || style="width:8%;" | # in Season || Title ||style="width:20%;" | Date
 
 
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|104 || 52 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[OMG The Bubble Popped]] || June 10, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |When a Zynga employee is laid off in the woods, does anyone hear the sound of them going "hooray"?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|103 || 51 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Cube Vindication]] || June 3, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |There really was something in the Cube. It was in our hearts all along!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|102 || 50 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Meet My Xbone]] || May 27, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |CheckPoint takes on the new Xbox One, aka, the Xbone
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|101 || 49 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Save our Pac Mans]] || May 20, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Pac Man is being "re-imagined" with a "cool" cartoon and video game. Think about how awful that would be... and then keep going.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|100 || 48 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[They Came for Our Guns]] || May 13, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |EA doesn't do "real guns" in its games anymore. Sort of. Not really? False.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|99 || 47 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Irony Tycoon]] || May 6, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Your tears. They are delicious.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|98 || 46 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Ridiculous Cloning]] || April 29, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Peter Molyneux is going to be disgustingly rich.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|97 || 45 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Oh Yeah, Ouya]] || April 22, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The Ouya! It's the next big in next big things, and not much else.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|96 || 44 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[What is Worst in Life]] || April 15, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Once again, EA is literally the worst.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|95 || 43 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Downloadable Consumerism]] || April 8, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Oh my gosh! Ads in SimCity! And I don't even have to PAY for them? Thanks EA!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|94 || 42 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Restructuring Expectations]] || April 1, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |It shouldn't be easy to be successful, but it should at least be attainable.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|93 || 41 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Origin Hackshack]] || March 25, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Origin security problems and publishers that don't like female protagonists.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|92 || 40 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Five Servings of Zombie]] || March 18, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The folks behind DayZ just want you to be healthy.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|91 || 39 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Kicking Expectations]] || March 11, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |What should you do differently if you KickStarter is over-funded? Everything, and nothing.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|90 || 38 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Getting Down to Bidness]] || March 4, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |THQ is auctioning off its junk. Literally.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|89 || 37 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Sony’s PS4 Play]] || February 25, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Sony said a lot of words, but did they say anything important?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|88 || 36 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Litigation is Magic]] || February 18, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |For a two hour long game, Journey sure was expensive to make.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|87 || 35 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[A Door Closed, a Windows Open]] || February 11, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |XNA discontinued, Amazon Coins and more!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|86 || 34 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Accidental War]] || February 4, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |We all knew Reddit and SomethingAwful would fight eventually, but we didn't expect this...
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|85 || 33 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[A Modest Proposal]] || January 28, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Okay, THQ didn't listen, but maybe Atari will.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|84 || 32 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[SWTOR SGR OMG]] || January 21, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |BioWare tries to do the right thing and the media shits all over them.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|83 || 31 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[THQ Going to Pieces]] || January 14, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Sounds like everyone has a chance to get in on some of this THQ auction action.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|82 || 30 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[PSGone]] || January 7, 2013
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The doors closes on the PS2, and Eidos' Life President is also a Commander now.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|81 || 29 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Eternal Lawsuit]] || November 19, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Don't sue someone you've ripped off.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|80 || 28 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Features We Won’t Wii-Use]] || November 12, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aime bore us to tears with peripheral Wii U features.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|79 || 27 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Price of Progress]] || November 5, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Square Enix is listening, and realizes it has to hide its shenanigans better.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|78 || 26 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Games are Really Big]] || October 29, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |All we know about Dragon Age 3 is that it's big. We guess that's good?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|77 || 25 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[A Blue Streak of Sadness]] || October 22, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Every time we hear Sonic news these days it's always sad.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|76 || 24 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Trouble on the Farm]] || October 15, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Zynga is doing so poorly, they might be better off if they didn't exist.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|75 || 23 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Pork Barrel Participation]] || October 8, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Who can resist the siren song of gold avatar armor?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|74 || 22 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[SC2: HotS Goes F2P?]] || October 1, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Blizzard recently mused out loud what StarCraft might look like as a free-to-play title.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|73 || 21 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Disputed Borders and Lands]] || September 24, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Kathleen gives us the historical context for why some former Soviets don't like their Borderlands options.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|72 || 20 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Mixed Martial Boobies]] || September 17, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |DOA5 flip-flops on its bounce-bounce. Again.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|71 || 19 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Games for Windows or Not]] || September 10, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |There's too many different services that share the same names. Get it together, Microsoft.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|70 || 18 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Core Crisis]] || September 3, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |What is gameplay worth to you? Square says: Your time and eyeballs.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|69 || 17 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[On Blackest Isle]] || August 27, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Black Isle is back! Kind of? Is it? Wait a second here.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|68 || 16 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Almost No Odd Job]] || August 20, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |GoldenEye's famous multiplayer mode was developed on the sly and nearly didn't happen.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|67 || 15 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Final Fantasy Apology]] || August 13, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |It's refreshing when a company admits it's screwed up. Really, badly screwed up.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|66 || 14 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[MechWarrior]] || August 6, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Because releasing actual mecha into the world couldn't possibly go wrong.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|65 || 13 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Square Enix Versus Rumors]] || July 30, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |If you're going to make up rumors about FF Versus 13, there's way more hilarious ones than, "It's cancelled."
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
| 64|| 12 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Gamer Marketing]] || July 23, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |When making something you want gamers to buy, make sure it's super shiny and ridiculous.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|63 || 11 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Games & Movies]] || July 16, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Every time there's a spec of good news about a video game movie, there's an equal torrent of horrid crap.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|62 || 10 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Assassin’s Editions]] || July 9, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |If you want any variety of bonus features with your copy of Screed 3, there's an edition for that.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|61 || 9 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[DOA Flashback]] || July 2, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Remember how DOA5 was going to be all mature and grown-up? About that…
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|60 || 8 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Til Ring Out Do Us Part]] || June 25, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Soul Calibur adds wedding costumes, and Zynga has stopped pretending they aren't terrible.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|59 || 7 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[UFC Extremely Disputed]] || June 18, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |THQ had better never let Saints Row go if they keep making decisions like these.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|58 || 6||style="text-align:left;"|[[E3 Throwdown]] || June 11, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Does E3 even care that gamers were upset with the show?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|57 || 5 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Infinite Lawsuit]] || June 4, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Activision may have now settled with West & Zampella, but the gaming lawsuit of the decade left us a final parting nugget of gold.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|56 || 4 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Beyond Infinity]] || May 28, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Ahh, the delightful nuggets of ridiculousness that come from court filing papers.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|55 || 3 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Too Much of a Good Thing?]] || May 21, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Look, we love Tim Schafer too, but this is just getting silly.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|54 || 2 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Zyng and Zag]] || May 14, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Zynga gets in the news so much these days you'd think they were a tabloid celebrity.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|53 || 1 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[God of Gore]] || May 7, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Sony is taking extra special care to make sure God of War 4 has beautiful blood-goo.
 
|-
 
|}
 
 
 
====Season One====
 
{| align="right"
 
|[[#top]]
 
|}
 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:60%; text-align:center;"
 
|- style="background-color:#B72E38; color:white;"
 
|style="width:12%;" | # in Series || style="width:8%;" | # in Season || Title ||style="width:20%;" | Date
 
 
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|52|| 52 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Are Fezzes Cool?]] || April 30, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Indie-darling Fez is finally out and everyone knows they love it, but they're not sure why.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|51 || 51 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Power Sink]] || April 23, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Is your console destroying the country's power grid? Yes. The answer is yes.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|50 || 50 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[There is No Bubble]] || April 16, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Kickstarter is taking over video game self-funding. But is there an end to it?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|49 || 49 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[EA is Just the Worst]] || April 9, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Did you hear? Electronic Arts is basically the devil!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|48 || 48 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Ubi Goes Soft]] || April 2, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Ubisoft is introducing a new anti-piracy scheme that sounds... good?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|47 || 47 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Gaming the System]] || March 26, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |For all the money gaming makes the US, the US sure seems to hate gaming.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|46 || 46 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Masses Are Effected]] || March 19, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Welcome to largest video game entitlement complex since Minecraft ladders.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|45 || 45 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[GDizzle]] || March 12, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Graham & Paul hold down the fort while Kathleen reports in from GDC.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|44 || 44 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Foot X Mouth]] || March 5, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The thing about saying stupid things on the internet is that everyone can hear you.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|43 || 43 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Is It Worth It?]] || February 27, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Is Square allowed to charge $18 for an iOS game? Yes, but should they?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|42 || 42 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Legacy of Shame]] || February 20, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Dead or Alive's new lead wants to class the series up a bit. Let's see how that goes.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|41 || 41 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Double-Extra Fine]] || February 13, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Does this change the game? Only insofar as Tim Schafer is making it this time.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|40 || 40 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Tera-Fied]] || February 6, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |En Masse bans the world, Netherrealm has an identity crisis and Everquest lives!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|39 || 39 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Tower Heist]] || January 30, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Can Zynga get away with ripping off someone else's game? Well, they already have.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|38 || 38 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Masters of Code, Not Money]] || January 23, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Among the stories this week, a tale of poor accounting and idiocy.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|37 || 37 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Survey Says!]] || January 16, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Cheaters gonna cheat!
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|36 || 36 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Exhausted Fantasy]] || January 9, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Square continues to ignore pleas for Final Fantasy 7, and maybe that's for the best.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|35 || 35 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Unarmed Avatars]] || January 2, 2012
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |If Microsoft removes guns from the avatar marketplace, how will the avatars defend themselves against the Kinectimals?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|34 || 34 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Clipshow]] || December 26, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |When there's no news, CheckPoint makes its own! CheckPoint's own news is silly and mostly just footage of us ruining takes.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|33 || 33 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[2011 CheckPoint Awards]] || December 19, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The best video game awards ever. We don't even know of any others.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|32 || 32 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Game for Fashion]] || December 12, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |The fashion world is like a rickety construction of wood, stone and glass, rocked by an Angry Bird dress.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|31 || 31 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Acts of Ville-ainy]] || December 5, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Zynga's grip is becoming so tight that their own users are slipping through their fingers.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|30 || 30 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Glitchy Scrolls]] || November 28, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Skyrim Glitch is Best Glitch
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|29 || 29 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Gotta Get Deals on Friday!]] || November 21, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|28 || 28 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[UbiHardball]] || November 14, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Hollywood is scared and afraid that someone might know how to do their job better than they do.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|27 || 27 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Battlefail 3]] || November 7, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |EA and DICE don't seem to think that BF3's failures are your fault for wanting to play it.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|26 || 26 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Uncharted Charted]] || October 31, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |If the game you love gets a score you don't, the only possible answer is impotent rage.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|25 || 25 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Ultimate Scrolldown]] || October 24, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Mojang and Bethesda are locked in a legal battle of mutual silliness. (Featuring a guest appearance by Russ Pitts)
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|24 || 24 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Manual Stimulation]] || October 17, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |Look, we're all excited about Skyrim but just chill out a bit, okay?
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|23 || 23 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[HD Remix]] || October 10, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|22 || 22 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Fantasies: How Not to Be Final]] || October 3, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|21 || 21 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Sony Knows It Has a Problem]] || September 26, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|20 || 20 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[The Birds!!!]] || September 19, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|19 || 19 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Project - Buy Our Shit]] || September 12, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|18 || 18 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Retirement Plan]] || September 5, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|17 || 17 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Nintendo 4DS]] || August 29, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|16 || 16 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Gamestop Ex-Stream]] || August 22, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|15 || 15 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Season Passé]] || August 15, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|14 || 14 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Blizzard of Cash]] || August 8, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|13 || 13 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Socially Inept]] || August 1, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|12 || 12 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[3DSadness]] || July 25, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|11 || 11 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Plants vs. EA]] || July 18, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|10 || 10 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[PS4Life]] || July 11, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|9 || 9 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Supremely Legal]] || July 4, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|8 || 8 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[You Know What You Did]] || June 27, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|7 || 7 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[For the Lulz]] || June 20, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|6 || 6 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[E3 Roundup]] || June 13, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|5 || 5 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Secret C.O.D.E]] || June 6, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|4 || 4 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Patently Silly]] || May 30, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|3 || 3 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Plugged Valve]] || May 23, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|2 || 2 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Bungie Jumping]] || May 16, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|- style="background-color:#eeeeee;"
 
|1 || 1 ||style="text-align:left;"|[[Into the Breach]] || May 9, 2011
 
|-
 
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left; border-bottom:2px solid #FCCA11;" |From the folks behind Desert Bus and Unskippable, join LoadingReadyRun as they report on the week’s industry happenings.
 
|}
 
  
 
===See Also===
 
===See Also===
Line 589: Line 60:
 
* [[Action 9]], LRR's other fictitious news agency.
 
* [[Action 9]], LRR's other fictitious news agency.
  
===External Links===
 
* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/ Penny Arcade Television]
 
* [http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/checkpoint CheckPoint Archive - PATV]
 
 
 
[[Category:CheckPoint]]
 
 
[[Category:Videos]]
 
[[Category:Videos]]
 +
{{LoadingReadyLive}}
 
[[Category:PATV]]
 
[[Category:PATV]]
 +
[[Category:CheckPoint]]

Latest revision as of 00:40, 19 August 2022

Checkpoint-infobox.jpg
Checkpoint logo

Format: Satirical Gaming News
Created By: Graham Stark, Kathleen De Vere, Jeremy Petter, Paul Saunders
Status: Active
Updates: Thursdays
Host: Penny Arcade Television, YouTube
Original Run: May 9, 2011 - December 30, 2013, January 5, 2014 - present
Associated Shows: Escapist News Network (predecessor)

CheckPoint is a show that takes a satirical approach to covering news in the video game industry. It is one of two successor shows to the Escapist News Network, the other one being Feed Dump. The show debuted on Penny Arcade Television on May 9, 2011 and is LoadingReadyRun's first series to premiere on the network. CheckPoint initially featured the same team that wrote and produced ENN (Graham, Kathleen, Jer and Paul), but has since pared down its cast to mainly Graham and Kathleen. It is, for all intents and purposes, ENN's direct successor.

As of December 30, 2013, CheckPoint was going to be put on indefinite hiatus due to Penny Arcade shutting down 3rd party programming on its PATV site. Because of the large fan response, they decided to incorporate CheckPoint into their streaming lineup as a live broadcast called CheckPoint Plus.

Format

Checkpoint is, for the most part, a "return to form" for the dry, satirical humor of ENN prior to attempts to retool the show to appeal to a wider demographic of The Escapist audience. Early episodes involved fake news, but eventually moved away from that to focus on just making fun of the actual current gaming news. A typical episode tends to follow the same fixed format.

  • The video opens with a recolored LoadingReadyRun logo and the last four notes of the LRR theme before transitioning into the checkpoint arrow and tone.
  • A brief "Today" intro plays that includes a voice over done by Graham and video clip relating to a highlighted story before moving directly into the opening credits.
  • After the credits the camera cuts directly to both Graham and Kathleen at the news desk where the duo talk about what they've done or what game they've played lately while a lower third title card introduces them.
  • The majority of the show consists of between five to six news stories, reported alternately by Graham and Kathleen. In addition, each story features a corner image and several lower third jokes. Some segments also may include an extra video segment with the anchor continuing his or her story as a voice over.
  • Finally, the anchors will end the episode with their parting line or lines. The credits will roll, and then a short "Coming Up" segment will play, similar to the "Today" segment, highlighting another news story that allegedly will be discussed in the next episode.

In earlier episodes, especially in the first season, the series focused more on taking real news and adding fake elements to make it more outlandish. Sometimes this would involve creating field reports from Paul or Jer that would be completely false or have only a few truths in them. As time went on, more and more emphasis was made on real stories and making satirical comments about how dumb the game company's decisions were.

Differences from ENN

Although CheckPoint is a spiritual successor to ENN, it is not a direct "copy and paste" of the series from The Escapist onto PATV. There are a few key differences between both shows.

Style

Graham and Kathleen's silhouettes, as posted on the LRR Blog.

The largest departure of CheckPoint from it's predecessor is it's visual style. ENN was branded as being The Escapist's own news show, consequently it carried The Escapist's brand name and trademark "E" logo as well as the site's blue-and-white color scheme. Because so much of ENN's design aesthetic was based off of the partnership with The Escapist a complete "facelift" was necessary.

CheckPoint uses a strong contrasting color palette of bright shades of red and yellow in hand with a more neutral gray and white. This color scheme, which is used to color in solid shapes (usually in layers) without any type of outline, creates a visual style that some forum members have described as being reminiscent of Persona 3 and 4.

Credit Structure

While ENN had a "grander" opening relying heavily on pre-rendered computer graphics to emulate and parody professional news outlets, CheckPoint's opening is considerably simpler. Each episode starts by quickly showing a CheckPoint colored LoadingReadyRun logo, the CheckPoint logo, and then shifts into the "Today" segment, which acts as a cold open for the episode. This quick blurb briefly highlights one of the stories before a quick opening sequence plays, which consists only of the show's title card and silhouettes of the CheckPoint team: Kathleen, Beej, Graham, and Paul. Since Jer's departure from the show in Season 1, his silhouette has been omitted; previously it was between Graham and Paul in the title sequence. The credits sequence was updated as of Episode 373 with new silhouettes and adding Beej as he became a regular host.

The ending credits are an even bigger departure. Unlike ENN, which was known for having conversations between Graham and Kathleen during the credits after the studio lights have dimmed, CheckPoint transitions directly a brief credit sequence that quickly lists off all appearances, writing credits, and so on before moving onto the "Coming Up" segment, which is functionally the same as the "Today" segment except that it's generally narrated by Kathleen and acts as a stinger.

Music

ENN's theme was originally created in house by The Escapist's Ian Dorsch to fit with the "major network parody" theme, but like everything else designed to go along with the ENN license it couldn't be carried over. Instead, the theme for CheckPoint was made by long-time friend of LRR Bradley Rains. The theme is much more upbeat to match the show's brightly colored and minimalistic art style.

Content

Thus far, the only recurring character from ENN to appear in CheckPoint is Rex Carnegie.

The ENN recurring segment "Headshot" has a spiritual successor in "On Point", to the extent that it is an opinion piece, and its tone is emphatic rather than ironic. However, Kathleen has gone On Point multiple times, which did not happen with Headshot.

Notes

  • The silhouette of Jer in the Season 1 and 2 opening appears to be the same picture used previously in the second ENN intro.

Episodes

See: List of CheckPoint Episodes

See Also

LoadingReadyLive logo.png
     
Twitch Channel       CheckPoint Quotes       CheckPoint Gifs
∙∙∙●  Ongoing Shows:
Play It Forward (Varies) · Can't Draw Horses Club (Mon 1 PM) · Crossing the Streams (Mon 5 PM) · Mine O'Clock (Tue 10 AM) · Talking Simulator (Tue 1:30 PM) · Let’s NOPE! (Tue 5 PM) · Watch+Play (Alt Wed 2 PM) · AFK (Wed 5 PM) · LRRMtG (Thur 2 PM) · Tinker Tailor Solder Fry (Alt Thur 5 PM) · The Long Game (Alt Thur 5 PM) · Oki Oki Fight Club (Fri 9 AM) · ChillPoint (Fri 2 PM) · Friday Night Paper Fight (Fri 5 PM) · LoadingReadyLIVE (Once per month Sat 6 PM) · Brave New Faves (Sat 9:30PM on /bravenewfaves) · Is This Your Card? (Sun 8 AM) · Rhythm Cafe (Sun 4 PM)

∙∙∙●  Irregular Shows:
...One More? · Bonus Stream · Chit Chaff · Dice Friends · FamJam · LRRTech · Pre-Prerelease · The Crapshoot

∙∙∙●  Retired Shows:
18 Games ...and Counting · A Swiftly Tilting Cameron · Adam's Gamehaüs · Beej's Backlog · Games of Chance · Graham & Paul Let's Play · Heather's Handhelds · House of Stark · I, Horner · IDDQDerp · Kathleen Saves the World · Matters of Import · NewDay TewsDay · Now Kiss! · The Book of Passwords · Things on my Stream · Video Games with Video James

All times are Moonbase Time