Checkpoint 3 - The Amusement Park

## Presskit picture

### New drivers

Mr. Grantham, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Harrington, Mr. Solis, Mrs. Decker, Mr. Diaz, Mr. Kirby, Swanson, a Cro-Magnon and a fair maiden

### Recurring drivers

Mia Chaney, Julia, the man who calls himself Mr. Lee, Mr. Baker, Ben Womack

## Description

**The Amusement Park** is the fourth level of Does Not Commute. It comes after The Beach, although the difficulty stays about the same from that level. It is probably the most unique set piece you encounter in the game, including a Tunnel of Love, a Ferris wheel, two water slides, a pool and a few refreshment stands. It also includes a rather large lake in the top of the map, and several dirt roads around said lake. Two warehouses are directly outside the main park. If you look at the arched sign above the two entrances, you can tell that the park is called 'Mediocre Land,' after the developers of the game. The time of day gradually transitions from near-sunset to night time.

### Drivers

There are 15 drivers in this stage. The new drivers introduced are; Mr. Grantham, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Harrington, Mr. Solis, Mrs. Decker, Mr. Diaz, Mr. Kirby, Alfie the clown, Swanson and a Cro-Magnon and a fair maiden in a taxi. Our returning drivers are; Mia Chaney, Julia, the man who calls himself Mr. Lee, Mr. Baker and Ben Womack. As you can tell, there are far more unique drivers this time around. The previous level is The Beach. The next level is The City (Night).

On, yet another, installation of Does Not Commute Wiki, we are about at the halfway mark for the Does Not Commute game and we meet a lot of new drivers along with a few familiar fellows. Let's see what everyone is up to this time around.

## Story summary

* We start off with Mia Chaney, the very much real federal investigator, looking for the one who stole one of the bureau van's at the bureau. She decides to look at the amusement park. I'm pretty sure we know who the thief is.
* The man who calls himself Mr. Lee is treating "his" family to a visit to "Mediocre Land" and plans to show off the photos of his family to Mr. Lee, wait, that means the real Mr. Lee is still alive and out there, maybe hostage!
* Mrs. Griffin has won a peculiar mask from a claw machine and it seems to have some disturbing properties, might be some witch doctor magic or a curse on it. This doesn't seem to bother her too much though, so maybe it's nothing.
* Julia seems to be having the time of her life on her day off, so she appears to have made the right choice on taking the day off. Wonder how she obtained a monster truck though?
* Mrs. Harrington has been banned from the water slide because the owners don't share her opinion on swim wear, well, tough luck. I guess that's what happens when you oppose those more superior than you.
* Biotechnology scientist Mr. Kirby has seen a intriguing post on the message board stating that there's a pet lizard for sale and to call '19 3 8 14 5 9 4 5 18' (which stands for 'Schneider' if you replace the numbers with its corresponding letter), so looks like Schneider is selling some pets, but why?
	+ Speaking of Schneider, Mr. Grantham seems to have his own personal thoughts on his dentist's constant talk on the subject of wormholes, which Mr. Grantham finds 'strange'.
	+ Another thing concerning Schneider and on how he's probably fascinated with time travel is the appearance of a Cro-Magnon (ancient human) and a fair maiden (princess of Medieval Times), who are heading to the water park in a taxi, they must have hi-jacked it or something.
* Mrs. Decker is heading to the amusement park with her family, with a side plan for spending some time by herself in the 'Tunnel of Love'. Looks like love is in the air (kinda)!
* Advertiser Mr. Baker has been assigned a job. He's to come up with slogan for 'Mediocre Land', but he's having trouble with the concept to joy. Seems like he's a lonely man hiding behind his work and has never experienced happiness, but remember 'A smile all the day, keeps suspicions away!".
* Park tour guide Mr. Solis has been a loyal employee of 'Mediocre Land' for fifteen years, though he considers it a waste of his life and likes telling kids that they're wasting their time here.
* Swanson has different opinions, however, as she's always happy with her job and enjoys telling sausage jokes.
* Mr. Diaz likes to have his inflatable friends he keeps at home, which is kind of weird, but he's a balloon salesman after all and it's own choice to have his 'friends'.
* A clown named Alfie is having salary troubles with his employer, because he never seems to take him seriously (that's because you're a clown, duh!).
* Finally, we have Ben Womack, who seems to have a wrench in the gears for his investigation and decides to go for a few rides on the Ferris wheel, wonder if he's aware that someone is on his track. As always, read on to see for yourself!

## The story goes as follows:

1. Federal investigator Mia Chaney is trying to find her prime suspect: that strange cleaner, who always seems a little too interested in the bureau's work. He's always talking about the amusement park too.[1]
2. Mr. Grantham is on his way home from the dentist. "That strange man simply couldn't stop talking about wormholes," Mr. Grantham thinks to himself.[2]
3. Looks like Julia is really enjoying her day off.[3]
4. Mrs. Griffin won a strange mask in a claw machine. As she puts it on while driving home, she has a strange sensation; as if a thousand years of knowledge, primitive instincts and dark magic is flowing through her body. Or something.[4]
5. Mrs. Harrington has been banned from the water slide, and is on her way home. Apparently, the owners have far more conservative opinions on swimwear than her.[5]
6. Park tour guide Mr. Solis has been doing the same round the last fifteen years. "To your right, you see your life passing by," he tells a class of fourth graders.[6]
7. Mrs. Decker is excited about taking her family to the amusement park. She's also hoping to enjoy a little alone time in the Tunnel of Love.[7]
8. Balloon salesman Mr. Diaz heads home for the day, tired after talking with so many people. He prefers his inflatable friends at home.[8]
9. Biotechnology scientist Mr. Kirby saw a posting on the message board at the amusement park. 'Pet lizard for sale, call: 19 3 8 14 5 9 4 5 18. CS' the note read.[9]
10. A clown named Alfie heads home from his work at the amusement park, slightly disappointed. His salary negotiation didn't go so well. Alfie's employer doesn't seem to take him seriously.[10]
11. Hot dog truck owner Swanson is happy, as always, as she heads home for the day. She gave up a very promising career as a sushi chef, to be able to tell sausage-related jokes every day.[11]
12. The man who calls himself Mr. Lee can't wait to show Mr. Lee all the fun pictures he's been taking of Mr. Lee's family at the amusement park today.[12]
13. A Cro-Magnon and a fair maiden take a taxi from Glower Boulevard for a swim at the water park.[13]
14. Advertiser Mr. Baker has been assigned to work on a joyful slogan for the amusement park, even if he can't quite grasp the concept of joy. 'A smile all the day, keeps suspicions away!' he whispers to himself.[14]
15. Federal investigator Ben Womack just took a break from his investigation to go for a few rides on the ferris wheel. He's now driving back to the city.[15]

## Unlocks

On the eight car, you unlock a mode called "Practice Mode", which enables you to test drive any car with any power-up, without fear of crashing into another car. You can still crash into buildings though. This is primarily served as a way for you to plan out your routes or maybe practice handling certain vehicles you have trouble with. This can and can't be considered a power-up as it does help, but it's not something that affects actual game-play, (like, driving the car for real), (apart from leaving oil marks when you crash). You also get transported into a greyscale world, and the only color comes from lights illuminating the surrounding area (e.g. street lights, or car headlights, or the tail lights.).

## Hidden Time Bonuses

### 1.In the bottom warehouse

In the bottom warehouse, there is a hidden 10-second time bonus. I suggest you get it with Swanson's hot dog truck, by going through the main entrance and turning into the warehouse, as it is relatively on the way to her destination. There's not really any hints as to this, but I guess when the red line rests on the '**Checkpoint 3**' sign, it aligns with the warehouse.

### 2. In the Tunnel of Love

Yes, if you drive a vehicle through the Tunnel of Love, you will hit a 20-second time bonus. It's hard to call this a secret because you'll likely go through the tunnel with Mr. Grantham, Mrs. Decker or Alfie the clown anyways. You could consider Mrs. Decker's line about wanting to be alone in the Tunnel of Love as a hint as to this.

## Secret Radio Music

On the level select screen, if you scroll the red line between the junction of trees that appear on both sides of the road near the City (Night), you will be treated to a hidden music track, which consists of loud and heavy guitar strumming. I'm not sure why they included this, because the 10+  time bonus is slightly off alignment, on the left of the trees. Maybe it's a bigger secret, as every other hidden music track [exactly] aligns with a hidden time bonus, but I haven't found anything yet.

T

On the far right, the 10+  can be seen, despite it being cut off by the image.On the way to the City (Night), Ben Womack and the other drivers, including Mia Chaney and Mrs. Griffin, passed the trees.We wish you all a great day and see you again in the next level: THE CITY (NIGHT)