WinBack (known as WinBack: Covert Operations in North America and Operation: WinBack in Australia and Europe) is a third-person shooter video game developed by Omega Force (a division of Koei) and published for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, and the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The story follows secret agent Jean-Luc Cougar infiltrating a laser satellite's command center. Gameplay revolves around its innovative cover system, in which the player takes cover behind corners and then ducks out to shoot.

WinBacks cover system eventually went on to influence several later shooters, including Headhunter, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, (2001) and Kill Switch (2003), which in turn influenced games like Gears of War (2006). The cover system has since become a staple of third-person shooters. A gameplay demo of the game was presented at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo and later at the 1999 Nintendo Spaceworld trade show.

Reception

The PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In another GamePro review, Air Hendrix said that the same console version's "addictive, exciting gameplay will be a real treat for action fans—but only for those patient enough to tolerate its frustrating camera work and other flaws. With a little more polish, Winback could've been a masterpiece, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this action-packed firefight." Extreme Ahab later said of the PlayStation 2 version, "WinBack on the Nintendo 64 was a good, not great, game, and it hasn't been changed enough to warrant a reappraisal of that status—not even the mega-force of the PlayStation 2 helps much. Nevertheless, if you're in need of worthwhile stealth/action, WinBack: Covert Operations will satisfy." N64 Magazine gave the N64 version and its import 83%, saying of the latter, "There are no comparable titles on the N64, and even if you might sometimes find yourself wishing that Rare had programmed it rather than Koei, you'll keep coming back to it for one more stealthy killing spree" (#35, December 1999); and later calling the former "a very good game—although not quite a classic—with no real competitors on the N64 or any other system. Original, violent, and extremely enjoyable" (#41, May 2000).

Notes

References

  • Official site (Archived)