WinBack: Covert Operations

"A Great PS2 Shooter"

What can I say about Winback while it wasn\'t the best game for its time its still an entertaining title and really that’s all anyone wants in a game right? You basically play as a man named Jean Luc who’s mission is to get back a powerful weapons satellite from a terrorist group but at the beginning of the game your transport crashes after being fired upon from that weapon and your team is split up while Jean Luc seems not to care if he finds his team or not you don\'t search for them more like run into them some alive some dead. I think if I were alone in a terrorist environment I would want some backup don\'t you? But not the mighty Jean Luc who can\'t jump or run and fire at the same time. I don\'t want to sound like I\'m bashing on the games flaws and hate this game. This is one of my all-favorite titles and I\'ll explain why below now on to the breakdown of the review.

Gameplay 5/10

While gameplay may feel awkward at first and feel dated when you play the old school stop walking before you fire. Winback makes firing a little bit of a chore you have to point the laser sight of your weapon at enemies far away manually while if the enemy is close enough he can auto aim for you. Even with that feature I must say it adds realism to the game in reality your gun doesn\'t auto aim for you have to aim manually and it can sometimes be a chore and that’s the point the creators are probably trying to make that and being able to make the game harder to beat. The A.I. have been improved for the N64 version but don\'t meet the standards of today’s games however the game is still fun otherwise. The sneaking and peeking around corners is a true rip off of Metal Gear Solid but MGS Sons of Liberty wasn\'t released until later that year and the only other MGS on the PSX didn\'t allow you to peak around a corner and fire so you could say that Winback was first and way before its time when it was on the N64. Now on to the flaws which gave gameplay a 5 although there are many games like this Jean Luc can\'t jump, crawl or run and shoot at the same time sometimes this is very frustrating especially when you see an obstruction you can simply jump over if you could rather than spend fifteen minutes finding a key that leads you to the same place anyway. Although you can kneel on the ground and do a forward roll this is more fun to watch than useful. Like I said not being able to jump increases gameplay time that lost 2 points. Not being able to run and shoot is a major issue in games today that simply isn\'t tolerate able anymore even in Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty you could run and shoot at the same time. Not being able to do this actually makes the game harder but I\'m sure that it could have been added easily. Again since this is a major part of gameplay it lost 2 points. This game also has no puzzles at all which really disappointed me its just a simplistic run here shoot that find that key push that switch kind of game also this game has the same dodgy camera that some times screws up your gameplay sorry but this lost 1 point.

Storyline 7/10

While this game is fun and all the storyline is very flat and mostly boring. There is no suspense whatsoever and it’s basically shoot this shoot that find that key push that button and see another cut scene. For no suspense the storyline lost 1 point. Basically you have to Win Back ha I picked that up just now a powerful satellite weapon from a group of terrorists called the Crying Lions. At the beginning when your team comes to infiltrate the installation their chopper is shot down by this weapon and your team is scattered throughout the facility. While this sounds like a pretty good storyline the game doesn\'t follow it much of it at all you stumble across teammates talk with them and they find some excuse to leave you alone again really helpful. Everything in this game is really simplistic no puzzles or challenges that lost 2 points. Although there is a good side the maker made three endings for the game, which was a very smart move to make the gamer play again.

Graphics 6/10

Well compared to the N64 version the PS2 versions characters don\'t look boxy their arms have joints their faces have greatly improved while not as good looking as the faces of Metal Gear Solid: Sons Of Liberty they are greatly improved from the N64 version and look much better. Basically the details on the game are improved and the game feels better than the older N64 version.

Controls 9/10

While the controls are a little hard to get used to you will get comfortable within the first half hour or so and it will become second nature. Jean Luc\'s response time should have been faster when he is moving his gun while aiming it is extremely slow a very bad downside when you have a guy firing at you and your trying to get an aim on him while hes pumping bullets into your body. You\'re really better off positioning your character towards the enemy before aiming that little detail lost 1 point. Other than that the controls are very well planned and easy to adjust to.

Sound 6/10

While I thought that the music was ok and blended with the game very well and was average for a game of its time that is not the case with the voice actors. They like a couple other games I\'ve reviewed the voices are terrible they have no sense of urgency in their voice during a dangerous situation and talk in the same calm boring tone all the time with no inflection and when they occasionally try to sound urgent you just can\'t help but laugh inside. I wonder if these guys just get yanked off the street Koei puts $100 dollars in their pocket and tells them read these lines. Since voice acting is so crucial in a game it lost a hefty 4 points.

Replay Value 9/10

This game gets a high replay value because Koei added three endings but since most gamers only play it once and Koei didn\'t inform the gamers they don\'t even know the endings exist. You have the chance to earn secret characters in battle mode, which brings an even more of an incentive to play again. Only if more games were designed this way I\'d give them higher replay values too. The reason its only gets a 9 is because at least 1 secret weapon given to you for your efforts would be nice and I\'d give it a definite 10 but nonetheless the replay value is great.

Overall 9/10

Overall putting my emotions about the game into this rating despite all of its flaws Winback is a fun and entertaining title with a great replay value. This is a very memorable title for me I would really like to see a sequel but highly doubt that one will ever be released. The multiplayer is very fun and in my opinion never gets old since those of you with multitaps can go against each other with up to 4 players. For those of you who have never played before I recommend that you rent and try it if you like it buy it. Its very inexpensive now about $30 if you look around or definitely if you get it used. This game is a very complete and very unique third person shooter that was unsurpassed for its time and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I still do.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03