Customer Reviews

WinBack: Covert Operations

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I first rented and played Winback for the Nintendo 64. Since Koei, the makers of the popular strategy series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, had never made a shooter before, I wasn't expecting much, but, though it wasn't a great game, it was fairly good. Now Koei has released Winback on the PlayStation 2, and they've even added a few things.

The graphics in this Winback have been updated from the N64 version as you might expect; they don't take advantage of what the PS2 can handle, but they do look a lot better than before. Music isn't great either, but it does fit the game's situations, and when you take damage and are near death, the music changes and becomes faster to express the urgency. The story in Winback kind of reminds me of the movie The Rock: some madman acquires the use of a powerful weapon, and you and several other special forces units are sent in to attempt a forceful recovery of the weapon before it is put to use. Depending on how fast you are and how few times the weapon strikes, you will receive one of three endings. The story could have been better if the characters were developed, but they weren't, so every time a character is killed--and they are killed a lot--you don't really care.

The one-player Story mode in Winback is pretty simple. It is divided into 31 stages, where you basically move forward by eliminating enemies. Puzzle-solving is limited to involving the player in finding the key to a locked door or destroying the source of a laser trap that blocks the way. The rather dry simplicity of the gameplay, however, is made more enjoyable by the variety of moves you can perform. Imagine yourself with your back against the wall of some building. You slide along the wall, come to its end, and carefully peek around the corner. An enemy! You remain calm and check your surroundings. From where you stand you can only see a lone crate that may be of help. Suddenly, you swing around the corner, blast a couple shots at the baddy, and make a mad dash for the cover of the crate. By now the enemy notices you and has his gun aimed in your direction. You've almost reached the crate when you hear his gun go off, but a quickly executed somersault barely saves you from the fast approaching bullets. Keeping your head down behind the crate, you wait until the firing stops. Finally, silence. The enemy must be out of ammunition and in the process of reloading. You take this advantage and come out from hiding, prepared to take down the enemy. But as soon as you're about to take your shot, you spot two enemy reinforcements coming to their partner's aid. That's when you see it! A crate filled with explosives, right in the midst of the enemies. You pump it full of lead and watch the explosion as it sends your enemies to their feet. It's moves like these that make the game come alive.

In Winback there are two battle modes to choose between: Versus Mode and Bot Mode (added from the previous N64 version). Versus is a battle that can be played by 2-4 human players, in one of nine arenas, in any of six different modes of play. Among these modes, two worth mention are Death Match and Cube Hunt. The first is standard fair for multiplayer shooters: each player's objective is simply to eliminate the other player(s). In Cube Hunt, each player must collect seven different colored cubes; taking damage means losing a cube, which the player will then have to find over again. Bot Mode is only 1 or 2 players and is played the same way as a game of Death Match, except that there can be computer-controlled characters and there are always two teams. You can play this mode by yourself against an army of bots, or you can play on a team of bots against another team of bots. Two players playing Bot Mode can play against each other with an assortment of bots on both their teams, or they can work together on the same team (with or without bots) against a team comprised solely of bots. Sadly, Bot Mode only has five arenas, but they are different from the nine you can choose from in Versus Mode, and a couple are fairly large. Also, it should be noted that there are a good deal of options to customize your battles, from adjusting the strength of weapons, to changing the difficulty of bots; you can even choose from over 20 characters.

Winback may not be a Metal Gear Solid, but for Koei's first attempt in the genre, it isn't bad. Probably the worst thing in Winback is the artificial intelligence, especially in Story mode. An enemy confrontation typically unfolds as follows: you swing out from behind a wall and draw the bad guy's attention; you then swing back behind the wall for cover and watch the enemy stupidly discharge a magazine of bullets at the spot where your head was a second ago; a real person placed in the computer's shoes would next either close in and destroy you or seek cover for himself, but the sick AI continues to stand there like a sitting duck until a couple more stolen shots around the corner have finished him off. This isn't to say the game isn't a challenge; the enemies' unnatural actions just make it seem a little silly. Still, Winback is a good game and is probably one of the best that you can get for the PS2 to date. If you already have the N64 version, this is just one to rent, but if you don't, this is a solid buy.

This game is one of the greatest Third-Person shooter games available on any system. The PS2 just makes it better. The graphics are amazingly detailed and the sound effects are awesome! In the new feature, BOT Mode, you feel you are really in the game with all of the gunshots wailing past your head. It's one big shootout. This new mode is my favorite part of the game. It includes a custom version and challenges, which when you complete, characters become unlocked. It's a team version of the versus mode. The story mode has a great setting and for all beginners, a tutorial mode to explain the basics is available. You must take my word and buy or at least rent this game! It's a must-have for anybody!

I have played both the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation2 versions of Winback. They are quite similar but just different enough for people to take a look. The graphics have been totally souped up making it look very nice. The controls are easy to use, definitely easier than the Nintendo 64s controls. If you have played and beaten Winback for the Nintendo 64 you might still want to give this game a try the easier controls make for an enjoyable gaming experience and with the improved graphics this is quite some eye-candy. The plot hasn't changed at all and is just a revamp of the one for the N64. PlayStation2 owners who are fans of the Metal Gear series will enjoy this game and it will get them ready for Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty.

this game has a pretty good idea for the plot but the story sucks. the graphics were pretty good as well and some of the thing you can do are cool ex. hide behind walls and pop out and nail someone in the head. the lasers on some levels were annoying one hit from them and you're dead also they're HARD to avoid. there were also only 4 different weapons and all of them do the same damage. I wouldn't reccommend this game unless you're a real fan of shoot'em up games.

Well i would like to say this game rocks from the graphics to the game play to the verses mode to the bot mode.this game is up to 4 players (in verses mode) so if you have some friends over it is lots of fun.My older brother isnt that great at the game so he just watches me play.you can never run out of amo because yuor handgun never runs out but you only have certain amout for the shot gun (which kicks) and the machine gun (which also kicks).the levels are beatable but might take 2-4 times to pass them which is good because you arent really stuck on a level for a week usually so it doesnt get boring.I find it funny when they say danm or bastards or what the hell but i wouldnt recomend it for kids under 10 because the controlls might be to hard.

This game is great. You get to do all the stuff just like the James Bond movies. The single player is a ok mode of play where you and a team of SpecOps guys try to take back(or Win Back) a base over run by terrorists. The multiplayer is probably the best mode of play. You can choose to play by yourself or with a friend. Also, there are plenty of characters to unlock in multiplayer which keeps you playing. Also, there are seven modes of play and three of those modes you need to unlock. The first is the story mode which is the main mode, then there is the bot mode(multiplayer and single player instant action). another mode is verses which is multiplayer. Then there is tutorial which is self-explanitory and there are the three modes you need to unlock but I will not spoil them for you. Overall I think it is a great game and was well worth my money.

WinBack takes the player through the heart racing adventure of Jean-Luc Cougar, a member of the elite anti-terrorist squad S.C.A.T, as he & his team attempt to stop a terrorist group called the "Crying Lions" from using a space sattelite to blow up random spots on earth. But did his team bite off more than they can chew??

I'll start off by saying this game is wicked repetitive, but it is fun. To start off your main weapon, the handgun, has unlimited ammo and will quickly force you to choose it as your weapon of choice. You run around as Jean, doing rolls, aiming with the R1 and firing with the X buttons, pressing up against crates & walls for cover, flicking switches, blowing up laser boxes, shooting more terrorists een though you are heavily outnumbered (usually 4 or 5 against one), and collecting the very small array of generic weapons - a shotgun, an assault rifle, and a silenced handgun. Oh, you also get a flashlight later in the game.. dont know if I should mention that.

There is a "Bot Challenge Mode" where you run around (depending on the challenge) either alone or with a computer controlled bot and fight off other teams of bots. I believe there is 20 challenge missions? Whatever. As you beat them you unlock characters to use in multiplayer mode. Hah, multiplayer mode is where the real fun is at. You and, if you have the multi-tap adapter, 3 friends can go either toe to toe in a free for all or a team match in a variety of stages where anything is cover and you can jump over railings and what not. Its really fun.

Sadly, the enemies attack patterns are bland and very predictable. You pop out from cover, shoot two or three times, take cover again, and the enemies shoot once or twice, then stop and stand there as you jump out from cover and repeat the whole process again. Unfortunatley, the aiming system doesn't really help out in a lot of spots. Lets say there is a guy standing on a ledge above you who poses the biggest threat, and there is a guy below you - more than once I found myself jumping out thinking I was going to aim at the ledge man only to find my gun pointed at the ground guy. Sure you can manually aim, but by the time you begin raising your handgun or whatever up you have already been shot once or twice. You'll hit them only if your lucky, or you'll die first.

What I thought was really cool in WinBack was the fact that you ran into your entire team as you progress in the game.. and almost all of them die in some brutal way or another, but after witnessing their deaths you (the player) feel you must avenge them. Take the guy Law who, after forcing you to go onto an elevator alone because enemies were coming and he insisted he would slow you down, fights & kills all the terrorists after sustaining a few more wounds.... then as he sits down to recoup, Cecile (one of the main enemies) comes and caps him right in the head. Or take Mike Hawkins, the fat pony-tailed demolitions expert in SCAT, who opens an elevator and catches a whole clip of rounds by a boss right in front of your eyes. Although there is no blood, and the enemies blink & dissapear as if it was on the NES system, the game is pretty violent and really helps add realism to the game.

The voice acting takes away from the realism of the game, sadly. There is almost no emotion in any of the characters exept the generic terrorists who scream "STOP!" or "HOLD IT!!". Jean-Luc in particular sounds unenthused and straight up bored in every cut scene. I guess I can't say too much figuring N64's WinBack had no voices just dialouge boxes. However, the music, although many don't like it, sounds pretty good. It is a sort of an eerie techno beat which, I guess, helps add darkness and hart pounding sensations to the atmosphere.

Generally speaking the graphics are alright. The character models of the SCAT members look really good & smooth compared to WinBack's N64's release. The stages are massive and pretty detailed with graffiti sprayed around and boxes and ladders and stuff scattered around.. did I mention the levels were massive? The terrorists look pretty interesting, but look good all the same. However, some of the bosses, look lame - like this big diesel guy with a huge .50 caliber machine gun.... and a purple shirt. Come on now.

I'll tell you straight up this game is hard and pretty long (31 missions), with only a handful of checkpoints scattered in each level. Boss fights are hard where, just like in Spartan Total Warrior, you'll fight the boss in a small room while fending off against a bunch of other average terrorists while avoiding exploding barrels or lasers. Other times you'll enter a narrow hallway with two large windows on your right and left and as you walk into the room enemies come pouring in behind you, to your sides, and in front of you and all you have to use as cover is speed, rolling, and a single box. Oddly, if you take too long or take too much damage, it actually effects the ending. My ending for this PS2 release was garbage - my entire team got killed except the geek Keith. Jean-Luc & Keith stand on a helipad, waiting for a chopper above them to evac them outta there. WinBack Mission Complete!!

Once you beat the game, depending on your score and what difficulty you played it on, you can unlock "Max Power Mode" (which is basically infinite ammo for each gun), or "Trial Mode" where you pick a level and run through it as fast as you can to test your speed.

To finish this lengthy review, I am going to suggest if you like shooting things, are a fan of the N64 version, or simply want to see how your entire team dies then play through WinBack: Covert Operations atleast once. Although hard, the game can be & is a fun, interesting experience.

Please dont listen to the people saying this game [is not good]...It is one of the greatest PS2 titles ever. You will never get tired of multiplayer, and the single player is fun as well.

Go buy this game!

This is actually a pretty good game. When you are playing it it quickly becomes evident that this low budget sleeper hit(what some call "The Poor Man's Metal Gear")is very repetetive in its style of gameplay. But this action game still manages to be a lot of fun. Borrowing heavily from Metal Gear in its story and gameplay it is an action oriented game with plenty of things to blow up as you venture through the game. The game plays more like a cartoon than the more serious themes such as in Metal Gear so the game is more acceptable to kids but is fun for all ages.

winback is an awsome game! First off you can hide behind crates and jump out and shoot someone. And bot mode is very fun to you can team up with your buds and shoot each other, how cool is that. well one player mode was kind of hard for me but to those of you who liked Metal gear solid you are going to love this.