Operation WinBack

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. WinBack also featured a laser-sight mechanic that was later incorporated in action games such as Metal Gear Solid 2 and Resident Evil 4 (2005), and in turn would also become a staple of third-person shooters. The Nintendo 64 version received its first official re-release on the Nintendo Classics service on October 25, 2021. A standalone sequel, WinBack 2: Project Poseidon, developed by Cavia, was released on April 25, 2006, for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

• Title — WinBack • Developer — Omega Force • Director — Tomonori Miyazaki • Released — Nintendo 64'PlayStation 2 • Genre — Third-person shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2

The game is a third-person shooter with stealth elements. The player must make use of the cover system to safely shoot various armed terrorists, with a variety of weapons (a sub-machine gun, shotgun, silenced pistol, rocket launcher), all needing ammunition found in the world, however the basic pistol has infinite ammunition. The player cannot move while shooting; instead, the control stick is used to aim, a task made easier by the fact that every weapon is equipped with a laser sight. Lock-on isn't required to shoot enemies, as the laser sight can be aimed freely when in aim mode. Damage to enemies is indicated by three colours, blue to indicate superficial damage to limbs, green for chest for normal damage, and red for a critical headshot. The player can also perform a melee attack while not aiming a weapon, with an instant kill if the enemy has their back turned. The player's movement allows a crouch walk and dodge roll, but is not able to perform actions typical of the action genre such as jumping or climbing over chest high obstacles. There are basic navigation puzzles such as finding keys to progress, and dodging lethal lasers and finding their control box to disarm by shooting. The game featured a standard multiplayer mode and a Bot mode in the PlayStation 2 version of the game and only in the NTSC versions of the game, where players had access to all of the game's abilities and weapons. At the beginning of the game, all the members of Jean-Luc's team are available as selectable characters, all of them come with a basic handgun as their initial weapon, except for Dan who comes with a unique gun as his main weapon. As the player finished the game or used the cheat code, they will unlock all the bosses and other characters that they had defeated or appeared in story mode. Each boss has a unique weapon that they used in the story mode with infinite ammo.

A terrorist group called the "Crying Lions," originating from the fictional country of Saroczia, takes control of a space-based laser weapon. This is used to attack a military installation housing the controls to the weapon, called the GULF system. The leader of the terrorists calls himself Colonel Kenneth Coleman. The Secretary of Defense contacts the Special Covert Action Team (SCAT) with their orders: Enter the GULF complex and reclaim it. Jean-Luc Cougar is part of the team, and the last to escape the helicopter being shot down. The player takes control of Jean-Luc as he leaps a wall and enters a parking lot. The team is scattered throughout the complex and you must find them and destroy the satellite control center before the GULF satellite laser can recharge and fire again. Along the way you will face a number of laser traps, puzzles, machine gun nests, ambushes, and mazes. You will face a series of bosses culminating in the final boss fight (against Kenneth Coleman's deputy Cecile).

There are three possible endings, depending on how long it takes the player (as Jean-Luc) to reach the control room. • Good Ending After killing Jin, one of the Crying Lions bosses, in the generator room, a confrontation emerges between the remaining active S.C.A.T. team members (Jake, Jean-Luc, and Lisa) and the remaining Crying Lions' bosses other than Kenneth Coleman (Cecile and Deathmask). A shootout erupts during which Jake is killed while Lisa is knocked unconscious and taken hostage by Cecile, who subsequently departs. Jean-Luc and Deathmask fight in one-on-one combat, with Jean-Luc emerging the victor and killing Deathmask, before Jean-Luc gives chase to Cecile. Cecile, realizing that the Crying Lions' main objective is likely to fail with the S.C.A.T. team having penetrated so far into the facility, betrays and kills Kenneth Coleman, so as to take control of the terrorist group and the weaponized satellite to achieve his own ulterior motives: blackmailing the US government into giving him a large sum of money. However, S.C.A.T. team leader Dan arrives at the control room and seemingly kills Cecile. Lisa regains consciousness and is surprised to discover that Dan is working with the Crying Lions, but is again disabled by Dan after he gives her details of how to destroy the satellite. Upon reaching the satellite control room, Jean-Luc encounters Dan, who reveals he is a traitor, the killer of both Steve and Thomas and forces Jean-Luc into a confrontation. After a fierce battle, Dan is mortally wounded and tells Jean-luc his reasons for betraying the team: he is half-Saroczian. The war split his family in two, his mother and sister defected to Russia with him in tow, whilst his brother and father joined the Saroczian Revolution. Several years later after the separation, he joined the Army and was eventually sent on a mission by the US Forces to keep the government in power by quashing the revolution supported by a majority of the people. The mission was carried out, but Dan was filled with regrets for which he says fate was responsible. He also met his brother, Kenneth Coleman, leader of the Crying Lions who fought to end the suffering of the Saroczian people and avenge his father's death. Dan subsequently dies of his wounds, and Cecile, who survived being shot by Dan earlier, appears and fights one last battle against Jean-Luc in which he is ultimately killed. Once the confrontation is over, Lisa arrives to discover that both Cecile and Dan are dead. Jean-Luc Convinces Lisa to destroy the GULF satellite, believing it is too powerful for any one country to control. The GULF satellite is destroyed as Jean-Luc, Keith, and Lisa escape, with Operation Winback ending in success. • Normal Ending The normal ending is similar to the good ending, with a few minor differences. Jean Luc reaches the area where he fights Jin, but when he does so, Kenneth orders the Pentagon destroyed the satellite, After killing Jin, one of the Crying Lions bosses, in the generator room, a confrontation emerges between the remaining active S.C.A.T. team members (Jake, Jean-Luc, and Lisa) and the remaining Crying Lions' bosses other than Kenneth Coleman (Cecile and Deathmask). A shootout erupts during which Jake is killed while Lisa is knocked unconscious and taken hostage by Cecile, who subsequently departs. Jean-Luc and Deathmask fight in one-on-one combat, with Jean-Luc emerging the victor and killing Deathmask, before Jean-Luc gives chase to Cecile. Cecile, realizing that the Crying Lions' main objective is likely to fail with the S.C.A.T. team having penetrated so far into the facility, betrays and kills Kenneth Coleman, so as to take control of the terrorist group and the weaponized satellite to achieve his own ulterior motives: blackmailing the US government into giving him a large sum of money. However, S.C.A.T. team leader Dan arrives at the control room and seemingly kills Cecile. Lisa regains consciousness and is surprised to discover that Dan is working with the Crying Lions, but is again disabled by Dan after he gives her details of how to destroy the satellite. Upon reaching the satellite control room, Jean-Luc encounters Dan, who reveals he is a traitor, the killer of both Steve and Thomas and forces Jean-Luc into a confrontation. After a fierce battle, Dan is mortally wounded and tells Jean-luc his reasons for betraying the team: he is half-Saroczian. The war split his family in two, his mother and sister defected to Russia with him in tow, whilst his brother and father joined the Saroczian Revolution. Several years later after the separation, he joined the Army and was eventually sent on a mission by the US Forces to keep the government in power by quashing the revolution supported by a majority of the people. The mission was carried out, but Dan was filled with regrets for which he says fate was responsible. He also met his brother, Kenneth Coleman, leader of the Crying Lions who fought to end the suffering of the Saroczian people and avenge his father's death. Dan subsequently dies of his wounds, Jean-Luc looks down at Dan's body, asking him if he found the justice he was looking for. He then sadly says if Dan had just told them, they might have found a way to help, but now it is too late, Cecile is presumed to either have died of the wounds inflicted on him by Dan or survived and had gotten away. Once the confrontation is over, Lisa arrives to discover that Dan is dead. Jean-Luc Convinces Lisa to destroy the GULF satellite, believing it is too powerful for any one country to control. The GULF satellite is destroyed as Jean-Luc, Keith, and Lisa escape, with Operation Winback ending in partial success. • Bad Ending Jean-Luc finds both Lisa and Jake dead in the generator room, both presumably killed by Jin, the elusive (bad ending) Crying Lions boss whom Jean-Luc faces and kills in the generator room should he arrive fast enough (the good ending). Upon reaching the satellite control room, Jean-Luc finds Cecile waiting for him. Cecile tells Jean-Luc that he was too late, the satellite has already fired twice, destroying the Pentagon and White House. Jean-Luc confronts and kills Cecile and goes to the communications room to find Kenneth Coleman, pleased that his "objective" and "cause" was a success. After some talk, Kenneth shoots himself. Jean-Luc and Keith are the only survivors of Operation Winback, which is ultimately a failure.

Gamers' Republic noted that WinBack, along with Dynasty Warriors and Enigma, was an attempt for Koei to branch out from strategy games that they were known for. A gameplay demo of the game was presented at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo and later at the 1999 Nintendo Spaceworld trade show.