Operation: WinBack

WinBack was arguably one of the first cover shooters, still playing much like today's iterations albeit not as well. Its mechanics can be difficult to come to grips with when you're battling a slow camera, somewhat unresponsive controls and an inconsistent frame rate; I found it easier to memorise enemy locations and attempt to run-and-gun.

The various Metal Gear Solid influences are obvious and emulated quite well, which is amusing, right down to the complete rip off of the health bar.

In a sense, WinBack occupies its own niche on the N64, seeming to stand apart from the console's other shooters with its unique approach. It's an interesting game, but has become rather unremarkable as some of the mechanics it helped to usher in have been repeatedly refined over the years.

Utterly convoluted, clunky and hard to control. Winback is the ultimate guilty pleasure of barely passable 90's 3rd person shooters. Its interesting seeing a games legacy live on in something way more successful, such as the Metal Gear Solid games of the early 2000's, especially in the cover system. Winback feels like a precursor to it in many ways but as it stands it barely passes as its own game. Its enjoyable in the sense of discovering an obscure N64 title that completely passed you by years ago and appreciating and laughing at its many flaws. Also this games story is bonkers to the extreme. Cant really say I recommend it for being fun to play though.