WinBack: Covert Operations (Nintendo 64) review "Released a year ago, WinBack was, and still is, the Nintendo 64's only answer to Metal Gear Solid. Well, the blond Jean-Luc is no Solid Snake, and WinBack is no Metal Gear Solid, but it is a much needed action game on the kiddy N64. "

Released a year ago, WinBack was, and still is, the Nintendo 64's only answer to Metal Gear Solid. Well, the blond Jean-Luc is no Solid Snake, and WinBack is no Metal Gear Solid, but it is a much needed action game on the kiddy N64.

The story concerns a terrorist group that has stolen nuclear warheads and is threatening to use them. You play Jean-Luc the leader of a UN special unit who is given 3 hours to disable the warheads and take the terrorists out. The plan doesn't go well though, as your plane gets shot down and your team becomes split up. Your goal: look for your team members, disable the warhead, and stop the terrorists. All in 3 hours.

WinBack has its faults, but they are few. The graphics are low-res and kind of bland: a mix of brown, gray, and blue. Gameplay is like Metal Gear, in that you can't move and fire and the same time. The game is more about stealth, so you'll be spending most of you time snooping around avoiding enemies. While snooping around, you'll also have to watch out for traps, specifically frustrating red beams that bring instant death. Get ready to die many a time.

As the game progresses, you'll run into fellow team members. Some will cover you when you run through a gauntlet of machine gun toting soldiers, others will unlock paths, and others will just die on you. You will also have to recover key cards, find new weapons, and try to read codes written in your buddy's blood.

You also have to get around machine gun terruts and try to drop egomaniac bosses. WinBack never seems to have a slow moment, and you'll thank the folks at Koei for that. The game also features a solid multiplayer mode. Weapon selection is a bit dissapointing: hand gun, shotgun, machine gun. If you own an N64 and are looking for something a bit different, WinBack comes highly recommended.

Community review by pestes (Date unavailable) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.