Winback, the cult N64 favorite, and the PS2 port Covert Operations, pitted a man in a solid-snake suit against dozens of slightly slow-reacting goons in increasingly fraught combat situations; or Close Quarter Battles (CQB). Initially appearing as a Metal Gear Solid "appreciation," Winback's almost-on-rails arcade combat took players by surprise, but the action remained intense, and the lack of AI, questionable voice-over work and storylines were all part of the charm. Now comes the third in the series, and a true sequel; Winback 2: Project Poseidon, where three operatives fresh out of training attempt to tackle a variety of terrorists across 30 stages of running and gunning, and "win back" hostages in the process.
What's different this time around? Well, the graphics have received something of a boost, and the gameplay takes you through each stage twice as you control two operatives, each skulking about their own part of the level, and sometimes crossing paths. The three Winbackers this time are Craig Contrell, a brown-haired Snake-alike with fancy blue combat armor, leading the obligatory gun-toting lady, Mia Cabrera, and heavy-weapons nutcase, Nick Bruno.
They're certainly crack shots (as Mia demonstrates by riding on the outside of a subway train, firing through a carriage into a train moving in the opposite direction, mowing down five balaclava-wearing bastards without scratching the hostages at their feet), and they have some awkwardly hilarious "heroic" speeches throughout our hands-on preview. If you've been aching for "Jill, don't open that door!" voice over work, you're in luck: The in-game chatter is cheese-filled goodness; the old, gruff veteran giving you mission instructions has the vocal delivery of Donald Trump. Yes, I'm seeing this as a positive point; it's reminiscent of video games past, before "celebrities" and "writers" got involved.
Ain't That a Shot in the Head?
The actual gameplay allows you (if you're not playing the four-way deathmatch or sniper battles) to run down corridors in a variety of stealthy positions. You can walk, dash, creep, or forward-roll. Enemies usually lurk at the end of corridors, behind crates, or patrol through rooms. Your task is to neutralize them, open doors tethered to giant orange illuminated buttons in different parts of the complex you're infiltrating, and locate power-ups. Sometimes a friend needs you to dispatch a foe holed up in a room they can't target.
The game plays out like an old-school alternating shooter; you complete route A with the first character, then return and skedaddle through route B using the second soldier. This novelty means you replay each stage twice, but in different directions, which greatly adds to the rather simple gameplay. You shoot a foe in the head and dash forward. You hide behind a crate, aim, shoot a foe in the head, and dash forward. You hide behind a wall, lob a grenade to flush out three foes, and shoot all them in the head. Or the leg, if you need to cuff and stuff them. The gameplay is straightforward, and slightly unforgiving in this build.
After around three stages, you're treated to a boss battle, which for the first set of levels is an Arab with super-steady reflexes and a body seemingly unaffected by bullets. Winback 2 isn't going for realism; this is room-by-room memorization gameplay (you're graded at the end of each stage, and your results only improve when you replay a stage) with seven different weapons, including the age-old favorites like the shotgun and sniper rifle. We were slightly put off by the less-than-stellar visuals (this are definitely current generation graphics, about on par with those from Geist), but for action shooting fans who can't get enough of Metal Gear-style exploits without all that "strategy" and "stealth," expect this game to win back a few fans in a couple of weeks when it hits stores.
