What is "winback"

Winback (known as Operation: Winback in Australia and Europe) is a third-person shooter video game developed by Koei's Omega Force studio for the Nintendo 64 in 1999 and PlayStation 2 in 2001. A second game with no related storyline, WinBack 2: Project Poseidon, was produced by Cavia for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles, was released on April 25, 2006.

The story follows one Jean-Luc Cougar, a secret agent infiltrating a laser satellite's command center. Gameplay revolves around its innovative cover system, where the player takes cover behind corners and then ducks out to shoot. 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.

The game was influenced by Metal Gear Solid and, in turn, WinBack's cover system eventually went on to influence several later shooters, including 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.