Operation WinBack

WinBack (known as WinBack: Covert Operations in North America and Operation: WinBack in Australia and Europe) is a third-person shooter video game developed by Omega Force (a division of Koei) and published for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, and the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The story follows secret agent Jean-Luc Cougar infiltrating a laser satellite's command center. Gameplay revolves around its innovative cover system, in which the player takes cover behind corners and then ducks out to shoot.

WinBack's 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.