9 Pioneering Video Games EVERYONE Forgets
6. Operation: WinBack
Known as WinBack: Covert Operations in North America, this shooter debuted on the N64 at the end of the 1990s (before being ported to the PS2 in 2000).
True, its plot – a secret agent named Jean-Luc Cougar penetrates a satellite command center controlled by a terrorist group called Crying Lions – wasn’t especially unique. What was original, however, was its third-person cover system.
In fact, it was eventually adapted into major successes such as Gears of War and Kill Switch. In turn, those games spawned the gameplay of The Last of Us, Mass Effect, Red Faction Guerilla, and Vanquish, so those mechanics have been passed down through multiple console generations.
Similarly, its implementation of laser sighting while aiming heralded an equally revolutionary aspect, with Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty being among its most overt (and remarkable) disciples in that respect.
Without a doubt, Operation: WinBack deserves to be remembered as the blueprint for modern third-person shooters, plain and simple.