History YMMV / WinBack

* OnceOriginalNowOverdone: This N64 game was the pioneer of all cover-based shooting. While its slow-paced tactical gameplay is still somewhat unique, its cover mechanics have aged extremely poorly.

* GameplayDerailment: The general consensus people have found once push comes to shove is that getting the Good Ending requires throwing the game's own principles out the window. Whereas in a regular playthrough you might TakeCover and try to carefully pick out your targets before making precise shots, having to effectively SpeedRun the game results in most players bumrushing through stages, skirting around ArtificalStupidity and then mowing down foes where they can afford to up close with minimal risk of inaccuracy. Boss fights that are supposed to be cat-and-mouse encounters devolve into circling and popping them over and over.

* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: The [=PS2=] version also has a Japanese dub as an option, and it certainly sounds less wooden than the English one.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: This N64 game was the pioneer of all cover-based shooting. While its slow-paced tactical gameplay is still somewhat unique, its cover mechanics have aged extremely poorly.

* NameOnlySequel: Winback 2: Project Poseidon has nothing to do with the plot of the original game.
* NarmCharm: If one views the story with the expectations of a B-Movie plot, the English voices in the [=PS2=] version actually work as the comedic flourish on top.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: ''Winback'' is the pioneer of all cover-based shooting, and it came out on the ''N64'' of all things. While its slow-paced tactical gameplay is still somewhat unique, its cover mechanics have aged extremely poorly.

* NameOnlySequel: Winback 2: Project Posiedon has nothing to do with the plot of the original game.

* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: The [=PS2=] version also has a Japanese dub as an option, and it certainly sounds less wooden than the English one.
* WhatAnIdiot: You'd think an international war criminal like Cecile would be more situationally aware. The first two situations happen in the Good and Normal routes, and the last one happens in the Good route.
** He has Deathmask hold Lisa hostage, and coerces Jean-Luc into laying down his weapon. Jake suddenly barges into the room and headshots him and Deathmask with his machine gun, and he shoots Jake dead.
*** '''You'd expect''': He'd bait Jean-Luc into again laying down his weapon, and possibly shoot him dead once he's vulnerable. After all, Deathmask is carrying an unconscious Lisa.
*** '''Instead''': He '''''changes his mind''''', and has an injured Deathmask fight Jean-Luc while he carries Lisa to the room where Kenneth is.
*** '''The result''': Jean-Luc manages to kill Deathmask and continues his mission.
** He betrays Kenneth and shoots him dead, only to be shot in the back by [[spoiler:Dan]], who tells Lisa where Jean-Luc can find him before knocking her out and leaving her in the room.
*** '''You'd expect''': He'd shoot an unconscious Lisa dead before leaving the room. After all, [[spoiler:Dan]] didn't make sure the room was safe for Lisa by confirming his death.
*** '''Instead''': He ignores her and leaves the room offscreen.
*** '''The result''': Lisa is able to destroy the Gulf System.
** He lobs a grenade at Jean-Luc after [[spoiler:Dan dies]]. As Jean-Luc closes in on him, he activates the lasers to trap Jean-Luc on the ramp and lays suppressive fire. He's already in a safe position outside the range of the mounted guns at the top of both ramps.
*** '''You'd expect''': He'd stay in place once Jean-Luc disables the lasers.
*** '''Instead''': He '''''leaves his cover and puts himself within the mounted guns' range'''''.
*** '''The result''': Jean-Luc turns Cecile into Swiss cheese and saves the day.

* IronWoobie: No matter the ending, Jean-Luc Cougar has a ''lot'' to unpack. His handgun is the last reminder of his brother Alan, who is presumed dead after going missing in a battle as part of Navy Special Forces, and this is before Operation Winback puts him through the wringer. [[spoiler:After the team's chopper crashes on the way to Westham, he first reunites with Matt, who ends up dying before his eyes moments later. His reunion with Tom also doesn't last long, since Tom dies right after Jean-Luc and Jake finished defusing the bombs scattered across the building housing the express elevator. Tom managed to discover that elevator's passcode before he died, but Jean-Luc fails to secure that elevator after defeating Ryan because Ryan primes a grenade to blow up both himself and that elevator's control panel in a YouShallNotPass moment. On his way to the freight elevator, he finds both a dying engineer and the corpse of Steve, the person who had overseen Jean-Luc's training in the tutorial. At the freight elevator, a wounded Law sends Jean-Luc ahead since he has to operate the elevator and hold back the terrorists, only to be executed by Cecile. After meeting up with Mike, he learns that Jake and Lisa are being cornered by the terrorists, then sees Banderas kill Mike after Mike opens the way forward.]] From here, the three routes branch off.

** The Iron part is the fact that Jean-Luc had to take all this in ''while leading Operation Winback'', which makes him especially impressive on the Good Ending because he was at the mercy of the timer for most of it.

*** '''The result''': Jean-Luc turns Cecile into Swiss cheese and saves the day.
* TheWoobie: No matter the ending, Jean-Luc Cougar has a ''lot'' to unpack. His handgun is the last reminder of his brother Alan, who is presumed dead after going missing in a battle as part of Navy Special Forces, and this is before Operation Winback puts him through the wringer. [[spoiler:After the team's chopper crashes on the way to Westham, he first reunites with Matt, who ends up dying before his eyes moments later. His reunion with Tom also doesn't last long, since Tom dies right after Jean-Luc and Jake finished defusing the bombs scattered across the building housing the express elevator. Tom managed to discover that elevator's passcode before he died, but Jean-Luc fails to secure that elevator after defeating Ryan because Ryan primes a grenade to blow up both himself and that elevator's control panel in a YouShallNotPass moment. On his way to the freight elevator, he finds both a dying engineer and the corpse of Steve, the person who had overseen Jean-Luc's training in the tutorial. At the freight elevator, a wounded Law sends Jean-Luc ahead since he has to operate the elevator and hold back the terrorists, only to be executed by Cecile. After meeting up with Mike, he learns that Jake and Lisa are being cornered by the terrorists, then sees Banderas kill Mike after Mike opens the way forward.]] From here, the three routes branch off.
** In the Good route, [[spoiler:he watches Jake die after they try to rescue Lisa from Cecile and Deathmask. At the Control Center, he mortally wounds Dan, who admitted to causing the chopper's engine failure and murdering Tom and Steve. In his dying breaths, Dan reveals his Sarcozian heritage, his blood relation to Kenneth, the US Government's involvement in quelling the rebellion that was supported by the majority of the Sarcozian population, and the deaths of his Navy Special Forces teammates when they were on a mission eight years back to aid the Sarcozian government (implying that he knew about Alan being dead the entire time). After taking down Cecile, who blew up Dan's corpse with a grenade, he has Lisa destroy the Gulf System, believing the world isn't ready for that kind of power after it's already claimed so many lives. He, Lisa, and Keith are the only survivors, and he alone knows the full truth of the mission]].
** In the Normal route, [[spoiler:the White House has been obliterated. Most of the Good route also applies here, but he never gets to take down Cecile, who is implied to have escaped offscreen. The killer of Matt, Law, and Jake gets away, and everyone in the White House has perished]].
** In the Bad route, [[spoiler:he finds Lisa and Jake's corpses on his way to the Control Center. At the Center, he learns from Cecile that the Gulf System is now space junk after obliterating both the White House and the Pentagon. When he tries to take Kenneth Coleman into custody, Kenneth commits suicide. He and Keith are the only survivors of the mission, which rings hollow because of the innumerable casualties: not only their fellow teammates, but also hundreds of thousands of innocent bystanders]].

* TheWoobie: No matter the ending, Jean-Luc Cougar has a ''lot'' to unpack. His handgun is the last reminder of his brother Alan, who is presumed dead after going missing in a battle as part of Navy Special Forces, and this is before Operation Winback puts him through the wringer. [[spoiler:After the team's chopper crashes on the way to Westham, he first reunites with Matt, who ends up dying before his eyes moments later. His reunion with Tom also doesn't last long, since Tom dies right after Jean-Luc and Jake finished defusing the bombs scattered across the building housing the express elevator. Tom managed to hack that elevator's code before he died, but Jean-Luc fails to secure that elevator after defeating Ryan because Ryan primes a grenade to blow up both himself and the keypad in a YouShallNotPass moment. On his way to the freight elevator, he finds both a dying engineer and the corpse of Steve, the person who had overseen Jean-Luc's training in the tutorial. At the freight elevator, a wounded Law sends Jean-Luc ahead since he has to operate the elevator and hold back the terrorists, only to be executed by Cecile. After meeting up with Mike, he learns that Jake and Lisa are being cornered by the terrorists, then sees Banderas kill Mike after Mike opens the way forward.]] From here, the three routes branch off.

** He has Deathmask hold Lisa hostage, and sees Jean-Luc about to lay down his weapon. Jake suddenly barges into the room and headshots him and Deathmask with his machine gun, and he shoots Jake dead.

* WhatAnIdiot: You'd think an international war criminal like Cecile would be more situationally aware.

** In the Good route, he lobs a grenade at Jean-Luc after [[spoiler:Dan dies]]. As Jean-Luc closes in on him, he activates the lasers to trap Jean-Luc on the ramp and lays suppressive fire. He's already in a safe position outside the range of the mounted guns at the top of both ramps.

** In the Bad route, [[spoiler:he finds Lisa and Jake's corpses on his way to the Control Center. At the Center, he learns from Cecile that the Gulf System is now space junk after obliterating both the White House and the Pentagon. When he tries to take Kenneth Coleman into custody, Kenneth commits suicide. He and Keith are the only survivors of the mission, which rings hollow because so many lives died in the process]].

* TheWoobie: No matter the ending, Jean-Luc Cougar has a ''lot'' to unpack. His handgun is the last reminder of his brother Alan, who is presumed dead after going missing in a battle as part of Navy Special Forces, and this is before Operation Winback puts him through the wringer. [[spoiler:He sees Matt die before his eyes, then discovers the corpse of Tom after defusing the bombs near the express elevator. Tom managed to hack that elevator's code before he died, but Jean-Luc fails to secure that elevator after defeating Ryan because Ryan primes a grenade to blow up both himself and the keypad in a YouShallNotPass moment. On his way to the freight elevator, he finds both a dying engineer and the corpse of Steve, the person who had overseen Jean-Luc's training in the tutorial. At the freight elevator, a wounded Law sends Jean-Luc ahead since he has to operate the elevator and hold back the terrorists, only to be executed by Cecile. After meeting up with Mike, he learns that Jake and Lisa are being cornered by the terrorists, then sees Banderas kill Mike after Mike opens the way forward.]] From here, the three routes branch off.