Winback(tm)2: Project Poseidon Preview

Ammo loaded, gun in hand, target identified. You run past the guards, ducking behind crates that are a perfect fit for your size. "It must be fate," you think to yourself, leaning up against one as you ponder a headshot. "That guy doesn't even see me coming."

One shot is fired. An enemy is down. His comrade, Mr. Looks Dangerous, is a bit startled. Before he can react you jump out from behind the crate and fire another shot. You are victorious!

Winback 2: Project Poseidon, follows the lives of three agents as they embark on a multitude of dangerous missions. Few story details are presented at the start of the game. The opening sequence consists of a computer-generated face that slowly comes into focus. Apparently the lead character did something bad and feels guilty for it. All signs point to murder. But he's the good guy ... could he really have done something so awful? Or is that one of many plotlines that are about to unravel?

Movie sequences are short and to the point, and may be skipped if you don't want to sit through them. Chances are you'll be tempted not to. The gameplay consists of mostly action and...

At first the game felt somewhat familiar. I could walk, run, crouch, and lean up against walls, etc., the usual action/shooter stuff. The difference between Metal Gear Solid and all other games (including this one) is that in MGS I can lean up against a wall freely and seamlessly; here I must press the X button to make my character lean.

To Winback 2's credit, the action isn't that difficult. It works much better in this game than it does in most others I've played.

Leaning works the same as it does in MGS: press and hold the right or left shoulder button. Then a cursor appears and you can line up a headshot.

Headshots, leg shots, arm shots – Winback 2 makes it possible to target major sections of the body. When the cursor is over an enemy, that part of the enemy starts flashing red. Besides the aforementioned, players may also target the enemy's chest. Arm and leg shots result in an injured but still breathing enemy that can continue to fight back, while headshots are always an instant kill.

Should this become too challenging for some players, start a new game and select "easy." In easy mode all enemies are eliminated with one hit, regardless of the location. Boss battles are the exception. They have a life meter and will attack repeatedly until you're dead ... unless you kill them first.

When not leaning up against a wall (or a crate or anything else), you may draw your weapon by holding the L1 button. "Wait a minute, that sounds an awfully lot like..." Yes, I know – Resident Evil. It's seemed just as strange here as it did the first time I played Capcom's masterpiece, and it takes time to get used to. When your weapon is drawn, character movement is mostly restricted. You can roll left, right, forward or backwards, but you can't walk or run. It's possible to crouch, nothing more. This leaves you vulnerable to attack, which is why there are usually walls to hide behind during combat.

At this stage in the game, Winback 2's best feature is its influential battle system. Missions are separated into at least two parts, both of which take place at the exact same time. How is that possible? Each part is handled by a different character. Thus, if you're playing as Craig and you see a bunch of baddies going after Nick, kill 'em! That way when you take control of Nick, the enemies won't be there to stand in your way.

Scheduled for release at the end of April, Winback 2: Project Poseidon presents some interesting concepts that I hope are fully realized in the finished product. Right now it looks like it's going to bring the experience of an arcade game to PlayStation 2. I love the idea of influential missions, where the first character you play as can greatly affect the mission for the second character, who are both there during that timeline but are played separately. I also like the idea of highlighted body parts – it's an excellent concept for this type of shooter.