PS2 Review: Winback 2: Project Poseidon (2006)

What a misleading title; this mess has nothing in common with the fantastic, retro-cheese classic, Winback: Covert Operations. Whereas the original Winback had solid gameplay and an abundance of charm, Winback 2: Project Poseidon is dismally average, and oh-so-cheap. It should have no claim to the Winback brand, and yet, here we are. This time there's no Jean-Luc, no S.C.A.T. headquarters, and no Crying Lions to thwart. Instead, it's generic soldiers Craig Contrell, Mia Cabrera, and Nick Bruno to the rescue. They're tasked with finding a mysterious, and mysteriously powerful, weapon of some sort. You alternate between the three of them in any given mission, playing from each perspective and solving puzzles, covering each other, opening doors, and so on. It may sound interesting in theory, but in praxis, it becomes immensely tedious. Evidently these three operatives are incapable of working simultaneously towards an objective. For example, you may start out as Craig first, slog through some dismal areas, shoot some idiots one bullet at a time (even with automatic weaponry, you can only jump out of cover, squeeze off a single shot, and then duck back to compose yourself, I suppose, and this is far more agonizing than it sounds), and then stumble upon a jammed door. That means it's time for Nick, who's been patiently waiting for you to buzz him with your radio, to earn his keep and blast that stubborn door open. Elsewhere, I'm sure Mia is doing a Sudoku puzzle to keep herself occupied, or sending out tweets (#Sarocozia). You still can't run and shoot at the same time, which is the only thing Project Poseidon gets right about the Winback experience, and oh, what a thing to get right. Animation is amazingly unnatural, especially when you have to crouch into cover, and this only exacerbates the problems generated by the loose controls; you feel more like you're ice skating than moving into cover. There's a multiplayer mode if you feel like subjecting your friends to this experience, complete with AI bots. It's certainly not some new kind of group therapy. In fact, it's still the same bland game, single- or multiplayer. I wouldn't recommend this one, even for curious Winback veterans. It'll scare the hell out of you, Jean-Luc.