Dual-wielding small arms isn’t a new element in the first-person shooter world, but the addition of it in Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gives it new legs. Dubbed “Akimbo,” the fine art of dual-wielding is, possibly, a skill. Akimbo doesn’t allow people to wield two AK47s or MP5s. Described as “balanced” by game community manager Robert Bowling, the skill allows players to duel-wield sidearms and nothing more.
Bowling-san revealed the skill at a recent GameCrazy event. In a message board post, he implies that the reveal was inadvertent, but the crowd’s positive reaction to an icon to do it drove him to use the skill.
“I was presenting a single-player mission at the GameCrazy show this morning on stage and happened to walk over a body that had ‘Akimbo’ (dual-wield sidearm), therefore the icon for the weapon popped up on screen and the room went crazy with chants demanding I pick it up and use it,” Bowling said.
“So I did.”
Bowling picked up two Desert Eagles -- hand cannons, essentially and used them. In the same post, he tells fans not to worry about any imbalance. Using two guns at the same time makes it “harder to aim than standard” and players won’t be able to use the iron sights. That’s on top of other “balancing techniques” IW has used.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ships with dual-wielding on November 10.
[via IGN]
[Update: Whoops. Misunderstanding on the "perk" business. Akimbo may or may not be one, but it sounds like Bowling is lumping it in the category.]
On an anecdotal note: I understand that rush of excitement. I was watching a Halo 2 demonstration -- it might have been an E3 thing, but I can’t remember the venue -- when I saw Master Chief pick up two weapons for the first time. I cheered and thrusted my hands into the air in adulation with the crowd. I was a thousand or so miles away and watching it through a computer monitor, but still feeling the buzz. It's great when a series you're a fan of gets something new and as beautifully devastating as duel-wielding.
Then, of course, the presenter revealed hijacking. Whoa.
I'll leave it at that.
Contest:
12:40 PM on 08.25.2009
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Infact the desert eagle is a horribly unreliable pistol.
And you're going to tell me that a bunch of arabs are going to be running around with two of them jumping around?
and you're going to claim this game is realistic?
fuck this game. I'm not buying it.
I can already see it coming.
that was cool.
also, since were duel wielding gold deaglz can we also HAVE LAZER WEPPUNZ? I THINK ET WULD ONLY BE FARE IF WE CULD HAS LAZER WEPPUNZ TOOO
who cares? not this guy.
LOL REALISM.
Good lord, relax. The Desert Eagle isn't the only sidearm, and it's arguably the worst one in the game.
That's a nice perk, for a tight situation. As long as it's a substitute for "Eavesdrop", cause that's a useless perk.
Being dumb sounds like a reason to me.
It was in single player and picked off a dead soldier. Was there any reveal that this would also be a multiplayer perk (sounds pretty weak)? Or are perks now available in the single-player campaign also (that would be gay).
I don't know, this article is totally misleading.
Also, I really hope the word "akimbo" is not in the game...
how is akimbo supposed to somehow = duel wield, it's pretty hard to shoot with your arms at that angle.. For those of you who are wondering, WTF is this guy talking about.. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/akimbo
I approve this message
akimbo != perk
That, and notice how the two Deagles are coming off of a DEAD opponent? There's a lesson here somewhere. ;)
I think he's talking about the video from Halo 2.
...so when do we get the announcement about a sword and the bubble shield?
Dual Wielding FTW.
Also, the Deagle's a great pistol in the right hands, and I don't mind this.
I mean the multiplayer was hardly realistic in the first place - you know with the whole spawning thing - don't think that happens in real life somehow. And calling in helicopters and packs of dogs, not to mention having a perk that makes your bullets hit harder..... not realistic.
But fun.
However, if they put it in the single player, well, that breaks the realism somewhat. Then again, blowing up jet-fighters with a few rifle rounds also does that. As does speeding on a snowmobile "Cappinz mad fools" or whatever "gangsta style" with a pistol.
The Call of Duty franchise is become more and more.... die-hardy. I suppose once you leave historical settings, stuff like this is bound to happen - since the designers are now only limited by their imagination.
I fully expect (and I will be disappointed if it does not) the next CoD to feature SAS troops riding armored panda bears equipped with jet-packs, killing ninjas while dual weilding miniguns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8KWW8i6Svs
oh yeah... :(
No one professionally trained would ever do this. Trust me. I an SB2(SWCC/SW) in the USN.
Idiotic statements concerning the combat effectiveness of a gun primarily used for recreation aside, "LAZER WEPPUNZ" are all too real my friend. The only reason why they haven't been deployed is because we have yet to deal with two problems:
First is space. Chemical lasers are huge. Like, "you'd be lucky to cram a single one of these things in a C-130" huge. Luckily, Northrop Grumman has announced that they have built a 105-kilowatt solid state laser capable of destroying tanks and large aircraft that could possibly fit on or inside of certain military vehicles. Crazy bastards.
The second problem with lasers is beam refraction. Basically, as you begin to boil away the metal on an armored target (like a tank), the metal forms a cloud that reflects light every which way. While the light reflected is by no means deadly or even harmful, it reduces the cohesiveness of the beam, meaning that it gets harder and harder for the beam to continue melting through the target.
So yeah, laugh while you can about "LAZER WEPPUNZ", but we're maybe a decade or two away from having laser tanks.
- Did you get shot a little bit, but not a lot? Once you get your breath back, you're all better!
- Did you reload with half a clip still in your spent mag? Don't worry, those bullets magically reappear!
- Walk along walls and rooftops without a care in the world! Infinite balance for everybody!
- So much as graze someone with a knife blade = instant death!
-HUD!
So yeah, if dual wielding impacts on your CoD realism, you might want to consider those first.
Strange how when you get shot wait then jump from a high object you die.
"Good lord, relax. The Desert Eagle isn't the only sidearm, and it's arguably the worst one in the game. "
One shot kill from any distance in hardcore yep such a poor weapon
Hope they sort out the rapid fire mods for the next one or this "perk" is going to ruin it (if its in mulitplayer)
CoD4, like Halo, has a recovery system. If you are mildly injured, stay out of trouble and you magically recover health.